Robyn - 'Who's That Girl'
There are a lot of reasons to love Robyn, obviously, but one of mine is the playfulness with which she treats her punctuation. Perhaps it comes from the sort of appreciation of English that you only truly get when you learn it as a second language, as I've heard some other European pop stars say. The best example, of course, was the exclamation mark in 'Be Mine!' that was there to trick us - it leads you to expect a strident, commanding, uptempo pop ditty only to wrongfoot you with a wistful, yearning ballad - the plea to "be mine!" was an ultimately futile one.
Here, note that she leaves the question mark off the end of "Who's That Girl", and I'm inclined to think it's on purpose. She's not asking a question; she's making a statement. Leaving off the question mark gives it a more derisory, mocking feel, which is backed up by the lyrics: "Who's that girl / That you think you love / Who's that girl / What if I'm nothing like her? / I swear there's no such girl" - it's a rally against the unfair expectations placed against her, being compared to this perfect example of another woman which probably doesn't exist. It's all right there in the lyrics of course, but the missing question mark in the title is an interesting key into that before you even get to the song.
But since this is ChartBlog and not A Level English Literature Unseen Text Blog, you probably want to know about the song, right? Well, the good news is that in typical Robyn style it's a blistering, caustic electrostomper of a tune. Interestingly, amid all of the drum-laden synths in the background and Robyn's trademark icy vocals, there's a real sensitivity in here, especially in the line "I just can't deal with the rules, I can't take the pressure" in the chorus, which is surprisingly heartfelt. Also, it's got the mother of all key changes at the end of the middle eight which gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Songwriters, take note: THAT is how you do it.
The only thing that disappoints me about this is that once again I find myself reviewing my favourite track off an album as one of the latter-stage releases, so it seems inevitable that it won't be as much of a success in the charts as its predecessors (see also: 'Clumsy' by Fergie, 'Denial' by Sugababes, etc), which is such a shame because this deserves, in my book, to be a No.1, if only for the sheer euphoria it brings out in me.
Then again, I should be glad it's getting a single release at all. Maybe this will be the one to buck the trend? You never know.
Download: Out now
CD Released: April 28th
(Steve Perkins)
Comment number 1.
At 21st Apr 2008, pinkparadox wrote:I hear ya about the key change - it's *wonderful*! And the percussion is so uplifting, it makes ya wanna dance in the street...
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Comment number 2.
At 21st Apr 2008, thranjax wrote:Yes this is a great song and very well composed. Hurrah for Robyn!
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