aNYway

Album: Greatest Hits EP (2009)
Charted: 22
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "aNYway" was the first single from Duck Sauce, a collaboration between the DJs Armand Van Helden and A-Trak. It did well in dance clubs across Europe, where Van Helden in particular was well known. The duo had a much bigger hit in 2010 with the song "Barbra Streisand."
  • The title comes from the repeating line in the lyrics, "I can do it anyway that you want it," but it's stylized "aNYway" as a celebration of New York (NY), where the duo formed.
  • "aNYway" is essentially a saucy loop of the chorus from a 1979 song called "I Can Do It" by a short-lived soul band called Final Edition. Armand Van Helden is known for finding obscure samples and looping them to create full-length songs.
  • The music video is a sendup of the 1970s variety show The Midnight Special, with the name changed to The Midnight Spectacular. A full band performs the song in the video as if they were on the show; it's pretty impressive, especially the era-appropriate choreography.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."