Thursday 7/2: Rina Sawayama—"Dance In The Dark" (Lady Gaga cover)
Today, we share our thoughts on Rina Sawayama's cover of Lady Gaga's "Dance In The Dark".
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on Rina Sawayama's cover of Lady Gaga's "Dance In The Dark".
Rina Sawayama—“Dance In The Dark”
Eric Bennett:
Already having released a stellar sophomore LP, Rina Sawayama didn’t really have to do anything more this year. However, she’s decided to take her affinity for 2000’s pop canon up another level and by covering Lady Gaga’s “Dance in the Dark” as part of Spotify’s Singles Series. “Dance in the Dark” is highly regarded by fans as one of Gaga’s underrated classics, so choosing such a cut is a testament to how much Sawayama actually loves the Gaga, an artist she’s clearly inspired by. The cover itself works as an excellent update, taking some of the very 2009 production and replacing it with glitchy beats and orchestral touches. Sawayama trims some of the fat from the original's very long bridge, managing to hold onto enough of the song’s soul while making it her own.
Eli Enis:
On her record from earlier this year, Rina Sawayama unquestionably proved herself as a pop visionary at the echelon of Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek. Sadly, I think her “Dance In The Dark” cover is a bit of a clunker. Although it was basically a requirement for her to re-imagine the original in a modern context, given its extremely dated synths and production tricks, Gaga’s version is a thumping disco banger that actually sounds like something people could dance in the dark to. Sawayama flipped the track into a mechanical power ballad with clattering drums and ornamental synths that clash with her belting vocal delivery. I can’t tell if she’s trying to do too many things at once or if she isn’t doing quite enough, but either way the track just kind of feels like a slog. Sawayama is clearly capable of mashing genres and pushing pop boundaries in fascinating ways, but here I think I would’ve rather heard her just vibe atop a modern version of the original’s clobbering beat. Sometimes coloring within the lines still makes for a pretty picture.