Scooter - "The Only One" // random.access

For years, I have been notoriously defending the music of that wacky German hard dance act, Scooter. Or, occasionally, condemning their sometimes inherent laziness. As I've mentioned countless times before, I'm well aware that they borrow elements from other songs on an extremely frequent basis. I'm sure there are many people out there who think Scooter can't create much of their own music, but my only reply is that their goal doesn't seem to be that. Instead, it's to make the source material MUCH more tolerable by adding their special magic to the mix. And to that end, they are very successful. I'll take Scooter versions of songs over their original counterparts any day. So it should come as no surprise to any Scooter fan that their latest single, "The Only One", contains parts of other songs. On the other hand, it's actually a pretty bangin' tune.
The Only One starts off with a vocoded chorus borrowed from "The Only One I Know" by The Charlatans, yet another group from the 80s practically nobody my age has never heard of. A loud stadium-synth busts in, its melody seeming to be inspired by the success of the musical stylings of Swedish House Mafia in the past year, along with a really wicked yet subtle bassline. Soon, we are also treated to the now legendary nonsensical shouts of frontman H.P. Baxxter -- could you have expected anything else? As we move past the vocoded chorus to the main event, H.P. enters Nirvana territory, mimicking the late Kurt Cobain with hardcore shouts of "Yea-ayyy-eah!" along with the music. The song is definitely full of power, a staple of Scooter's classic tunes, and it doesn't disappoint! Also on the single is the Extended Mix, which is merely a longer version of the Radio Edit. Sadly, those who purchased a physical copy of the single did NOT get the Extended Mix, making it a digital exclusive. It's pretty sad when so much space on a disc is wasted... Last but not least is The Only Club, which omits H.P.'s lyricisms in favour of incorporating a powerful acid-synth to rough up the dancefloor. There is no B-side on this single; as H.P. has stated before, the labels believe longer singles to be passé, opting only for 2-track releases. So there is no B-side available this time around. But we can still have hope for the future!

"The Only One" is, all in all, a pretty cool single, and it has already been proclaimed by many Scooter fans as the best track in several years. It's sad that there are no more B-sides to be found anymore, but I can only blame the label. Damn you, Kontor! *shakes fist* We love those B-sides! *shakes fist again* Scooter has gone back to the drawing board and come up with a tune that sounds fresh but still boasts a soupçon of the flavour they used to concoct back in their earlier days. Hopefully, the rest of their upcoming album, "The Big Mash Up", will be just as rockin'.