Music Review: Baauer "Harlem Shake"

Baauer

Harlem Shake

Album: N/A

Year: 2012

        Baauer harkens back to a long gone dance era of the early 90s in the          underwhelming “Harlem Shake.”

     A a male voice says “con los terroristas,” from Hector Delgado’s “Malades” and then taut beat pounds the synth. It sets a grating tone.

         A manipulated voice says “do the harlem shake,” which itself is a sample from Plastic Little’s “Miller Time.”  The taut beat unwinds for a bit. The Malades sample is repeated again which is followed by a lion’s roar.

         The enclosed beat pops and locks, interrupted “ey’s” every couple a seconds or so. The lion roars again.

      The Delgado sample is repeated again, along with the lion’s roar. 

    The enclosed beat slaps the “eh’s.” as the Plastic Little sample says “do the harlem shake.”

    The enclosed beat bounces, as though it’s on a spinning ride. The lion’s roar ends the section.

      The enclosed beat slaps the “eh’s” again.

      The lion’s roar ends the single.

      The lacking arrangement needs more samples to really work. Two little samples isn’t going to do it. It takes at least bits and pieces of ten songs for it to come together. It also needs to be longer. The early 90s had a couple of mainstream songs that did it successfully: Bingoboys “How To Dance” and M/A/R/R/S’s “Pump of the Volume.”

       The incomplete “Harlem Shake” needs to have a music history lesson, with emphasis on techno.