What disco song does "Bulletproof" by La Roux sound like?

May 17, 2010 7:02 PM

Does the song "Bulletproof" by La Roux sound exactly like a cover of a disco song, or is it just me?

This one is driving me nuts. When I first heard "Bulletproof" by La Roux on the radio, I honestly thought it was a cover of a disco song - a somewhat popular one. So did my husband, who's a professional DJ. According to Wikipedia and everything else I found, though, that's not the case.

I've heard that song so much (even at the checkout line at the grocery) that the original song I thought it was has slipped through my brain - I literally had tiny snippets in my head but now, nothing. Someone has to know what I'm talking about. Especially the "been there done that messed around" and "burning bridges shore to shore" lines, they're just so reminiscent of a song that for the life of me, I can't recall.

Maybe I'm just insane. But the fact that when I first said "oh, this is a cover, right?" to my husband and he agreed means that someone else out there has to know what I'm talking about.

posted by kpht to media & arts (8 answers total)

It's got "pieces" or "echos" of a couple of songs in it to my ear. I don't think it's a cover. It's also kind of a piece of crap.
posted by gjc at 7:31 PM on May 17, 2010

How about Yaz?
posted by too bad you're not me at 7:39 PM on May 17, 2010

Seconding Yaz - Maybe what you're hearing is that the "been there done that messed around" lines are delivered in basically the same rhythm as the "can't stop now, don't you know" choruses of "Don't Go".
posted by mintcake! at 7:59 PM on May 17, 2010

I think the base beat sort of sounds like Dead or Alive.
posted by Addlepated at 8:05 PM on May 17, 2010

Seconding Dead or Alive "You Spin Me Round" especially the "All I know is that to me.." bit starting at :50 sec
posted by prenominal at 8:29 PM on May 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

The commodore 64 esque beat (perhaps created using an Elektron SidStation) sounds somewhat similar to that of Acid Jazzed Evening.
posted by Mr Mister at 12:49 PM on May 18, 2010

It's not Yaz, though now that it's mentioned, they do sound a lot alike. Argh! Perhaps one day I will find the one I'm thinking of.
posted by kpht at 6:06 PM on May 20, 2010

I just figured it out. It was Diana Ross - Upside Down. Obviously they're not exactly alike, but have odd similarities.
posted by kpht at 6:10 PM on May 20, 2010