Acapella-ella-ella

Kelis has scored a top five smasheroo with Acapella (yay!) but don't you wish she'd asked her English teacher to have a look at the lyrics before she put the single out?

I'm talking about the bit where she goes: "Before you, my whole life was acapella
Now a symphony's the only song to sing."

You can't sing a symphony. A symphony is instrumental (I double-checked in the dictionary - that's how sad my life is). If she'd said "now a symphony's the only song I hear" it would have been alright.

This isn't the only recent song with sloppy standards of English. What on earth does Alicia Keys mean by "concrete jungle where dreams are made of"? Well, I know what she means - New York is a harsh urban sprawl, but it holds untold promise for those willing to pursue their dreams - but what she says is total bollocks.

And what about that that oft-cited lyrical alchemist, Lily Allen? She tells us in The Fear that "I want to be rich and I want lots of money". Both at the same time? Imagine that.

Anyway, I'm not here to lecture you on falling standards of education - that's what election manifestos are for - my job is to point you in the direction of catchy noises. And here is one such noise: Post-punk trio The Futureheads doing an actual acapella version of Kelis's song in Radio One's Live Lounge.

Yes, that's missing the point of the song entirely but, as I may have mentioned already, English comprehension isn't a musician's strong point.


Futureheads - Acapella

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