Music Review: MKTO "Classic"

MKTO

Classic

Album: MKTO

Year: 2013

           Tony Oller tries way too hard to get a girl to like him in the hammy  “Classic.”

          In the intro, Kelley asks for some percussion and then is ready to start. (“Hey where's the drums/Oh, whoa/Let's go.”)

         An ebullient guitar opens the single,  setting a simple tone.  Oller tells her she stands out in the crowd. Her well-mannered upbringing shows when she orders her meals. She always says please and thank you. He doubts a curse word has passed her lips. Nonetheless, she helps him have a better day just by being there. He is constantly trying to think of appropriate jokes to tell her. (“Woo, girl you’re shining/Like a 5th avenue diamond/And they don't make you like they used to/You’re never going out a style/Woo, pretty baby/This world mighta gone crazy/The way you save me/Who could blame me/When I just wanna make you smile.”)

          In the pre-chorus, he aims to impress her with his basic pop culture knowledge. He mentions Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” Prince’s “Kiss,” Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” and Donny Hathaway’s “A Song For You.” (“I wanna thrill ya like Michael/I wanna kiss you like Prince/Let's get it on like Marvin Gaye,/Like Hathaway/Write a song for you like this.”)

         In the chorus, he doesn’t  understand the difference between a dinner fork and a salad fork like she would. He has no idea what’s he doing. He thinks he should’ve been born in the 1940’s. He likes the old-fashioned ways back then. Today, communication is through text messaging. No one talks to each other anymore. She emodies an era many have forgotten. (“You’re over my head/I'm out of my mind/Thinkin' I was born in the wrong time/One of a kind, livin' in a world gone plastic/Baby you’re so classic/Baby you’re so classic/Baby you’re so classic.”)

         His credit card statement is going to take a bit longer to pay off than usual. However, sending her 48 roses and then hiring a band to accompany him as he sang below her window is worth it. Now, she will know who he is. He’ll rent out a Cadillac for the evening and hold the door for her. Eventually, he will make her his wife. (“Four dozen roses/Anything for you to notice/All the way to serenade you/Doing it Sinatra style/I’ma pick you up in a Cadillac/Like a gentleman bringing glamour back/Keep it reel to reel, in the way I feell/I could walk you down the aisle.”)

         The pre-chorus is sung again.

          In the second chorus, he makes an offhand comment on how older styles are coming back. He has zero  chance with her but it’s not going to stop him from hitting on her. (“You’re over my head/I'm out of my mind/Thinkin' I was born in the wrong time/It’s love on rewind/Everything is throwback-ish, (I kinda like it, like it) /You’re out my league/Old school chic/Like a movie star from a silver screen/You’re one of a kind/Livin' in a world gone plastic/Baby you’re so classic/Baby you’re so classic/Baby you’re so classic.”)

         In the bridge,  Malcolm Kelley tells her she’s beautiful and proper, the way a woman should be. She can fit into any era.  He then she ranks up there to iconic beauties like Audrey Hepburn, Beyonce and Marilyn Monroe. (“Baby you’re  class and baby you’re sick/I never met a girl like you, until we met/A star in the 40's, centerfold in the 50's/Got me trippin' out like the 60's hippies/Queen of the discotheque/A 70's gleam and an 80's best/Hepburn, Beyonce, Marylin, Massive/Girl you’re timeless, just so classic.”)

           The second chorus is sung again to end the single.

           Oller’s determined vocals have the charm but lack the smarts. He overdoes it with the compliments and then tries to be someone he’s not. He prefers his women to be proper but hints that maybe, he would like her to be a stay at home mom with little career. He’s confusing manners with traditional roles.  

          Kelley, though in his annoyed rap,  spits out his words, resenting that he makes such endeavors at all. He throws pop culture icons out there, hoping they will stick. None of it seems genuine.

        The pop culture references in the song are too many. For the pre-chorus, it shows that Oller can’t think of anything creative beyond naming hit singles. In the bridge, Kelley name drops the stereotypical celebrities people would mention to let her he reads more than the sports page.

       The wooden  “Classic”  could stand to take a couple courses at a finishing school.