![]() Seeing them up there fret and press buttons and apologize somewhat annoyedly reminded of just how unusual they are: a pop group, making the most of their group dynamics, with very real commercial aspirations-"I Love It" was written by professional songwriters (including aspiring solo star Charli XCX) and has charted in the U.S. The scene had been different a night earlier at Pitchfork's showcase, where, faced with sound-quality problems (the bassline wasn't audible) the two women futzed around with their synthpads and sampling gear as a fantastically danceable loop faded in and out. But the other songs, from their 2012 self-titled album and a couple EPs, had similar effects they varied in tempo, but entertained with big, blocky basslines, squelching synths, dubstep breakdowns, and above all, verses with lines sung alternatingly by one woman and another, and choruses where the two united. Up on stage at Vice's showcase Wednesday night, Icona Pop saved the track for last, where it had exactly the effect you'd want: a warehouse full of people jumping and screaming and, yeah, pumping fists together. ![]() It's that anthem with with the engine-rev base, mosh-pit pacing, and, most importantly, in-tandem singing/shouting from Sweden's Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo: "I DON'T CARE / I LOVE IT." It wouldn't work as well from a one-woman act the entire point is the in-unison hollering-so that you feel like you're pumping fists with an entire generation even if you're listening alone in your car. You're heard Icona Pop's song "I Love It," right? If not on the radio, then certainly in some commercial, trailer, or film/TV soundtrack-like the fabulous dance scene from Season Two of HBO's Girls. Regardless, though, the first two days of the South by Southwest music festival in Austin have shown that there's plenty of life yet in the pop-group format, even if right now, there's not much of a place for it in America. ![]() Other factors (Culture? Social media? A fluke of history?) likely matter too. Writing last year for The Atlantic, Jason Richards reported that financial problems of the music industry may play a role in the fall of pop groups generally: It's cheaper to tour and promote one person than five people. Beyond 'Gangnam Style': A Dozen Other Silly Global Dance Tracks from 2012
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