The Ian Carey Project – Get Shaky
No-one goes for the “remake of Get Carter, starring Shakin’ Stevens” joke. Pity…
[Video][Website]
[5.40]
Hillary Brown: What? Is this about huffing? Whatever it is, it’s kind of sneaky and calculated, but it’s not all that bad, in spite of feeling like you’re being Duran Duranned.
[6]
Martin Kavka: Can anyone over the age of 12 imagine dancing to a song with the lyric “get shaky after school”? Two points solely for its video, which proves that the generation raised on “…Baby One More Time” is now grown up and directing music videos themselves. Between this and “Chip Diddy Chip,” one must wonder whether in a decade, schools will have actually become dance halls.
[2]
Michaelangelo Matos: Wouldn’t mind getting shaky to it on a dance floor, especially if a savvy remixer were to stretch the groove past itself. Approximate amount of time I’ll spend hoping for this to occur: none.
[5]
Martin Skidmore: This went platinum in Australia last year, but it does little for me. The female vocal is quite appealing on the quieter parts, but the electronica-house backing is medium-paced and lacks beauty or energy, so I’m mystified at why it has blown up so much anywhere.
[4]
Chuck Eddy: Apparently Carey’s a Maryland-bred “house” guy, but I would’ve been just as likely to guess that this was some sort of Winehouse/Yeah Yeah Yeahs (or Duffy/Kills?) hybrid making an electro move. Only hint otherwise, maybe, is that the electro breaks are the best part of the song.
[7]
John Seroff: This tawdry tale of tremulous after-hour study groups has a foundation to rock the house: sinewy, Joan Jett vocals; twitchy kickdrums; an ominous, three chord guitar theme; elastic synth bass that weaves and dopplers like a swaying palm tree and an opening service of handclaps and hi-hats copied verbatim from Daft Punk’s final exam. The problem is the ropes never quite turn fast enough to double dutch; “Get Shaky” is more restrained than joyous, more constructed than sculpted. If I’m really meant to go crazy and break the rules, as the lyrics and the BPM suggest, I’m going to need a track with a bit more abandon. A solid, underachieving C.
[5]
Alfred Soto: While the chorus consists of unsurprising exhortations of the Lady GaGa variety, the guitars and sequencers made my ears prick up. So did the vocalist, whose pinched high notes summon Terry Bozzio crossed with Roisin Murphy.
[6]
Anthony Miccio: There isn’t a “feat. female singler” here, so either Ian Carey has one peculiar voice or he realizes there’s no reason to highlight the shrill woman unconvincingly urging us to “go crazy” over his passable dance beats.
[6]
Mallory O’Donnell: This is pure confectionery, but it mainly seems interested in riveting together an acid-electro cliche colussus for devotees of the Disney Channel. While the music is far too hackneyed to resonate, I can at least applaud them for out & out guile.
[7]
Ian Mathers: It’s not a problem to evoke or pay homage to other songs in your own efforts, but when every line of the chorus ends with a melody that reminds me of the chorus of “Maneater,” I’m going to want to listen to Hall & Oates instead of you.
[6]