Estelle - 'No Substitute Love'
Do you know, there are versions of Estelle's 'American Boy' doing the rounds of certain local radio stations - I'm not sure if it's just ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ local radio or all of 'em - which have carefully cut Kanye West's rap out? I think the idea is that the generation who were in their early twenties when hip hop really broke through (around 1986, and we owe Run DMC eternal thanks, by the way) never really got to grips with it as a valid musical form. They are considered to be the people for whom hip hop is just people talking over the top of music, and therefore rubbish.
Never mind that any type of music can be reduced to a "just..." sentence like that - and therefore dismissed - if you really work at it. Try it yourself: Metal is just hairy blokes retching over grunty guitars. Indie is just bowlheaded skinnyboys coughing over old Kinks records. Classical music is just band camp geeks showing off...etc etc...
Now I know there are people who hold this view of hip hop even though they are not currently in their fifties. Certainly some of the lovely rock fans at the Download festival seemed to be of a like mind when they tried to bottle off Lethal Bizzle, and I know for a fact that my dad was in the garden on that day. But it does seem to be a little unfair to deliberately cut something out of a song in case it offends a certain audience.
Surely if they like the song enough, they can put up with everything. To put it in a way that people of that age would understand, you don't expect 'Bohemian Rhapsody' without the "Galileo, Galileo" bits in case it offends people who don't like opera, do you?
And it's not like anyone ever took the time to cut out the bits of songs which annoyed ME. Like most of the lyrics to 'Buck Rogers' by Feeder, or the little hiccup in the singing voice of Luke Kooks, or the bits in Madonna songs when you can hear her at all. So, y'know, what the hell?
But the most interesting thing is that it suggests that Estelle has been recognised as a worthy talent by the old gippers. She's someone they can relate to, with her talent and her lovely voice and her good songs. They can hear that she is not just another silly little girl who pretends to be sexually aroused all the time (which must make doing the weekly shop interesting, I would imagine), or a 'manufactured' 'singer' who 'makes' 'manufactured' 'pop' 'music' in a 'manufactory'...or something.
And even though this assesment is based on a rubbish prejudice about modern pop music and why it is not like olden days pop music (for the same reason that mobile phones are not like the old spinning-dial phones you see in Life On Mars, since you ask), it's undeniably true. Estelle is different, she is good, and she is worthy of anyone's attention, as one listen to this lovely, Lover's Rock-infused blast at a hopeless boyfriend will prove beyond all reasonable doubt.
Now, who's up for editing Kanye's 'American Boy' bit into this this song, just to freak 'em out?
Download: Out now
CD Released: June 30th
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comment number 1.
At 29th Jun 2008, vlostebrown wrote:I started reading this and had to stop when I got to 'There's people'.
Bad times for journalism.
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Comment number 2.
At 30th Jun 2008, solarsimpson wrote:I'm sorry - who the hell wrote this review? Is this meant to be about 'No substitute for love' or just some random's odd rant which doesn't even get onto discussing the song at hand untill 6 paragraphs deep (yawn).
No wonder no one got round to editing the bits out of songs the reviewer didn't like - they probably bored them into a coma before they got to their point.
Yes the single is wicked, original, can sing and rap and proves it on this track. But maybe whoever wrote this review should ponder upon her words when they write their next review 'You need to grow a couple boy, cos you ain't got nuthin fo' me'.
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Comment number 3.
At 30th Jun 2008, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:Hello, lovely grumpy people...
SolarSimpson, don't you think it's interesting that someone has edited Kanye West out of Estelle's biggest hit record, just to make it palatable for grownups to enjoy?
Don't you think that's a bit insulting to Kanye? Or cowardly? I do.
Also, I wrote the review. And put my name on it, twice. Do pay attention!
Vlostebrown - you're quite right, that's awful writing. I've changed it now. Sorry!
Fraser
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