Around the release of Pet Shop Boys’ 1988 album Introspective, Neil Tennant coined the term “imperial phase” to describe a time when he felt the duo “understood the essence of pop music and so we felt we could do what we liked.” For his less flowery partner in pop excellence, Chris Lowe, this was typically followed “by disappearing up your backside!” In 2010, critic Tom Ewing expanded on Tennant’s term by setting out three criteria: “command, permission, and self-definition.” Command referred to an artist’s willingness and ability to push boundaries in a way that would echo through what came after. Permission, meanwhile, was about the public and their goodwill toward an artist as they pushed things forward. Finally, self-definition, Ewing said, is how the imperial phase defines the rest of the artist’s career. All future work will be compared with, or mentioned alongside, the output from the imperial phase. By the time Kylie’s album Fever dropped, everything in its subsequent era represented her very own imperial phase. Everything she did in 2001 and 2002 seemed to click perfectly: every video, every choice of single, the tour, the press attention, the fashion, the cohesiveness of the vision, the way she reshaped pop and nudged it forward. And it was all led by the hypnotic weightlessness of the downright odd Can’t Get You Out of My Head. The song was born one autumn weekend in 2000 in a garage studio in Surrey belonging to former Mud guitarist Rob Davis, who had been encouraged by manager and impresario Simon Fuller to write some songs with the excellent pop star turned songwriter Cathy Dennis. “I don’t believe anyone else would have done the incredible job she did with it,” Cathy Dennis said. On the Sunday, using Cubase on a Mac computer to create a drum loop before adding some guitar, the seed of Can’t Get You Out of My Head was planted. While Dennis came up with the title hook – the song, as she noted, doesn’t really conform to a typical verse-chorus structure, with each line almost acting as its own chorus melody – it was Davis who added the “‘la la la’” section. The demo was finished in three hours, while Dennis’s vocals were laid down by 7pm that same day. The demo was played to Fuller down the phone. He later played it for S Club 7, but they passed on it. The song was also presented to Sophie Ellis-Bextor, but again it was deemed unsuitable. It was Fuller’s idea to send it to Kylie. “And I was thinking: ‘But this song isn’t what Kylie does,’” remembered Dennis. “Obviously, now, none of us knows what Kylie’s going to come out with next, because she can’t be compartmentalised.” Kylie, meanwhile, “knew a few bars in that this was for me,” she wrote in 2002. “By the end of the track I wanted to know how quickly I could get into the studio.” View image in fullscreen Navel academy … Kylie’s famous and influential dress in the Can’t Get You Out of My Head video. Photograph: Parlophone Records/Warner Music Group As promised, though much to Davis’s surprise given he’d convinced himself she wouldn’t turn up, Kylie arrived in Surrey to record Can’t Get You Out of My Head. In between some fancy salmon salad and other treats, the song was finished in a few hours. The mysterious pop alchemy of adding Kylie to a song took them all by surprise. “Even though Kylie wasn’t the first artist to be offered the song, I don’t believe it was meant to go to anyone other than Kylie,” said Dennis, “and I don’t believe anyone else would have done the incredible job she did with it, with the video, looking super-hot!” Can’t Get You Out of My Head wasn’t just “good, for a pop song,” as joyless people were wont to say, keen to use the caveat in case their muso credentials be tarnished. As pop began to absorb the outre production styles of R&B experimentalists s
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs based on the article about the 25th anniversary of Cant Get You Out of My Head
Beginner Questions
What is Cant Get You Out of My Head
Its a pop song by Kylie Minogue released in 2001 It became one of her biggest hits and is considered a landmark in pop music
Who wrote and produced the song
It was written by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis and produced by Cathy Dennis Kylie Minogue performed it
Why is the song so famous
It has a hypnotic simple melody and a sleek electronic sound It topped charts worldwide and is still played everywhere 25 years later
What does the title mean
It refers to a catchy tune or a person you cant stop thinking about The song itself is about obsessive love
When was it released
It came out in September 2001
What album is it from
Its from Kylie Minogues album Fever
Intermediate Questions
Why does the article say it saw the future of pop
Because it predicted how pop would sound in the 2000s and beyond minimal electronic and built around a simple repetitive hook Many later artists copied that formula
What makes the song so catchy
The la la la hook the steady beat and the way the melody repeats without getting boring Its simple but very effective
Did the song win any awards
Yes it won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2002 and many other awards
How did it perform on the charts
It reached number one in over 40 countries including the UK Australia and most of Europe In the US it was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100
Why do people say it changed pop music
It helped make electronic dancepop the dominant style of the 2000s It showed that a song could be both minimalist and massively successful
What are some common criticisms of the song
Some say its too repetitive or that it lacks emotional depth But most critics see that repetition as the whole point
Advanced Questions
What is the future of pop the article refers to
The
