Song #465: "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer

Date: June 2, 1979
Weeks: 3

 

This one's tough to evaluate on its own merits. It has carved out a very particular niche context that is hard to separate it from. Wikipedia cites a representative example: "'Hot Stuff" is the background song in Episode 31 of Sex and the City in which Carrie Bradshaw is a guest celebrity judge on Staten Island for the New York City Fire Department's 'Calendar Contest'." That's exactly the image that pops into my head when I hear this song. But I'll try to ignore that and focus on the song itself.

Is this disco? I'm not even sure. It's certainly a dance song from the disco era, but its disco sounds are relatively muted, and it employs heavier drums than most disco songs I've heard. There's even a prominently featured rock guitar, which gets a lengthy solo during the bridge. The guitar is really pretty good. I enjoy the solo.

The song's lyrics are straightforward and consistent. Donna Summer is looking for loving and she's calling everybody she knows until she gets some. I don't know that the sentiment is all that interesting or relatable for me, but full credit for a consistent message and lyrics that all apply to the point the song is trying to make. 

The lyrics "hot stuff" start to wear out their welcome, though. It's not necessarily a problem within the chorus, where the repetition is used effectively, but when the background singers get involved it starts to get tired. The part just after the guitar solo where the background singers sing "hot, hot, hot, hot, stuu-uff, hot, hot, hot" is intolerable both lyrically and musically. There's repetition for emphasis, and then there's having no other ideas what to do in the bridge. And the pitch bending they do on "stuff" is trying to be interesting, but just sounds flat and out of place.

Ultimately, the repetition is the thing that hurts the song most. It's not so bad if you listen to the song just once. But as part of my review process I listen to every song several times, and I'm really dreading my next listen because I find myself getting tired of the repetitive chorus. There are some attempts to inject variety around the phrase, but they mostly fall flat because all I hear is "blah blah Hot Stuff blah blah blah. blah blah Hot Stuff blah blah blah."

My verdict: Don't like it. It's a fine enough song to listen to once, but pop songs need to be fun to listen to multiple times. I don't think this one passes that test.