Music Review: Spice Girls "Spice Up Your Life"

Spice Up Your Life
Album: Spiceworld
Year: 1997

The Spice Girls invite everyone to dance their troubles away in the nimble “Spice Up Your Life.”

Cheering people and celebratory drums, setting a colorful tone. The girls “la la la” for about 30 seconds or so. Then, they say their upbeat music will perk people up after a horrible day. People will get a clothes hanger and do a choreographed dance (not that I have done that, mind you. Wink wink.) People can forget their problems and be happy.

“La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la/La, la, la, la, la, la/La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la/La, la, la, la, la, la/When your feeling sad and low/We will take you where you got to go/Smiling and dancing/Everything is free/All you need is postivity.”

In the chorus, Mel B shouts all races, genders, children, and adults should do something spontaneous.

“Colours of the world, spice up your life/Every boy and every girl, Spice up your life/People of the world, Spice up your life/Ah.”

In the bridge, the girls create a dance. They tell people to move their hips left and right. Then, women move to the front and circle the group. Then, it begins again.

“Slam it to the left, If you are having a good time/Shake it to the right, if you know that you feel fine/Chicas it to to the front, uh, uh, go around/
Slam it to the left, if you are having a good time/Shake it to the right, if you know that you feel fine/Chicas to the front, haa, haa, I see you, hold tight.”

In the second verse, they “la la la” again. Then, the girls tell their listeners that a man living in Timbuktu is poor and unable to fun. Which, according to Wikipedia, he couldn’t. It’s factually correct in a weird, unintentional way. Here, people can listen to in kitschy disco like the 1974’s “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas and 1976’s “Dancing Queen” by ABBA without shame.

“La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la/La, la, la, la, la, la/La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la/La, la, la, la, la, la/Yellow man in Timbuktu/Can’t afford both me and you/Kung fu fighting, dancing queen/Tribal Spaceman and all the things in between.”

The chorus and bridge are sung again.
In the second bridge, the girls mention styles of dance they like the most. However, they comment that hip hop is tough. They also play with it, incorporating moves from other genres.

“Flamenco, lambada, but hip hop is harder/We moonwalk the foxtrot, then polka the salsa/Shake it, shake it, shake it
haka/Shake it, shake it, shake it haka/Arriba, ye, ya, aww, aww.”

The chorus is sung again.
The bridge is sung twice to close the single.
The single is a choice 2 minutes of escapism. Just have fun and let loose, everyone. Don’t take life so seriously.

The Spice Girls’ bubbly, golden vocals are infectious. It’s nostalgic of Bananarama’s stylings as they all sing in unison nearly throughout the song. It’s an appropriate choice given the theme. Their self-awareness regarding their music is endearing.

The rapid arrangement whizzes by in a frenzied blur.

The brisk “Spice Up Your Life” is a fun tribute to the kitsch of the late 70s/early 80s.

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