Energizers and Chewing Gum ["Levitate", Hadouken!]

Welcome back, students! We’re charging up for a new semester, and we’re seeing a lot of new changes this semester. From a new Wi-Fi system for the campus to a new title for me- Multimedia Editor now! –everything’s getting stirred up around here. What better way to start off Fall 2013 than with the energy to levitate?

                

Today’s song is one that I just came across, though the group has been around for several years now. It’s called “Levitate”, by the British rave/dance/pop group Hadouken!. Any video game nerds out there? Hadouken! takes their name from a special attack move from the Street Fighter games.

               

Hadouken! started in 2006 in London, England, and has been decently busy since then. They have released three studio albums and many, many singles, featuring techno beats and a bit of rap thrown in. It’s really unlike anything I have ever heard before, with such a mix of styles all rolled into one band. Some of their songs, like “Levitate”, are clearly designed to energize. Others, like “Bliss Out”, are a bit more trance-like and calm.  

                

“Levitate” was released in January of 2013, and made its way to the #2 chart slot in both America and the UK. It was the #1 hit in Russia. The steady drum beat that opens the song makes no mistake. That beat is ready to rock, and it wants you to join in. It wants to send energy coursing through your blood just to hesitate, turning the first verse into a deep breath. Then when the bass drops in time for the second verse, if you’re really into it, it sets your veins on fire. It’s like feeling the energy of the world touching every nerve in your body, like electricity.

I feel both feet lift off the ground
I can levitate
With every jolt that leaves I close my eyes
And levitate

                Amusingly enough, it reminds me of the old 5 gum commercials.

Most dance/rave songs make you want to jump up and down, rocking with the beat. While some people might want to do that with this song, I feel like being nearly still is just as good of an experience. If you close your eyes and just feel the music, you can feel what Hadouken! feels. You can levitate.

                

So, students, readers, and hopefully listeners- get energized for the new semester. Be it your first, last, or just another set of classes to change up the monotony, spend this one in the air. Levitate. And don’t forget to 

[Listen Out]