It feels like Juan MacLean’s “Happy House” has dropped at every party I’ve ever been to for the last 18 months so it’s with a mixture of “what took so long?” impatience and “heard this too many times” indifference that I post its belated visual accompaniment.
That is until I hit play and remember why “Happy House” was as infectious in ’08 as Swine Flu is in ’09 – because it’s a killer fucking track that makes you spontaneously sweat glitter and thrust your hips in ways you never knew possible. It’s camp House that never quite encroaches on cheesy through the stranger hugging euphoria of its irresistible synth hook and neck-breaking percussive chug. It’s also leaner than the original which makes sense because no one wants to watch a 10 minute music video (Guns N’ Roses I’m looking at you) so we don’t get the epic journey of the track’s original 12 minute incarnation. No matter though, because we’re treated to an intergalactic version of Nancy Whang (LCD Soundsystem keyboardist, MacLean collaborator and first lady of DFA) complete with sculptural garb, backup dancers and cosmic projections.
Launch. Me. Into. Space.
