Following the unprecedented success (at least in the history of Scooter) of their first #1 hit in their homeland of Germany, Nessaja, it stood to reason that they needed something just as jive in order to stay hip and high in the charts. With a new album on the horizon, Scooter was ready to reveal fresh, new material with its debut single from the album, "Weekend!" And I'm sure there were plenty of parties the weekend after this was released. "Weekend!" hit #2 on the charts, partially thanks to more topless ladies in their music video, but also partially because it built on the formula effectively laid down by Nessaja.
The single starts off as usual with the Radio Edit, which gives us the general idea. Featuring the melody from "Strange World" by Push, the song brings us into play with some self-proclaimed "stadium techno" beats while MC H.P. Baxxter shoots off some crazy rhymes. Then the chorus hits: a high-pitched rendition of "Weekend" by Earth & Fire (not to be confused with Earth, Wind & Fire, a completely different group) amidst more wild beats and, later, piano ditties. And the extra synth after the chorus provides yet another melody -- I suppose there are three in all in this song. And during the bridge, H.P. goes and quotes "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery when he says, "What is essential is invisible to the eye; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly." How deep! And then, right at the end, H.P. spouts out one of Scooter's most famously odd sayings: "Respect to the man in the ice cream van!" It is a reference to The KLF, who were once depicted in an ice cream van traveling the world. Overall, Scooter has hit another home run with "Weekend!", and it features everything that once made them so popular during this time period.
The single disc also featured the Extended version, which is essentially an elongated radio edit with a lengthier intro featuring more beats. The Club Mix is the same, though with a more active bassline and a sharp decrease in H.P. rapping, something that many could consider a blessing in disguise. To end the session, we have Curfew, another one of Scooter's more laidback trance tracks to counter the energetic strikes of the main event. Curfew's melody is a very simple arpeggiation to start with, eventually becoming slightly more complex with additional harmonies as time goes on. Though not quite their best, it's still a nice note on which to end the brief musical journey.
"Weekend!" is an excellent club anthem and a solid demonstrator of the so-called "Scooter spirit" -- being ready to party at any time, full of energy. They still have some of that energy today, but it's being channeled in strange ways, via dubstep and awkward electro-house. Let's look back to a time when hard dance music was their passion and their raison d'être with "Weekend!"