GUILTY PLEASURE: Take On Me by A-Hahttp://www.berkeleyplaceblog.com/2010/04/26/hellride-east-j-mascis/
Posted on April 13th, 2010 by ekkoHaven’t done a guilty pleasure post in a while, so I figger it’s time.
“Take On Me” was the one with that video. Y’know the one . . .
The band’s awful name, A-Ha, told you nothing about them. Nor did the song reveal much; it was confectioner packaged pop, as much a child of the 1980s as a progenitor of it. I was sick of this song within weeks. It was more played out than Tears For Fears’ “Shout.”
And if it comes on the radio today, I won’t switch the station.
The “star” cover of this tune is AC Newman–the New Pornographer–wh0 makes it even more melodramatic that it was to begin with, and adds strings. Here’s the direct DL link, and streaming info:
AC may be the big name celeb, but I really dig this version more. It’s by Phonte of Little Brother with Carlitta Durand. Awesome. Here’s the direct DL link, and then streaming info:
Then of course there’s the mash up version. Jay-Z, Outkast, and other folks over an A-Ha sample. Direct DL and stream:
And, in the zip file below, you’ll find a few more takes on the tune:
Reel Big Fish. This is the popska aggressive horn section sound you’d expect. The song gets an edge from it that I’m sure is intended to be ironic. Not better than the original, but at least it doesn’t make you want to hear the original, either.
Down the Line. These dudes add a reggae flavor, but it’s like hick reggae. With a string section. I’ve never heard of these guys, but I really like their take on Take On Me.
Whatnot. An upbeat, pop version on acoustic guitar and bongos.
Envelope 3. For the closer, the most experimental cover here. A 25 minute instrumental. It’s actually very cool if you take the time to listen to it . . .
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Comment By: Rick
April 14th, 2010 at 12:20 am
Oh, I remember that one for sure.
I was training a kid who was the spitting image of the singer.
I had a field day mocking him.
poor guy.
Comment By: DowntroddenInDc
April 15th, 2010 at 8:30 am
No idea how “Jay-Z – Hey Papi Vs A-ha, Take On Me” is number 6 on hype machine. The song is pure shit. I guess it’s at least a little better than having Kid Cudi in the top five, but jesus what is wrong with people?!
Comment By: JC KING
April 15th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Don’t forget “The Sun Also Shines on TV” another friggity classic!
Comment By: J-Cash
April 16th, 2010 at 2:50 am
How’d you find that mashup – I heard it on an old Radiozero podcast like 2-3 years ago but never knew who made it. always figured it was just the 1/2 qlive guys!
Comment By: ekko
April 16th, 2010 at 4:20 am
I am a wizard.
Comment By: Uh. | Shanedog
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:18 pm
[...] Hey Papi Vs A-Ha, Take On Me by Jay-Z via BerkeleyPlace [...]
Comment By: florida
May 10th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Wow, nice music. I am reiNcarnated gay folkE