It's a couple of years since a pink-haired bad-ass chick released a tepid piece of funk. Not the most auspicious start for any career, but a record that relies on the performer's visual gimmick (and not a hugely novel one at that) is never going to get a good review here. "There You Go" sold a decent number of copies, and a couple more singles from the album of the same title were also minor hits. Pink never quite threatened to tear up the critical listings, though.
After an absence of little more than a year - though it felt a lot longer - Pink returned at the end of 2001 with the fun-tastic "Get The Party Started." She was rewarded with her biggest hit single on both sides of the Atlantic, securing #1 in the UK for three weeks. This is the big followup to the big comeback, and posits our heroine in unusual territory.
This is the first single since "There You Go" to be recorded in a minor key. This is a very minor minor key, the sort that contains more flats than a tower block in the middle of New York. The lyrics are a paen to self-loathing, general disrespect and doing oneself down.
If one listens to the tune, though, one would be rather cheerful. Yes, it's minor minor key, but it's poppy and whizzy and very upbeat. This juxtaposition between the happy melody and the Morrissey-esque depression of the lyrics gives the tune most of its charm.
There's also a little dissing of Britney Spears. The prospect of a catfight is always welcome.
So is a heavy guitar riff in the instrumental break, before the tune fades out in a rather meandering repetition of the chorus.
An uplifting, if somewhat bizarre, little gem.
The album, Mizzunderstood
is big everywhere.