2023-07-07 11:00:00
THE #1 SUMMER PLAYLIST. This week, we book the hotel of our dreams in song, from Elvis to Pitbull, via The Jacksons, Leonard Cohen and Raye.
By Anne-Sophie Jahn American rapper Pitbull. © DR Published on 07/07/2023 at 11:00
Not one to plan your vacation six months in advance or print out Excel spreadsheets with an hour-by-hour schedule of your free time? No problem, our playlist will inspire you.
« Heartbreak Hotel », d’Elvis Presley (1956)
We start with a classic. “Heartbreak Hotel” is Elvis Presley’s first gold record, a hit so timeless that it influenced entire generations of musicians (including the Beatles) and has been covered dozens of times (by Michael Jackson, Johnny Hallyday , Billy Joel, Tom Jones, Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen…).
Behind the breathtaking swaying of the King and his cooing punctuated by innovative onomatopoeia, mad with sensuality, “Heartbreak Hotel” is the tragic – and very real – story of a boy who killed himself for love by throwing himself from the window of his hotel room: “Well, since my baby left me/Well, I found a new place to dwell/Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street/At Heartbreak Hotel” (“Since my baby left me left/I found a new place to live/It’s at the end of Lonely Street/u Heartbreak Hotel”). In short, read the reviews carefully before making your choice.
READ ALSOElvis Presley For Dummies: His Five Greatest Albums
« This Place Hotel » (aka « Heartbreak Hotel »), des Jacksons (1980)
An involuntary response to Elvis Presley’s song, an ultra-dancing “uptempo” funk version, “This Place Hotel” tells the funny adventure of a boy who thinks of offering his sweetheart a night in a romantic establishment, before realizing that he is in a hotel that breaks up couples. Written and composed by Michael Jackson (who will deny knowing Elvis’ version), the song will become one of his stage classics.
READ ALSOEverything you need to know about the Michael Jackson biopic
“Five Star Hotels”, by Raye, with Mahalia (2023)
Admittedly, singer Raye is right: sometimes it seems like all that’s missing from our lives is a room in a five-star hotel in Mauritius. The 25-year-old English singer wrote songs for Beyoncé, David Guetta, John Legend and Little Mix, and released her first hip hop-soul-gospel album in February 2023, as a remedy for her anxieties, before becoming one of the great voices across the Channel. At the beginning of June, she opened for SZA at the Accor Arena in Paris.
« Hotel Room Service », de Pitbull (2009)
Granted, “Hotel Room Service” isn’t the most distinguished title in our selection. But it’s a real summer hit that American rapper Pitbull has signed, and, let’s face it (shamefully), it’s hard to resist. The clip, a pinnacle of vulgarity, has accumulated hundreds of millions of views. On a sample of “Push The Feeling On by house band Nightcrawlers is a dance floor classic.
READ ALSOLeaving Paris – Hotel Chelsea, new wave
« Chelsea Hotel #2 », de Leonard Cohen (1974)
Let’s end with a bit of poetry. A haunt of artists and musicians, the Chelsea Hotel in New York hosted the loves of Janis Joplin and Leonard Cohen. The Canadian singer took up residence there in 1968, just after the flop of his first album. In the elevator, he approaches Janis Joplin, in town to record her second album. He sings the following: “You were famous, your heart was a legend/ ou told me again, you preferred handsome men/But for me you would make an exception” (“You were famous, your heart was a legend/Tu me l you said again, you preferred handsome men/But for me you would make an exception”). Gentleman, Cohen will not tell this adventure until after the death of Janis Joplin, in 1970.
#songs #booking #hotel