Can’t Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out of My Head (2001)

Can’t Get You Out of My Head – Wikipedia

“Can’t Get You Out of My Head” is a song recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album (2001). Parlophone Records released the song as the album’s lead single on 8 September 2001.

Lyrics (via Genius)

Read “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” by Kylie Minogue on Genius

We’re leaving the UK today, dear reader, and making the long journey across the world and down to Australia. It is a third appearance on our list from Kylie Minogue and as we join her in 2001 her career remains strong but it is about to hit the stratosphere. Minogue is onto her eighth album, Fever, and from there 1001 Songs have hit the dance floor and immersed themselves in Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

Written by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis, Can’t Get You Out of My Head was offered to and turned down by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and S Club 7 before Minogue recorded the track. You’d feel so annoyed and foolish, right? The song is quite simple lyrically with Minogue’s narrator telling us about a love interest that is driving her wild, to obsession lengths really. They are a permanent fixture in the narrator’s mind and she beseeches this individual to always be with her and never go away. Whether said person reciprocates these feelings is undetermined.

I can distinctly recall Kylie Minogue releasing Can’t Get You Out of My Head. The opening music and the “la la la” hook are unmistakable. Turned down by other artists, Minogue transformed the song into a smash hit, topping the charts in most European countries and even winning over a previously reticent US audience. Having been popular for most of her career, Minogue’s longevity was further cemented here. Not bad for a young Australian whose first big break had been landing a role in Neighbours back in 1986.

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (1994)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)