Tiësto – Red Lights
Do not pass “Go.”
[Video][Website]
[2.57]
Will Adams: There is an entire tome to be written on the homogenization of dance music thanks to the rise of EDM. Tiësto would be one of the biggest case studies. Once a purveyor of glowstick-rave trance — later moving across atmospheric dancepop to idiosyncratic remixes to a unique take on electro — he is now churning out the most anonymous house music on the market. He isn’t the only one — Guetta, Armin, Kaskade and many others have fallen to the EDM zeitgeist to varying degrees — but Tiësto’s case seems particularly tragic; that “Red Lights,” indistinguishable from any D-list producer on the rise, comes from one of the most celebrated DJs of the early 2000s is a goddamn shame.
[3]
Scott Mildenhall: If you look for it, there’s a lot of symbolism in Tiësto achieving his first UK top 10 single at this stage with something so utterly uninspired. Michel Zitron, the Generic Turner he has on uncredited John Martin duties here, contributed to “Don’t You Worry Child”. That song is the pinnacle of this particular strain of post-Taio pop because it truly sold its ludicrous appeal to Something More in a way that “Red Lights” seems completely uninterested in doing. It just sounds tired, aware despite its protestations that red lights are for stopping. There are worse songs, but by now there are others.
[5]
Anthony Easton: This just makes me wait for the Florida Georgia Line cover.
[4]
David Sheffieck: I had really hoped that with Avicii ascendant, Tiësto would retire or die. The way this sounds, he effectively has.
[0]
Patrick St. Michel: Dude knows he can still get really far from everyone he knows by waiting for the signal to turn green, right? And, like, by running a red light he’d actually draw more attention than if he just relaxed for ten extra seconds? C’mon, I need logic in my cookie-cutter EDM!
[3]
Brad Shoup: I don’t fuck with red lights; I’ve got more of a Spanish relationship with time. The lazy guitar ping, resurrected from a deserved grave, clashes with the airy serrated synth, which still has some life left. But c’mon, those words… is this a Simple Plan cover?
[2]
Alfred Soto: “Tiesto’s first hit!” my local Clear Channel pop station announced yesterday. Judging by the sound, it’s not Calvin Harris’.
[1]
“Red Lights” is playing now, and this gay bar does not give a shit.
what do Texas gay bars usually play in the wee small hours, Brad?
Apparently Ellie Goulding, Bastille, and that last Kylie single we didn’t like so much.
This is all over the radio in Chicago right now, and it’s very distressing.
What station???
I’m starting to hear the follow-up with Matthew Koma. You have much to look forward to.
Ugh, I’ve heard that one too (though not on radio). It’s even worse.
@Crystal, 103.5 mostly, but pretty sure I’ve caught it on B96 as well.