I was lucky enough to see jj live two times this summer, at the Swedish festivals Emmaboda and at Popaganda. I was a bit drunk at both occasions but vaguely remember that at least at Emmaboda Elin Kastlander started singing what appeared to be an interlude, one that really hooked me and reeled me in. It was something that triggered my memory but whatever it was, it was out of reach. That melody and those words, something along the line of ”na na na na na… and it goes round and round…”, struck a chord inside of me. It was really a magical moment.

It took me until now to get searching to find it out. My only clue was that I had this feeling that it was from some cheesy 90′s dance-pop hit and that it wasn’t from a jj song because then I’d know. Sincerely Yours raised an eyebrow and told me that ”dude, that’s My Life, by jj. But glad you enjoyed it.”. I felt stupid because, indeed, the last 20 seconds or so of this bleak piano ballad features the words ”Na na na na na / It goes around the world…”. Then it didn’t take me long to realize that this is deft theft. Indeed, jj have ingeniously lifted a fantasy-trigging part from old cheesy Germany-based 90′s eurodancepop act ATC’s addicting 2000 hit Around The World (La La La La La), and perfectly fused it into their own melodic soundscape. While lasting for only 20 seconds in a song that actually is a The Game cover, this homage to this universally hypnotizing melody alone still makes My Life stand alongside Ecstacy and the Kills mixtape as jj’s finest pop cultural redigesting.

Listen to Around The World (La La La La La) on Spotify!

Watch the gorgeous music video for Around The World (La La La La La) below!

For pop musicologists #1: ATC’s version is actually a cover of a 1998 europop song called Pesenka by Russian group Ruki Vverh!. It sounds a little more charmingly 90′s simple and a little more classic techno/house while the Russian lyrics that Google Translate simply refuses to translate gives it a further dimension of mystery. Listen to it in the youtube video below.

For pop musicologists #2: German ”new wave of bubblegum pop” or ”old farty traditionalist cultural leftover phenomenon wave” group beFour decided to update it to a electrohouse-y version in 2007 and aptly titled it Magic Melody. You know. For those of you wanting a bit more of that contemporary ooomph. Watch the cute music video below.

For pop musicologists #3: Kids of the 90′s like myself will surely remember ATC’s other hit, My Heart Beats Like A Drum, with a glittering joy of nostalgia across their face, tears in the eyes and all. But it’s catchy and fun as hell. Just like Around The World it sports an almost identical fake xylophone hook, a chilly, austere production, and that almost otherworldy ethereal melodic atmosphere. The chorus, however is melodically sweeter and warmer, making it the go-to ATC song for dancing and singing along. Watch the lovely music video below.

For some unbelievable reason My Heart Beats Like A Drum does not exist on Spotify. My eye cry.

For pop musicologists #4: Yes. Another 90′s profile, my hero, ATB, did sue them for their name. They changed it to A Touch Of Class. Judging by the songs we’ve just examined here I could’nt have named them better. No irony, I really am into the 90′s sound you know!

For pop musicologists #5: Fredrik Strage, probably Sweden’s best writer on pop culture, noted that airline company Air France played jj’s My Life during the landing of his flight last year at Charles de Gaulle, and guessed that it was either a subtle protest from the cabin crew against strenuous working hours (note the lyrics ”I’m grinding til I’m tired, they say you ain’t grindin’ til you tired”) or as a way to compensate that fellow Gothenburg-based Sincerely Yours band Air France have stolen the airline company’s name.

For pop musicologists #6: The Battlefield 3 trailer is really elegant and evocative.

Listen to My Life on Spotify!

Or watch the youtube video below.