High Note, Low Note

As all partyphiles know, music is one of the most important parts of any party. It sets the tone of the party, it dictates if people are supposed to let loose, or if they are supposed to sit upright in a wrought iron chair until they die of boredom. Music, they say, is the language of love. For us partyphiles, however, it is the second best social lubricant to alcohol. And because I want to help you pick out some of the best party tracks this side of Partylandia, here is my review of some tracks that are currently hitting the airwaves and the dance floors.

1.) Happiness by Alexis Jordan. This track gets the award for being the single most LSS worthy song in this (short) list. It is sung by another talent show alumna but is far less commercial than those that are spewed out by main stream reality television shows. This catchy pop track is laid on top of a gorgeously refreshing house beat. And although it is a little too pop for most hardcore house music lovers; it is catchy enough to make them forget that it is, after all, from an eighteen year old girl who probably hasn’t had the privilege of partying yet. I am proud to say that I am the first radio show host EVER to play this track, and I find that it gets many requests on my show. Plus, it has been making the rounds in all the dance floors around Davao City and neighbouring cities, without even hitting it big on mainstream radio, or music television channels. That is definitely a treat for us partyphiles as the song has not made its way to mainstream consciousness. That way, we could sing along to this catchy song filled with clichés, without having to look un-cool. I give this gorgeously giddy track five out of five stars.

2.) Only Girl (In the World) by Rihanna. This track is like a breath of fresh air from among little miss Barbadian Beauty’s (Rihanna’s) roster of mostly somber songs of late. She promises that along with this single, her brand new album, and her new fiery hot hair, is a sound that is both celebratory and joyful. So she says goodbye to all the drama and darkness that surrounded her post-Chris Brown life and says “hello” to a reincarnation of sound. The good news is, her “new” music is still heavy with techno and house inflections, making it dance floor friendly. Still, I would not be surprised if Ri-ri actually release half a dozen house mixes of this track because it feels like it could go deeper into the gorgeous forays of house music. I give this track four and a half stars out of five.

3.) Dirty Picture by Taio Cruz and Ke$ha. I feel like this was a total waste of a really good back beat and percussions (although none of them seemed like “real” percussions, nonetheless, it sounded great). I find that Taio Cruz and Miss White Trash, Ke$ha just made the song fail miserably. For me, their voices did not compliment each other, so they decided to run both voices under auto tine machines. This did not save the track at all. In fact, it made it annoying, and quite generic in the “auto tune generation”. Also, the lyric, the phrasing, the whole point of the song is anything but brilliant. The chorus seems like an endless loop of “taking dirty pictures” which makes my ears vomit. This track gets two out of five stars, because after all, the beat is still quite tolerable.

4.) Fourth of July by Kelis. This track is as smooth as honey is when it drips down your throat. Kelis’ voice somehow sounds silky, smooth, and creamy against this staccato beat that fades into a piano-heavy refrain which then moves into a crescendo chorus. The track is interesting to the ear, and has a really nice feel to it. Now, I would not know how fourth of July feels like, but if it is anything like this bubbly, dreamy, and gorgeously snappy track, then a flight to the United States around that time should be in the itinerary next year. I give this well-balanced track a five out of five stars.

Catch these songs on Confessions of a Partyphile, the radio show, on 105.9 Mix FM every Wednesday evenings, from six to nine in the evening. For comments, suggestions, and more confessions from this partyphile log on to http://party.i.ph or follow the columnist at twitter.com/zhaun