“We Can’t Stop”
Writers: Mike L. Williams II, Pierre Ramon Slaughter, Timothy Thomas, Theron Thomas, Miley Cyrus, Douglas Davis, Ricky Walters
Original Release Date: June 3, 2013
We like to party here at idobi, which sometimes means breaking out the bangers—including some from a former Disney star.
I don’t really listen to Miley Cyrus, but “We Can’t Stop” seems like a more mellow version of her. Even though she’s singing about non-stop partying, she slows it down, letting you know just how serious she is ’bout “that life”. You gotta hand it to Miley—she manages to turn a song about doing drugs at a club into an anthem about accepting yourself, even if you’re a “homegirl with a big butt”, reminding us that “only God can judge you”. “It’s our party we can do what we want to” is the most powerful line in the song, implying that Miley—who was going through a major reinvention at the time—wasn’t going to apologize for being herself, even when other people lamented how much she had changed since her days as Hannah Montana.
If you’re not ready to go home yet, I have what can only be described as one of the best covers to ever exist in the world. The English gents in Bastille had some fun with Miley’s hit a couple of months after the original was released; since then, the band has joked that due to the popularity of this cover, they may be forced to “retire from covers” (this coming from a band who kicked off their career by releasing re-imaginings of other people’s songs). So many elements are brought together: the Eminem “Lose Yourself” sample, the subtle “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” riff, the elegant violins, and, of course, the hilarious homage to “Achy Breaky Heart” near the end (which comes right after a line change from “only God can judge us” to “only Dad can judge us”)—and it pays off. The band stayed true to their sound with this cover, but they weren’t afraid to let loose and give it their own unique spin, while still paying tribute to Miley.
The two versions are so different; if I hadn’t been listening to them back-to-back, I probably wouldn’t have realized it was the same song. No matter which one you choose to listen to, you’ll have a good time.