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Paul Oakenfold

the harder they come

Label: Mushroom Records Release Date: 27/01/2003

3155
George by George January 22nd, 2003

OK, so it’s a surprise, but is it starry-eyed? Err...no...

You may remember at the end of last year some of the press got themselves into a little tizz over a copyright case about a song that was nothing. Zilch. Zip. No sound at all. Some joker (I forget all the details) claimed it was a copyright infringement of a song he’d released earlier that was also the sound of silence. There was even talk of it going to court. Oh, how we laughed. Anyway, that argument could just have easily been about the harder they come. Oh there are sounds there alright; (Tricky attempting ‘hard’ shock!) just instantly forgettable ones. This single doesn’t make you want to dance, ‘chill’, or smoke. Dammit, it doesn’t even make you turn the radio off. It is utterly, utterly offensive because it doesn’t stir any emotion WHATSOEVER.

In its defence the single doesn’t feature Nelly Furtado as DiS is reliably informed the album version does. But then at least the Furtado version would make you feel something. Slightly uncomfortable perhaps. Whereas by failing to stir any emotion at all, not even nausea, this single cannot be recognised as music. the harder they come coaster review, now that’s a whole different story..

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