David Guetta has grabbed Electronic Music by the arm and yanked it from its abode in the netherworld of music, and placed it at the very top of its game.
House music has always felt safer in underground circles, with a select few who truly appreciate the revolutionary music that does not come out of a guitar or set of drums, but from the machine which has changed all our lives forever: the computer.
The difficulty of keeping up with the ever changing, ever evolving genre proves a daunting task for the average music listener, preferring the simpler way of raving over the garbage selected by a radio station executive every couple of months (and by selected I mean paid to choose by big corporations). That coupled with the unwillingness to let go of an age that has already come and passed, made it hard for electronic music to grab people’s hearts.
It was only a matter of time though before people realized moping and whining and cheesy lyrics would not be enough to please one’s desire for fun. The joie-de-vivre sensation swept Europe and other party destinations around the world, and before you know it, DJs became gods and God became a DJ.
Yet, despite that, the most prolific and influential music hub in the world remained anesthetized to the marvel that is electronic music. The United States has been content with listening to whatever big labels shovel down their throats on all available airwaves. In the month I spent there, all I could listen to, on all frequencies, was “Take a look at my girlfriend” and Justin’s “Summer Love”. No matter how much I exaggerate, I wouldn’t even come close to the truth about how many times I heard those dreadful songs.
When I graced house parties with my presence, and my iPod, people asked, “what’s this called?” when I played house hits of the day, when I’d answer “love is gone” for example, they’d confess they were asking about the genre. Major cultural shock for me… And frankly, I was disappointed that the land of opportunity and dreams had not been given the opportunity to discover real music.
Until David Guetta found the way to break the commercial spell that had taken hold for so long. Guetta used the industry’s own practices to infuse House music into the already-established genres in the US. It began with former Destiny’s Child star Kelly Rowland and the summer anthem “When Love Takes Over”. Soon after, the big names kept rolling in, with Guetta producing music for Madonna, the Black Eyed Peas (whose “I Gotta Feeling” can be safely crowned the best song of 2009 worldwide), Akon, Estel, Kid Cudi, Bruno Mars, Jennifer Lopez and a host of others waiting in line to collaborate with the House sensation.
I must confess, I’m sad that the genius’s music has somewhat diminished in quality compared to classics like “The World is Mine” and “Love is Gone”, but then again, his successful takeover of the US market has improved the rest of the music industry. So, instead of continuing the pure-house charge, David Guetta has combined both worlds. Now, pop and house have for the first time seamlessly intertwined. And I’m very optimistic, that now the whole world has embraced electronic music (even Arabic artists!) and will share our love for the music with infinite possibilities and endless frequencies.
The review is ready, I’m just waiting for some photos to publish with it.