Blümchen - "Heut' Ist Mein Tag" // random.access

Throughout the 1990s, the North American populace openly welcomed the introduction of pop megastars into their culture. There were the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, All Saints, 98°, Christina Aguilera... uh... Jessica Simpson... ummm... yeah, I think that's about it. There was a massive overflow of carefully calculated pop music, and I admit that I fell prey to it just like millions of other young adults who enjoyed the guilty pleasures of a catchy tune. The falsified squeaky-clean images of popstars has been washed away in place of emo punk bands and acoustic crooners (which could be better or worse, depending on how you look at it), but we can still look back with moderate fondness at the music we secretly loved. But while North Americans were packing stadium to see the gyrating abdominals of multi-octave goddesses, what fun pop music was brewing in Europe? Well, among others was a budding German teenage starlet named Jasmin Wagner, floating under the guise of Blümchen (who, for a couple of years, released English versions of her music under the name "Blossom"). Between 1995 and 2001, she put out several albums (including the staple Christmas album) and numerous singles, one of which is entitled "Heut' Ist Mein Tag" and released in 1999. Following the eurodance craze of the time, this song became a big hit not only with Blümchen fans but also with eurodance enthusiasts.
The Radio Mix (and subsequently, the Extended Mix, which is merely an elongated version) is a high-energy eurodance tune with a fuzzy bassline and several interesting yet typical synths to complement the overall cheery tone of the song. Blümchen's vocals are sung completely in German, so I don't really know what she's singing about, but her slightly-vocoded vocals work quite well in conjunction with the happy hardcore style to which this song exemplifies. The song is quite catchy and easily sticks in your head, a dominant trait of successful pop music. I admittedly enjoy it, even though I know it reeks of the same level of cheese that eurodance acts such as Cascada suffer from today.
However, nothing speaks more of happy hardcore than the 180er LFO Hardcore Mix. Everything is sped up to 180 beats per minute and the energy is everlasting! Sometimes I wonder how people can dance to music that fast, but I suppose if you're absolutely zany or having a seizure, it's very much possible. The frantic piano work and wonky synth, in addition to the filtered vocals, add to the mania that this mix brings. For a successful romp down memory lane into mid-90s rave culture (if you had been so inclined to attend such party scenes), this will not fail. On the other end of the spectrum, though, is the Blümchen vs. Roh Mix, which takes the song in the direction of hard rock. It's about the same speed, but adds strange drunken male vocals into the mix, as well as rocking electric guitars. It's out with the eurodance, in with the headbanging. It's short, it's sweet, and if you are a rocker, it might tickle your fancy.

It's a strange single overall, especially in the disproportionate way that the final track balances with the rest of the material. Still, it's a catchy song that you would easily remember if you heard it, even though it is not in English. Still, "Heut' Ist Mein Tag" represents the epitome of happy eurodance music of the 90s. It contains all the wacky elements that make up a proper eurodance song: corny female vocals, poppy synths, and a thumpy beat that is clearly faster than any dance music being released today. All that's missing is the awful, awful rap verses that plagued many dance tracks from the mid-90s-- thank goodness for that! If you can find this single, give it a listen, as it is indeed noteworthy.