(Originally Published August 11, 2019)
I'm going to go on a limb and say this is the song of the year right here. Not "Bad Guy", not "Old Town Road", not "Sucker for You", and absolutely NOT any song released by Ed Sheeran in 2019. As mentioned previously, I haven't been posting much in regards to Billboard Hot 100 because it really doesn't give me anything to say. Most of the songs are simply mediocre, and I do mean mediocre. I talked positively about "Me!" but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good (arguably it's not) but in the context of everything else and the history of its performers, it is a better song than it should be. There are exceptions, however. "Old Town Road" is a good song, but it's been so politicized that it's hard to enjoy at the moment. What is clearly just a silly country rap song has been turned into a battlefield of racial politics, and this sours the music. I want to talk about "Bad Guy" but it's just taking me a while to make up my mind whether I like this song or not (it's complicated and I'll explain why when I get into it). Point is, most of the good songs in popular radio this year have a big asterisk next to them and, with the exception of "Old Town Road", it usually means "it's not really good, but there's much worse going on right now". "Norwegian Reggaeton" doesn't have this problem, at all. "Norwegian Reggaeton" is fun, energetic, catchy, and hilarious.
Musically, "Norwegian Reggaeton" is simple. I will even go and say it's very derivative. This sounds like something negative, but it's not. "Norwegian Reggaeton" is a comedy song that attempts to make fun of Heavy Metal by putting it in the context of a Reggaeton song. The Heavy Metal part is very obvious (the lyrics are fashioned after themes Metal songs tend to write about, and the heavy distortion guitars). The Reggaeton part is also pretty obvious from the beat they use and the way the lyrics are phrased. However, for anyone who didn't grew up listening to Reggaeton (like I was, against my will), Reggaeton is a VERY uncreative genre. The beat is always the same (although it may be in different tempo varying from song to song) and the subject matters are always about sex. I don't think I ever mentioned this in my "Despacito" review, but I used to say to my friends "Despacito" was the "Bohemian Rhapsody" of Reggaeton for the simple reason that no song in Reggaeton has ever been as musically complex and diverse as "Despacito". That will give you an idea of how low the bar is. "Norwegian Reggaeton" being derivative could be a nod to this and could be a great joke on its own, however, there's something else in regards to "Norwegian Reggaeton" and Despacito: "Norwegian Reggaeton" very clearly took "Despacito" as a template. The acoustic guitars and vocal melodies are eerily similar, and if this weren't clearly a parody, I'd be very worried of an incoming lawsuit. The chord progression is the same just played half step down ("Despacito" is in Bm - G - D - A, and "Norwegian Reggaeton" is Bbm - F# - Db - Ab), however both of them use the 4 Chords of Pop progression which is probably the most common chord progression in pop music. It could be a coincidence but keeping in mind the other musical similarities, it feels very deliberate. There are 3 possible reasons why Nanowar decided to make "Norwegian Reggaeton" as close to "Despacito" as legally possible:
1) To make fun of a very repetitive genre, down to relying on the most overused chord progression in Pop history.
2) To make the parody more recognizable. "Despacito" is the only Reggaeton song that EVERYONE has heard. Unless you lived in a Latino community (and even then, probably in a very specific one in a specific time), then you've probably never heard of a Reggaeton song outside of "Despacito".
3) Similar to point 2, it could be that "Despacito" is the only Reggaeton song Nanowar of Steel have ever listened to, and based their parody on it since it was their only point of reference. I'm just saying, a Heavy Metal band from Italy doesn't sound like the type to be connoisseurs of a musical genre originated in Puerto Rico.
"Norwegian Reggaeton" is somewhat complicated to talk about for those who are unfamiliarized with Heavy Metal. Not in regards to the music, per say, but in regards to the culture. As mentioned previously, "Norwegian Reggaeton" is a comedy song that attempts to make fun of Heavy Metal by putting it in the context of a Reggaeton song. The problem with this is that if you don't know that, for example, Scandinavian countries (Norway and Sweden specifically) are a fertile ground for Heavy Metal bands, then you'll probably be confused by why the song is called "Norwegian Reggaeton". Most people know Metal lyrics dabble in Satanism, and you can see that referenced in this song, but the song is also littered with lyrics about Norse Mythology. You might assume this is just to play with the "Norwegian" half of "Norwegian Reggaeton" or playing with the idea of the "Brutal Macho" posturing that a lot of Metal has in its lyrics and relating it back the Vikings (history's most notorious badasses), and you're not wrong. However, this is more likely in reference to Viking Metal, a real subgenre of Folk Metal that uses Norse Mythology as a setting for their lyrics and themes. How many of you know what the line "You burned my Soul like the Fantoft Church in June 1992" is referencing? What I'm saying is that the song is funny on it's own due to the spectacle of a bunch of Metalheads in Black and White makeup dancing to Reggaeton with an entourage of twerking goth girls. However, there's more to it than just the contrast shock. Unfortunately, I don't think I can go into the lyrics in detail because a lyrical analysis would require me to explain the joke (more than I already have, at least) or have to give context so those outside of the Metal community can get the reference which would make for a very tedious read. With that said, painting a very general picture, the lyrics are very funny as they balance Heavy Metal and Reggaeton tropes, Nanowar also throws in some Norwegian probably to add some spice (which, fun fact, technically makes this song trilingual), and there is some clever word play every once in a while.
I cannot tell you how much I love this song. I was dying laughing when I first heard it. I will admit I probably found it funnier because, as mentioned in my "Despacito" review, I grew up in a community where Reggaeton was everywhere, and every Rocker, Metalhead, and Music Professor with a PhD I've ever talked to said that it wasn't "even worth calling music". I recall a professor at my music academy one time saying in class "It has a beat, rhythm, and melody. I hate myself for this but I legally have to say that Reggaeton IS music, but only by definition" (no joke, he actually said this). Keeping this in mind, I might have a little bit of a bias since I have a direct musical history with Metal, Reggaeton, and the relationship between both genres. However, not to over hype this song, this is not the first time this joke has been done. Costarrican comedy group La Media Docena made a comedy skit where they play a song called "La Cumbia Metalera". Cumbia had a similar reputation as Reggaeton (although its hatred is not AS abysmal), and the shock of watching a "Heavy Metal" band playing a Cumbia while making metal references was enough to make the joke work. However, "La Cumbia Metalera" is a lot more shallow in its references (it's basically just name dropping a bunch of band names and terms like "moshing") and it's more of a straight up Cumbia. "Norwegian Reggaeton" actually tries to blend both genres lyrically and musically, making the joke be more than just "oh, isn't this wacky how these two things don't go together". I wish I could say more about "Norwegian Reggaeton", but it is just magic that has to be experienced. If you haven't checked it out, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. Even if you don't find the jokes all that funny as I did, you'll still end up with a cool, fun song with a solid hook, catchy melody, and infectious energy.
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