Song: Spinning Around
Album: Light Years (2000)
As we arrive at this poll’s pole position, we must start at the very bottom, Kylie’s bottom that is. For as the video for “Spinning Around” begins, it’s a perky posterior we see first, peaking out from gold lamé hot pants. It takes a moment before we realize, this isn’t just any tush – it’s Kylie’s and she’s shaking it from hip to hip throughout a clip that might be just ordinary were it not for her moves. She’s flirty, she’s silly, she’s moving like she owns the room and most of all, she’s back! After a few years of less-dancefloor ready, and less commercially-successful material, “Spinning Around” became a comeback song for Min, shooting to the top of the charts around the world and launching a new phase in her career. Mind you, this was a woman in her 30s ruling club sound systems at a time when they were overrun with all those teenagers. Written by a cadre of songwriters including Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi, the song is about what it came to represent for Kylie: trading in your sorrows, finding a new direction, and oh yeah, spinning around! The vocoder and disco synth-string flourishes keep the track both fresh and classic, while Kylie lets loose vocally in ways we had not heard until this song. In concert, “Spinning Around” has taken on a few incarnations – from joyous and minimal encore during On A Night Like This to a Clockwork Orange-inspired funk number during KylieFever2002 to a disco circus during the Showgirl tour – each time as fresh and inspiring as the last. The video, the song itself, and the live renditions combine to let Kylie make magic with this song, re-igniting a dance club love affair and renewing the world’s faith in its greatest pop star.
Pluses: this song is perfection
Fusses: it can’t spin forever
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