Photo:
It’s getting to the point where if you’ve heard one ‘Call Me Maybe’ cover, you probably feel like you’ve heard them all. After Enter Shikari and Ben Howard have both done their own cover versions and there’s also an interesting mash-up with Third Eye Blind, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the last thing you want to hear is another musician’s take on what is, at this point, an incredibly overplayed and overused song.
Case in point: a new compilation album on Bandcamp featuring – wait for it – forty one covers, remixes or interpretations of the hit song – with most of them being as terrible as you’d expect. There’s no need, for example, for a dramatic reading of the song to exist. And yet, now we know that it does.
However, there is one track which is a particular stand out. Electronic musician Dan Deacon has contributed what he calls ‘Call Me Maybe Acapella 147 Times Exponentially Layered’ in which he takes ‘Call Me Maybe’ and, as the title suggests, layers it. One hundred and forty seven times.
While it seems like a cross between a round of ‘London’s Burning’ (yes, we all did that in primary school) and just white noise, the song is actually really good once your ears adjust. Just like walking into a dark room, it takes a few moments before the details in the song become clear. Frenetic and engaging, the song quickly evolves from the ‘round’ at the beginning to a sinister, discordant deconstruction of Carly’s song.
With comments ranging from ‘Dan Deacon never disappoints me’ to ‘This is been the #1 hit for a month at Guantanamo Bay’ there’s no doubt that it’s a polarising remix. And while it’s maybe not something to add to your party playlist, it’s definitely still worth a listen. Love it or hate it? Let us know.
