Ladies and gentlemen, we finally we have an answer to the pressing question: What happens when you lock a cartoon band, the coolest 42-year-old on the planet, and a hip hop visionary in the studio and ask them to write a song about a shoe? The answer is even more splendid than you may have thought. Converse’s “Three Artists, One Song” series has had some interesting line-ups during its five year run, but the ludicrously awesome cocktail of talent on “DoYaThing” is, by far, the best they’ve ever managed to procure.
The song’s entertainment value is through the roof. It’s loose and playful, with all three players reveling in the frivolity of it all. The über-funky, hypercharged beat sounds like something James Murphy could have thrown together in a single afternoon. Albarn’s Xanexed drawl is sped up, and he dumps the doom and gloom of Plastic Beach for light-hearted banter. Andre 3000’s verse is joyously goofy, with intermittent scatting and nonsense syllables tucked behind clever likes like “Summer got mad / Cuz winter blew me.”
As an added bonus, “DoYaThing” is a potent reminder of the power of collaborative music. Three gifted artists with three tremendously different backgrounds, and they play off of each other remarkably well. Keep your eyes peeled for the extended 12-minute version in the coming weeks, too.
The 13-minute version has now been released.
