Music Sounds Better with You

"Music Sounds Better with You"
CD single
Single by Stardust
Released 20 July 1998 (1998-07-20)
Format
Recorded 1997; Daft House
(Paris, France)
Genre French house
Length 6:48 (12" club mix)
4:24 (7" edit)
Label Roulé
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Thomas Bangalter
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

"Music Sounds Better with You" is a song by French house band Stardust, released as their only single on 20 July 1998, through the Roulé label. The song uses a sample of the song "Fate" by American singer Chaka Khan,[2] which appeared on her third solo studio album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me (1981).

"Music Sounds Better with You" was one of the highest-selling singles of the year in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number two in August 1998 and maintained the position for two weeks.[3] That same month, the song also spent two weeks atop the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.[2] It was also used in the encore of Daft Punk's Alive 2007 world tour.

Production

The track was recorded in Paris at Daft House,[4] where Bangalter (one half of the French group Daft Punk) is based. The song was conceived in Rex Club, Paris, where the trio were playing a live set. Bangalter and Braxe created the instrumental, which Diamond instinctively sang the title words over. The next day they laid down the track in the studio, adding the Chaka Khan sample.

The song remains the only release of the trio. Diamond and Braxe resumed their ongoing solo careers, and Bangalter, along with his usual partner Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, went on to release the second Daft Punk album, Discovery, as well as releasing other house music tracks solo or with other partners.

Critical reception

John Bush from AllMusic gave the single 4.5 stars out of 5 and also labels it as an "Album Pick" calling it "One of the most irresistible, sublime dance singles of the decade".[1] It was ranked 46th on Pitchfork's Top 200 songs of the '90s.[5] The publication included "Music Sounds Better with You" in its collection of The Pitchfork 500.[6] In 2001, the magazine from the United Kingdom, Mixmag, listed the 100 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time with "Music Sounds Better with You" listed at number 11.[7][8] The song also appears at number 6 on Mixmag's 50 Greatest Dance Tracks of All Time in 2013.[9]

Music video

Directed by Michel Gondry, set in California, United States, the song's music video depicts the story of a boy building a balsa wood model airplane over several summer days (it's implied that his parents are arguing, and this is his distraction from this). As he works, he watches a "Top 5" video countdown on television, on which the band Stardust move up one spot a day past other, fictional artists.

Braxe, Diamond, and Bangalter appear wearing metallic costumes in the video — a trend Bangalter would follow as a member of Daft Punk. One of the fictional videos, "Hollipz" by "Dave Stavroz", is a parody of the music video of Robert Palmer's hit "Addicted to Love" (1986). When the boy has completed the plane, he takes it into the large fields next to the house and throws it in the air, only to watch it become stranded on top of a cloud. It is the same cloud Stardust were performing on in their video Top 5. They throw it back to the boy with a wave; he recovers it, waves at them, and runs away.

Track listing and formats

12" vinyl single

  1. "Music Sounds Better with You" – 6:48

CD single

  1. "Music Sounds Better with You" (7" Edit) – 4:24
  2. "Music Sounds Better with You" (12" Club Mix) – 6:48
  3. "Music Sounds Better with You" (Bob Sinclar Remix) – 6:46

CD single (re-release)

  1. "Music Sounds Better with You" (7" Edit) – 4:24
  2. "Music Sounds Better with You" (12" Club Mix) – 6:48
  3. "Music Sounds Better with You" (Bibi & Dim's Anthem from Paris Mix) – 10:30
  4. "Music Sounds Better with You" (Chateau Flight Remix) – 7:17

Music Sounds Better with You Remixé EP

  1. "Music Sounds Better with You" (Bibi & Dim's Anthem from Paris Mix) – 10:30
  2. "Music Sounds Better with You" (DJ Sneak's 32 on Red Dub Mix) – 5:41
  3. "Music Sounds Better with You" (Chateau Flight Remix) – 7:17
  4. "Music Sounds Better with You" (DJ Sneak's 32 on Red Mix) – 8:16

Charts and certifications

Use in other media

References

  1. 1 2 "Music Sounds Better with You EP - Stardust | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". allmusic.com.
  2. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco 1974–2003, (Record Research Inc.), page 244.
  3. ↑ UK Singles Chart info Chartstats.com. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Music Sounds Better with You" (single liner notes). Stardust. Roulé. 1997.
  5. ↑ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 50-21 | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  6. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan, eds. (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500. Simon & Schuster. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
  7. ↑ nwoutpost.com Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  8. ↑ "Top 100 Best Tunes Ever! - Clubxtrem.net". 2001-06-11. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  9. ↑ "What is the greatest dance track of all time? - Features - Mixmag". www.mixmag.net. 15 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  14. 1 2 3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 31, 2008)
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8319". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  16. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You" (in French). Les classement single.
  17. ↑ "Musicline.de – Stardust Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  18. ↑ "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 294 Vikuna 15.10. - 22.10. 1998)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  20. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  21. ↑ Hit parade Italia (Retrieved May 30, 2008)
  22. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Stardush" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Charts.nz – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You". Top 40 Singles.
  25. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You". VG-lista.
  26. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  27. ↑ Billboard: Hits of the World, September 19, 1998
  28. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You". Singles Top 100.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Stardush – Music Sounds Better with You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  30. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  31. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "French single certifications – Stardust – Music Sounds Better with You" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  34. ↑ French certifications, database Infodisc.fr (Retrieved April 15, 2010)
  35. ↑ "British single certifications – Stardust – Music Sounds Better with You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 June 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Music Sounds Better with You in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.