"La la la la la la la, I just can’t get you out of my head, boy your lovin’ is all I think about." You only have to read those lyrics and you can probably hear that hypnotic minimalist disco beat pounding and thumping in your brain. Even now that futuristic white hooded split dress from the video is probably being visualised in your brain. Iconic is almost an understatement. Can’t Get You Out Of My Head is Kylie Minogue’s greatest moment. The evidence? The song was a number one hit single in forty countries, selling a staggering four million copies. In the UK it stayed in the singles charts for half a year.
But commercial success aside, Can’t Get You Out Of My Head deserves to be in any list of greatest songs of the decade. Why? Because it is one of the perfect pop songs of all time, not just this decade. So, what defines perfect pop ? A catchy hook. Check. A great melody. Check. Not more than four minutes long. Check. Instant disposability combined with massive longevity? Check. A song that makes you feel alive? Double check. Can’t Get You Out Of My Head meets all the criteria. But the perfect pop song is not just about ticking all the boxes. It’s about connecting emotionally with the masses in a pure and perfect kiss. Can’t Get You Out Of My Head achieved this in a way that very few singles this decade have. Four million people can’t be wrong.
Robin Seamer
[Spotify]
[YouTube]
[Album: Fever]
5 comments:
i'm afraid that i'm a Kylie fan that just doesn't get the fuss about this particular song. i still reckon The One is her best most defining pop song this decade, despite being heard by barely anyone.
Hi Thomas. It is my good self who selected and wrote about Can't Get You Out Of My Head. An interesting choice with 'The One' - not particularly defining as far as I'm concerned (although not bad). My other favourite Kylie song of this decade is Slow which I feel, probably as you do with The One is vastly under rated. However nothing will top Can't Get You Out Of My Head in the 00's for me just as I would also list I Should Be So Lucky (another song that everyone can remember as soon as you say the title or any of the lyrics) as one of the best songs of the 80's. Of course indie music snobs will laugh at these comments, but they just don't understand quality pop ;)
Hi there. i realise i probably do sound like an indie snob, although i'm not quibbling with I Should Be So Lucky at all, i'd agree with you there. Just like i'd say her biggest hits of the Nineties (Put Yourself In My Place, Confide In Me) were her better tracks of that era too. And i also think Slow is underrated too (even though i remember it being all over the radio at the time) but mostly because i think it - for want of a better, less worrying phrase -'show her off' a bit more than Can't Get You Out Of My Head does. I know pretty much the entire world agrees that it is her best song though and fair enough, but whereas your checklist gives reasons for the song to be perfect pop i feel it just shows it to be too formulaic. i realise good pop music isn't the place to go for adventure and invention but you know what i mean.
Good write-up mind...
I'd go with "I Believe in You" every time. And I don't even like Scissor Sisters.
That's a great shout!
Post a Comment