An estimated 92% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying times we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things, ever. We here at Nerdist are dead set on bringing you those types of songs—even if only for the weekend. So shove this into your grey matter!
Well, it seems electronic music didn’t leave my system from a few weeks ago when the column returned with Snakehips. Since then I’ve just been down a musical rabbit hole of YouTube recommendations. There are people out there who get a bit weirded out by Google collecting search data and using it to offer up suggestions on all sorts of things and–even though I know the potential downsides to that–I think I’m the type of dummy to be A-OK with it as long as good music is fed to me occasionally. The joke is on Google, though, since my personal search information other than music is all TV references, take-out menus, and those compilations of satisfying videos.
This week is plain and simple enjoyment of some music I only heard about through our new algorithmic overlords. Praise be to YouTube in the highest…video resolution. Here’s some Jax Jones.
“You Don’t Know Me” ft. Raye
This is one of English DJ Jax Jones’ latest releases and I have not been able to get it out of my brain. British singer/songwriter Raye lends her beautiful voice to the track and–compared to a lot of EDM these days–I appreciate the no-fluff approach to the song. There’s a certain confidence to the beat, lyrics, and composition of the song that makes it seem like it knows exactly what it needs to be. That focus on having no extravagant flash or frills is further driven home by the mesmerizingly simple video of a faux cereal box and dancing logo.
A similar video was made for our next song, but its official video is a whole other sight to see…
“House Work” ft. Mike Dunn MNEK
This track from July of 2016 has similar clean-cut structural elements as “You Don’t Know Me” but is a bit more energetic. Adding to that energy is the video showing us the absolute best infomercial we’ll never actually see. I’m fairly certain I would buy any product if it were presented in this manner. Who do I need to talk to in order to make sure that all infomercials are at least this extravagant going forward?
“No Sleep (Go Deep)”
I’m an absolute sucker for a good video and this one is a delight. The song, admittedly, doesn’t seem to correlate much with the action but its up-beat…well… beat is perfect for watching a man knock out his entire childhood bucket list in a day. Fingers crossed we all have that man’s mindset when we’re older.
Am I just, as the kids say, a “basic bitch” when it comes to EDM? Who knows. I might be. Hell, I probably am. But there is something refreshing with Jax Jones’ music and how it differs from the cookie-cutter things you might hear that all somehow need to announce when the bass will be dropped. That’s such a weird thing to show up in music, right? Imagine if singer/songwriters announced “HERE COMES THE CHORUS!” right before singing it. Ooh! Can someone do an acoustic EDM video for me, please!?
Did listening to Jax Jones remind you of similar music? Share it in the comments below!
Image: Jax Jones
Blake Rodgers writes for Nerdist from Chicago, IL where he lives happily with his Guinness World Record for High Fives. You can be his pal by following him on Twitter (@TheBlakeRodgers)
