Most Elizabethtown College students are familiar with the parody of Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” as the classic hit “Welcome to Etown.” It’s been years since Etown has released any more songs, but the wait is finally over.
As a part of my song reviews, I was given special access to “The Etown Remix” prior to its release date, which is scheduled for commencement this year, and graduating students will be given a signed copy of the CD as a graduation gift.
The album highlights all things Etown while creating parodies and remixes of popular songs. The track list is “Jays Just Want to Have Fun,” “Party in the ECA,” “Man I Need ft. Truman,” “Dormside ft. Zara Larson,” “WHERE IS MY CLASS,” “8 to 9:30,” “Messy ft. Your Freshman Year Roommate” and “Pennsylvanian Attitude ft. ‘Betty’ Rider.”
Let’s just say I was absolutely ecstatic to see this track list and I want to dive right into my favorites from the album.
“Jays Just Want to Have Fun” takes a college spin on Cyndi Lauper’s best song. (Not even an understatement because when you Google her that’s what comes up first.) Having this as the track’s first hit is certainly a good kick off. It raises the energy for what the rest of the album has to offer.
The song speaks to the college experience of not wanting to travel home for the weekend and participating in some Etown shenanigans instead. This ties perfectly with the album’s next song.
Most students on campus are aware of the wrestling team’s campus house, ECA. “The Etown Remix” is embarrassing the party atmosphere with its song “Party in the ECA.” In fact, with Miley Cyrus coming back into the spotlight for the 20th year anniversary of Hannah Montana, she decided to write, produce and perform the song for the album. It is also rumored that she is a potential performer for TGIS this year.
Another popular hit I enjoyed was “8 to 9:30” which discusses the difficulty of waking up for that 8 a.m. class and looking for your friend in “a room full of people.” This is still sung by Sombr, but now includes the tough college experience of walking up at 8 a.m. for a class, as if we never had to be at school by 7 a.m. for (at least!) four years straight.
The last parody on the album was sung by any student who has had to enter the Master’s Center. “WHERE IS MY CLASS” showcases the frantic search for something before it is gone. Students sing “I would like a map, I would like a map / I would like an interactive map in my hands / I would like a big and readable map that I can wave around and walk and walk around it.”
I want to quickly acknowledge the songs that are not parodies, but true remixes that just include a featured artist on the track. The two songs that have changed the least from their original, despite the addition of an artist, are “Man I Need” by Oliva Dean and “Messy” by Lola Young.
This rendition of “Man I Need” speaks to the man everyone truly needs, Truman the therapy doodle. While the logistics behind adding the fluffy puppy to the song were stressful, I think they managed to pull it off perfectly. There is a bit of autotune present given that Truman does not have a background in singing, but there is hope he can make a larger career out of his debut.
“Messy” has many new featured artists. It’s a bit customized to the listener with everyone’s freshman year roommate being featured on the track. (Not mine though, love you Jill!) I really liked this remix a lot more than the original. Young is not my favorite artist and I’m not a fan of her singing style. However, the addition of the roommate ensemble to the song’s chorus was an incredibly strong choice. I hope those included in the remix can reflect…
There were two other featured artist songs on “The Etown Remix” but these had a little more creative liberty in terms of lyric changing.
“Dormside” is a play on the PinkPantheress hit “Stateside,” but she’s not singing this song. Dormside is performed by that roommate who is never home and just visits others’ dorm rooms. Which I think sheds some light on unfortunate housing situations, or difficult roommates. Although Pantheress is not singing this rendition, Zara Larson requested to be included on the track with her original addition to “Stateside.”
The final, and arguably most exciting song, is “Pennsylvanian Attitude,” a song by Noah Kahan, featuring the one and only Betty Rider. Rider has taken the spot of Hozier in the song which now explores the behaviors of Pennsylvania and Lancaster County residents.
I for one am incredibly excited to pick up my physical copy of “The Etown Remix.” I hope all those who are graduating this year enjoy the Betty Rider signed edition.
