Pop music doesn’t have to make that much sense, not if it doesn’t want to. After all, if you want to explore deep philosophical questions, seek the meaning of life, then there are genres better suited to such pursuits, but that is generally not why you turn to pop. You turn to pop for fun, entertainment, escapism, or perhaps even a healthy dose of silliness. It’s what pop does, and it is what it does better than anyone else. And who’s to say that pop music isn’t the reason why we were put on this earth, it’s as good a reason as any.
“Zeeba da Boo (Why oh Why)” is the sound of ooberfuse delivering all of those things, plus groove, infectiousness, and a large slice of happy, trippy, day-glo sonic joy. It’s a song that derives its uniqueness from blending the band’s trademark electronica with the sound of the jazz era’s finest purveyors of the more traditional styles, such as Louis Armstrong and Kenny Ball. It should be noted that one half of the duo, Hal St. John, grew up listening to his trumpeter father play such tunes, so it is only natural that his formative sonic memories have found their way into their music.
And if there is a message, it is a positive one – keep chasing your dreams, look for the good in everything, live in the light – but it is a missive passed on as much from the sheer joy and the feeling of warmth and positivity that oozes from the track, as from the lyrics themselves.
Throw in some wonderfully fun scat singing and the faint echo of Caribbean pans, and you have a song that is an explosion of light and love, infectiousness and positivity… not exactly things that the world seems full of right now.
ooberfuse, making the world a better place, one song at a time.
