By Drew Wilson
This review covers the pop track Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say).
This particular track was released in 2013.
While a lot of the success seems to be attributed to successful online marketing, it’s also (more) likely due to the fact that it was backed by the RIAA.
Trying to categorize this track seems to be difficult for a lot of sites. Some consider this electro house. Others consider it parody. Some call it synth pop. I personally don’t see what’s so hard about categorizing it as it is clearly pop music. It’s not electro house because, if you know anything about electro house, you would know tracks typically start with some form of four to the floor drum kick pattern. This track doesn’t have that. I don’t think it’s necessarily a parody because, in my view, you have to pick a track your making fun of before calling it satire. Some seem to say it’s making fun of electronic music in general. If you actually know anything about electronic music, the lyrics of this track may make vague or passing references to modern mainstream dubstep, but even then, this is a very very narrow stream of “electronic music”. As for the synth used, some of it may be used in electro house, but I’ve heard similar sounds in other genre’s (progressive trance and ambient being two examples). It’s almost as if some people describing this track only heard of Skrillex and think they know everything there is to know about electronic music (which is kind of like saying “I drank a glass of water, therefore, I know everything there is to know about chemical engineering.”) Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. If you compare this track to a host of different genres, you can easily conclude this is pop music because it follows the formula of your standard pop track quite well.
As for the track itself, it does start off with some decent sound with lyrics that clearly weren’t meant to be taken seriously. There is some backed piano chords which at least makes it harmonious.
That’s when the track goes to the chorus. This was seriously like nails on chalkboard. It sounds like someone was poorly singing in the shower, and, as a result, got a record deal for no apparent reason. If this track was just those ridiculous lyrics, this track would get a zero. It’s as bad as Robin Thicke. The chorus completely wrecks this song beyond any likability.
This track, all around, is a really bad track. If it didn’t have some decent verses, it would get a zero from me. Even with the verses, this track still fails on many levels. The chorus brings down what little quality this track had down to the bottom of the barrel. Garbage.
Score
3/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85
