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29 August 2006
From the "who would have ever guessed?" files... Original song: "Hey Ya" by Outkast.
Okay, the "spoken" part got silly, but man, those lyrics were amazing when you could actually hear them. This is my problem with rap, hip hop, and most other songs that are out today. I can't bloody understand what they lyrics are, so I can't tell if the songs are good or not.
I have to agree with hellbient. The reason the song was so goddamn amazing in the first place was because the lyrics were so questioning of romance, but the song made you want to move. This guy makes me want to smack him around with a Rosemary Clooney album and then get him drunk and make him dance for quarters.
first off, i disagree with the blog guy who posted that blurb above the vidoe. andre's production didn't hide the song...it enhanced it.
and i'm with hellbient. i do thing this version is great (the spoken word part at the end is hilarious in my opinion) but the energy of the original is what makes Hey Ya work as well as it does. i can listen to the original version many, many times and it doesn't get old. i can't say the same thing about this version.
The iFilm page describes the backup singers as wearing "English riding outfits," but considering that OutKast is from the American South (specifically Atlanta), I'd say it's much more likely they're supposed to be lawn jockeys.
But then I've seen the video about 800,000 times and I just now noticed that there's a coffin on the stage in front of the drum set.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
