Idina Menzel - Let It Go

This has gotten me to think about how truly better off we are in a digital age of music distribution. I mean, you wanted a track 20 years ago? You'd have to drive to the store and hope they had that stocked. And if it wasn't a single, you might have to shell out for the album. The fact that the music charts seemed to flow in the same manner with very little deviation, showed just how much it was a record company game. The consumer would be completely secondary to what they'd want.

But now in 2014, the tables have turned. The advent of digital media & iTunes, means that for once the consumer is somewhat in control. No longer bound by the limited options of potential packaging, people can (for the most part) buy what they want, when they want. The result of this is that you can witness true underdogs slowly take charge when they might otherwise have never had the chance.

Now, where "Let It Go" ties into this? Well, recent years have shown to be something of a 2nd resurgence for Disney, with "Frozen" being an obvious centrepiece of this, what with its widespread acclaim & utterly absurd Box Office figures. And of course this follows the Disney Renaissance from the '90s where many of the studio's most cherished films were released. And they were so big that the soundtracks would even impact the charts in a big way, and plenty of the songs would enter the public consciousness. I think for someone 15 years younger than me, "Let It Go" will mean for them what "Hakuna Matata" means to me.

But, I feel as though this version of "Let It Go" would not be the pop culture juggernaut it is if it wasn't for the fact that we are in a digital age. Because in 1992, "Aladdin" was released and was pretty big, as was the soundtrack. And if you ask anyone to name a song from that film, it would probably be "A Whole New World", which is understandable because it eventually became a really big entity separate of the film, even topping the Billboard charts which is so fascinatingly bizarre. But the thing about it is that the chart topping version of it isn't the one used during the film, but the version that played over the credits. That version, is cheesy adult contemporary made to fit on 1992 US radio and is so utterly uninspired compared to the sparkling & compelling version from the film. And of course, that AC version is the one that topped the charts purely because it was the only one that was released as a single, I perhaps wonder if there were plenty of people who bought it not even aware of the differing versions.

However, "Frozen" comes in the new age, where people can buy whatever they want from the soundtrack, even if it has a minute long instrumental interlude that sounds utterly bizarre next to anything else on the chart. And just like with "Aladdin", "Frozen" has the same deal of the big hit song showing up during the movie as performed by the (in this case more talented) actress playing the character, and then during the credits as a version more tailor made for contemporary pop. And because of these circumstances, it was this version of "Let It Go" that won more hearts and not Demi Lovato's inferior version, which I consider a win for the public.

But if I'm being honest, I don't have the same affection for this track. Both in and out of context it doesn't really work for me. Before I saw the film, I was under the impression that it was the big climax of the film, and that being exposed to it as I had been, was like a massive spoiler. Now that I know it isn't, it does make it seem a bit weird how much sticking power this has, because the common trick to being remembered is being either the first or last moment. "Let It Go" is almost a non-sequiter in the context of "Frozen". Yes you could tell me that it represents Elsa coming to terms with her new world, which is all well and good, but the next time you see her, she seems utterly miserable, shutting out Anna the same way she did when they were younger. Heck, she may as well be crying on the roof of her castle singing "Who needs Arendelle? I dooooooooooo!" Basically she lied to me through song and I hate when people do that. :P

Now for the song itself, I can't get much out of it either. The structure and melody are too plain. As CinemaSins showed, you can basically sing "Firework" over it. The percussion gives it a sense of urgency, but it doesn't amount to much. And unfortunately I have to join the big group of people who can't really stomach some of those peaking notes from Idina.

I just think there are better songs from "Frozen" than this, but then as far as musicals go, I prefer songs that advance the plot, or explore a tedious expedition in a thrilling way. When you get something like "Let It Go", it's a momentum killer as you have to wait 4 minutes for anything else to happen, and this is even more noticeable when you listen to it on its merits as a song. 3.2