by lucypowell
This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the most influential songs of our generation: Calling All the Monsters (CATM) by China Anne McClain. For the uncultured swine who do not know of this song… please put down your copy of the Slaughter Tower and educate yourself.
This electropop song first blessed our ears on September 20, 2011 in one of the last decent Disney shows: A.N.T. Farm, a strange show about a group of “gifted” high schoolers. When the song and video first dropped it caused some uproar! Some parents felt as though it was too scary and inappropriate for children! I have pulled some quotes from an online forum reviewing the song after its release 2011:
“Kids don’t need 2 make friends with Monsters, Satan or his buddy’s. Best your kids have something positive in their lives than something that drags them down.”
“It’s all about monsters and stuff and not good for kids! And the episode that goes with this talks about Satan and going bowling with him!!!! That’s awful!!!!”
“Annoying.”
Personally I would completely disagree with these reviews; a little Satan NEVER hurt anyone! I have pulled a few of my favorite lyrics from this National Halloween anthem to prove the song’s lyrical genius:
“B-b-buckin’ for a freak out” – My favorite line because it literally does not make any sense; what does buckin’ mean and why would I freak out for it?
“Calling all the Monsters” – This line is sung a total of nine times throughout the song. Great choice for a title.
“Gonna get your body shakin’” – I love this. Personally, my body is quivering from the first notes of the song.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, China Anne has released a new recording and music video for CATM! This version even features her two sisters, Sierra and Lauryn!!
I will not lie, Miss McClain gave us more tricks than treats in this version. The three McClain sisters actually sounded pretty good and looked immaculate in their various costumes! Unfortunately, these were also the reasons why I was disappointed. The original song is so iconic thanks to its heavy autotune and intense instrumental opening. In the original there is a sexy beat drop that cues in the first verse, but the beat drop in the 2021 version is non existent. This lacking takes away from the hype-ness of the song right from the beginning.
By far the biggest mistake the re-recorded version made was including a rap feature by Messenger, whom I’ve never heard of before…The rap sounded like it was pulled from an act in Hamilton, which I love but has no place mashing with CATM.
Something I always loved about the original video was China’s dancing. Or really lack thereof; China’s feet remained planted for the entirety of the video and she only danced with her arms. Sadly, her performing skills have improved over the past 10 years, maybe she practiced in quarantine, but now the McClain sisters were busting out some moves!
In the end, after playing the 2021 CATM at least 30 times in one sitting, I will give it a final rating of 7/10. It’s no original CATM, but then again nothing ever will be.
Categories: lucy powell, oct. 26, tunes, vol 25