ESSENTIAL DANCE ANTHEMS 17 / 16
Next up on NME’s hall of fame is annoying porn house Lil Louis and hirsute globe trotter Paul Oakenfold.
17. Lil Louis – French Kiss (1989)
NME says “Most songs are about sex, so we’re told. But how many of them cointain actual sex? Even Prince has never taped a live orgasm and glued it to his latest single, has he? (Has he? Someone check his post ’98 stuff please…) The Meg Ryan of house, Chicago don Louis Burns’ ‘French Kiss’ was more famous for the lady love joy at its heart than the squelchy techno that surrounded it. The psychological effect whenever it hit dancefloors was oddly compelling, like having a tongue stuck in your ear.”
I never liked having a tongue stuck in my ear. Stop it. Go away.
16. Oakenfold – Southern Sun (2002)
NME says “The most brilliant superstar DJ of them all, Paul Oakenfold’s gurnable trance had made him a household name without any recourse to Cockney rhyming slang. He left it ’til the very fag end of the superclub era – 2002 – before dropping a solo album. It wasn’t that good, but it did manage to produce that summer’s anthem with a chorus so euphoric it made you yearn to release butterflies everytime you heard it.”
This is a seriously odd choice as essential dance anthem. A pleasant track but surely nothing more than that. And ‘Starry Eyed Surprise’ was a much better dance pop anthem. Oakie’s remix of U2’s “Even Better Than The Real Thing” is a better anthem and more significant.
Oakenfold – Southern Sun
Oakenfold – Southern Sun (DJ Tiesto Mix)
Lil Louis – French Kiss
