Let us discuss the magnificence of "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin

- This is what studios are for. Bring in a brass section! Bring in the percussionists!

- Can you think of another pop song that's had its arrangement so thoroughly optimized? You've got about 30 instruments here, a bridge, an intro, Ricky fucking Martin, basically an entire circus carnival that you're trying to pack into a VW bug, and somehow they did it. This song is like a stripped-down, jacked-up road racer that's had its gear ratios tweaked, its weight reduced, its horsepower brutally maximized.

- The Spanish version is even better. "Un sabor... animal.. Me aguo la boca entre miel y sal"

- The absolutely killer backing chant on the chorus - "Whoa oh oowhoa oo whoaoo ohhhhhhhh" - an inchoate assembly of male voices chiming in to support Ricky's contention that she does indeed bang, their wordless, forbidding, minor-key injunction sounding like Hernando's Hideaway IN HELL - doesn't even come in until the song's practically over. That's how good this song is. It doesn't even need it. But then you get it and dear God. It's down the rabbit hole. How is this song so able to convey the almost tangible sense that the listener is being invited to step through the gates of Hades, and that this will in fact be deliciously pleasurable?

(That should be "aguA" up there obviously..)

aka 100 Reasons Why "She Bangs" Is So Damned Great

i haven't heard this song in forever but i always thought that the chorus seemed underwritten & that bothered me

i don't wanna be "that guy" but

J0rdan that's why the Spanish version wins, Ricky adds just enough between the lines of the chorus to fill it out. There may be other differences too; I honestly haven't heard the English version in like six years at least.

- The tempo of this thing is insane, something like 140bpm - which virtually guarantees its place at or near the very climax of the evening

- That fucking intro! Already champing at the bit, a guitar stirs in the dust, snorts, pulling at the reins. I guess the band is back from their break huh? Pretty hot in here. Why don't those damn fans turn any faster? Where's the lime for my Tecate? Whoa whoa now, easy boy - holy shit - and the snare roll just rushes you forward and you're off with the cavalry. You won't be coming back for 4:02.

- I love the wistful pre-chorus bit. The whole song shifts down a gear for a second while Ricky gets philosophical.

- The tempo of this thing is insane, something like 140bpm - which virtually guarantees its place at or near the very climax of the evening

150ish!

Hahaha, danced to this song at Bar/batmitzvahs a lot back in the day. To Spotify I hop for a belated reunion!

No this is terrible. Floor-clearer at Poptimism level.

Oh man I feel sorry for you. Seriously.

To be fair, it probably was terrible when it first came out, when you heard it at every sports event and bar in a thirty mile radius (city dweller here). Some things need to be shelved away for ten or twelve years before you can listen to them again.

I cannot stress enough the superiority of the Spanish version.

I believe this was the first #1 to have its production credited to Pro Tools rather than an analog mixing board. Or was that "La Vida Loca?"

Blimey, did Pro Tools get points?

Let us discuss its magnificence.