The Top 40 Songs of 2014
Fatima Al Qadiri (feat. Helen Feng) – “Shanzhai”
Fatima Al Qadari’s “Shanzhai” works as thoughtful conceptual art. It’s a cover of a cover, transposing Sinead O’Connor’s famous version of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” into what seems to a Westerner to be lovely, lilting Chinese. But that’s an illusion. The syllables form a kind of nonsensical non-translation, a familiar shape tricking the listener into thinking they comprehend when they haven’t bothered to further investigate its actual content. There’s a lot to unpack, the deeper implications of using items every day without thinking about the places and people who produced them, the arrogance of ever assuming that we understand. But that still wouldn’t make it a great song if it wasn’t so beautiful.