Joe “Bean” Esposito “You’re The Best” and Violet Saturn “Love U Madly” marry infectious melodic hooks with impassioned vocal deliveries. One’s a nostalgic taste of the ‘80s, the other a Gen Z triumph – take your pick! Grab both this Thursday in the Rock Band Music Store!
Possibly no single song conjures up an anthemic, quintessentially ‘80s cinematic vibe as convincingly as Joe “Bean” Esposito’s “You’re The Best.” The enduring track continues to resonate with fans, old and new, decades after its initial release.
Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Esposito brought just the right amount of irony-free gravitas to the emotive cut, making it a fan-favorite from The Karate Kid soundtrack in 1984. Providing the musical bedrock for the smash-hit movie’s climactic karate championship scene, “You’re The Best” is prime heart-on-its-sleeve, radio-ready rock and roll – the type of which that day-glow decade is fondly (and justly!) remembered for. The song is decidedly not simply relegated to oldies stations and the playlists of parents and grandparents, though, as subsequent generations continue to discover and embrace its unabashed and unashamed majesty and soulful delivery.
Starting off with some very genre- and time-appropriate tremolo-bar-happy distorted guitar over fast-tempo kick drum beats, Esposito’s soulful gravel joins the picture at only five seconds in and pretty instantly the listener *feels* like they’re in a movie. This isn’t just a song from a soundtrack – it’s *your* soundtrack! It takes less than 20 additional seconds to reach the now-legendary refrain. “Don’t bore us; get to the chorus” is a longstanding music industry maxim that composers Bill Conti and Allee Willis clearly took to heart. If you find yourself wondering, “Have I heard this before?” the answer is: Yes. Everywhere. For the past nearly-40 years. Impossibly over-the-top (but in the very best way, mind you!) motivational, affirmative lyrics sit nicely aside the chirping synth stabs and jaunty beat and keep “You’re The Best” chugging along at a steady clip.
Following another round of the verse/chorus progression, we shift gears at 1:25 for a middle section that features a guitar solo in which the player really leans into that chorus pedal! Then there’s another revisit of the refrain before an entirely new section at 2:06: chugging guitars, and more of Esposito’s distinctive pipes – this time delivering a totally new melody. With a chorus as unforgettable as that of “You’re The Best,” you really have to go back to it for the outro which is precisely what happens, until the track fades out at just under three minutes (2:59).
Esposito, himself, is amazed – and justifiably delighted – at this cut’s seemingly inexhaustible shelf-life. As he recently explained: “Twenty years down the road, I had a son who became a professional pitcher – he pitched for the Colorado Rockies – but when he was at Arizona State, he called me up one day and said, ‘Dad! You know your song, ‘You’re The Best?’ Everybody’s using that song when they warm up to pitch!’ And I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And then, from there, you started seeing it everywhere and it went on to become an iconic sports anthem.”
We’re not kidding you, Joe. “You’re The Best” is just that good and, most importantly, that fun. Enjoy, RB4ers!
From their debut album, All the Cool Kids, Violet Saturn’s “Love U Madly” is a triumph of big hooks and ear-wormy melodies. These Hollywood-based sibling rockers are tapping into a formula that draws upon the familiar while still creating something new.
This track, released in January of 2023, kicked off the new year with enough energy, power, and conviction to get fans through the dreary, dark days of winter – and beyond! Lauren (self-described “singer, songwriter, and fashion decorator”) and Spencer Carr Reed (“guitarist, songwriter, producer, and all things technical”) are onto something special here, with enough bounce and passion to turn any new listener into a first-listen convert.
Beginning with a ping-ponging guitar riff, a slippery and growling bass then slides into the picture at the five-second mark, just before Lauren’s confident vocals join the party and instantly take things next-level. Thumpy drums (excellent and satisfying rack-floor tom fills after each fourth beat, courtesy of the legendary Josh Freese) drive things along until Violet Saturn does something compositionally that displays a degree of cleverness beyond their tender years. At :28, Lauren’s lyrics elicit a pause” and, with that, the song stops on a dime and they twist into an extremely sly and abrupt tempo shift – totally different vibe, almost a distinct track! This slower, deliberate pace defines the insanely catchy chorus and, man, it’s effective! However, when the refrain concludes, things hop back to the up-tempo meter of the first verse. This is the perfect top-down, summer road-trip song, evoking comfortably recognizable musical touchstones and bridging new paths of teen (or post-teen) angst and joy simultaneously. Following the second chorus, “Love U Madly” segues into an instrumental-only run-through of the refrain before going into a vocals-and-drums-only half-verse before Violet Saturn returns for one final blast of the chorus and the (all too short!) song careens to a halt at 2:23.
Lyrically, “Love U Madly” is precisely what you’d expect from 17-year-old Lauren and 20-year-old Spencer and it works because it’s fully without artifice and very clearly genuine. “The general theme of the album is about the struggles of being young, growing up, expectations, and acceptance,” Lauren explains. “I wrote all the songs on this album from age 13 -16 so it’s a collection of our teenage years.”
Thank goodness this impressively talented brother/sister duo cataloged those turbulent times, because “Love U Madly” is a compellingly honest, relatable banger of a tune with lovesick lyrics that only could be penned by folks at the time of actually experiencing those confounding teenage years. Keep your eyes on Violet Saturn – they’ve got the goods!
Joe “Bean” Esposito “You’re The Best” and Violet Saturn “Love U Madly” are both featured in the Season 33 Pass. Pick up each today and dive into the full season of DLC! Both of these scorchers can both be yours for $1.99 each.
VIDEO: Rock Band 4 DLC Week of 10/5: Joe “Bean” Esposito “You’re The Best” and Violet Saturn “Love U Madly”
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*Please note that this week’s DLC tracks will be available for purchase on Thursday, October 5th.