If that title doesn’t spark your curiosity, I don’t know what will. Once again, as part of my “music journey” this year, I’ve been listening to songs and artists which are not my typical “style” and genre. It started with Paloma Faith and then went o with Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and my latest “discovery”... the band Walk The Moon.
Walk The Moon is an American pop-rock band who I’ve never heard of before. I didn’t even know they existed. I was cleaning up my laptop’s hard drive when I came across this “album” in my music collection vaguely entitled “Best of August 2015”. Out of curiosity, and a bit of boredom, I opened it and listened to the songs in it. I have no idea, whatsoever, how and why I downloaded the said album.
Upon hearing the first beat and the lines “Oh, don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me…” I was instantly hooked. It was the kind of song that would make you jump up to your feet and start dancing foolishly on your bed. I didn’t need to finish listening to the song and connect to it on a deeper level anymore. I’ve been playing it on loop, every morning, during my short walk to the office and I never get tired of it.
I just realized that this song is not just the perfect “jumping-up-and-down-on-my-bed” a.k.a. “Pajama-party-with-friends” song. It could also be an awesome club song. I mean, I could imagine myself dancing the night away to this tune. If dancing is not your thing, you could definitely sing your heart out to this song during karaoke night with your friends! How incredible is this song? Believe me; it’s pretty easy to sing along to. Coming from a certified tone deaf, that is saying something. More importantly, this is the kind of song that would definitely liven up any party – no matter how boring it is.
So I did a bit of digging up online about Walk The Moon and this fabulous pop-rock song. Apparently, there was a really cute and romantic story behind the lyrics and how the song came about. According to songfacts.com, “the song originated when vocalist Nicholas Petricca went to a Los Angeles dance club to blow off some steam. When he started complaining that it was taking forever to get drinks at the bar, a girl came up to him and said, "’Just shut up and dance with me!’” True story. Haha! It’s quite fascinating, right? I also read somewhere that after Petricca danced with the said girl, they “hit it off” and she is now his girlfriend. How awesome is that for a “love story”?
Although the song was inspired by that real life story of how Walk The Moon’s Petricca met his girlfriend, the vocalist mentioned that it was also more about “living in the moment”. He added that the song is an anthem for “letting go of frustration and having fun”. I, for one, am having the time of my life and definitely "frustration-free" whenever I listen to this enjoyable tune.
Anyone who would listen to “Shut Up and Dance” could definitely tell that there is something infectious about it and it’s not just the catchy lyrics and upbeat melody. Apparently, “the band wanted to capture an ‘80s pop/rock vibe and often took breaks to listen to classic tunes from the era”. Walk The Moon’s vocalist and one half of the genius behind the hit song mentioned “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar, “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield and “Just What I Needed” by The Cars as some of their music inspiration. As an ‘80s kid, I guess this was why I immediately felt connected to the song. Even the music video had that old school feel to it and it was pretty hilarious.
Walk The Moon’s popularity has definitely skyrocketed, thanks to “Shut Up and Dance”. According to their Wikipedia page, their biggest single to date “sold over four million copies worldwide.” The catchy tune also “peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a number-one hit on the magazine's Alternative Songs chart and the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.” It also did pretty well outside America. The band even performed the hit song on some of the popular American late-night talk shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“Shut Up and Dance” will definitely stay in my “LSS” list for a long time. I’m stoked to hear what’s next for this amazing band!
Credit for the info and excerpts: Walk The Moon's wikipedia page and songfacts.com
