Sesame's Treet

"Sesame's Treet"
Single by Smart E's
from the album Sesame's Treet
B-side"Magnificent"
Released29 June 1992 (1992-06-29)
Genre
Length
  • 5:09 (12-inch version)
  • 3:33 (edit)
LabelPyrotech/Big Beat/Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Smart E's singles chronology
"Loo's Control"
(1992) 		"Sesame's Treet"
(1992)
Music video
"Sesame's Treet" on YouTube

"Sesame's Treet" is a 1992 single by the English rave group Smart E's. It is a remix of "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?", with the song's title being a pun on "Sesame Street". The song reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1992 and peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. In the United States, it reached No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales ranking.

Background

At the time of its creation, dance music was not played on major radio stations. London radio station Kiss FM soon became legal but developed a slightly more commercial style. According to Luna-C of Smart E's, "It was good, because now our music was getting the recognition it deserved, but it was crap, because the money men forced it to be less than it was trying to be."[3]

Kiss FM DJ Steve Jackson obtained the record and played it on the radio. Its popularity dramatically increased, and Smart E's was signed to Atlantic Records.

"Sesame's Treet" followed a trend at the time of releasing tracks based on samples of children's TV themes. The first notable song that did this was "Summers Magic" by Mark Summers (January 1991), featuring the theme tune of the BBC's The Magic Roundabout. The Prodigy's "Charly" and Urban Hype's "A Trip to Trumpton" were two similar rave tunes of that era, also sampling from children's programmes (collectively known as "toytown techno").[4]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Theme from classic kiddie TV show is the hook on which this contagious pop/techno jam hangs. The contrast between rigid synth riffs and the bouncy melody are jolting good fun. "Hardcore" mix of the track was a fave among rave jocks on Belgian import a while back, and lighter, less-confrontational remix is custom-made for crossover and top 40 radio's increasing interest in techno. Could be the novelty smash of the year".[5] Marisa Fox from Entertainment Weekly commented, "Thanks to sheer novelty value, this trio's hyper, adolescent rave version of the Sesame Street theme song skyrocketed to No. 2 on the U.K. pop charts. Over the course of Sesame's Treet, though, Smart E's seems a little behind the times, dishing out a few inspired dance flavors but mostly repetitious break beats."[6]

Music video

The music video for the song displayed an A-Z of the rave scene as follows (in the following order):

A is for 'Ardcore
B is for B.P.M.
C is 4 Chill Out
D is for Dance
F is for Flyerz
G is for Get Down
H is for Handz In The Air
I is for In The Mix
J is 4 Jack
K is for Kosmos
L is for Love (Summers Of)
M is 4 MC
N is for Nine-0-9
P is for Pumpin'
Q is for Q-Bass
R is for Rave
S is for Smart E's
T is for Techno
O is for Oops
U is for Ultra Violet
V is for Vinyl
W is for Warehouse
X is for X-press Yourself
Y is for Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Z is for Zero Gravity

Notable is the absence of the letter E. Presumably, this implied ecstasy, and its absence was either due to not wanting to promote drug use in a commercial music video, or it was deliberately left out to imply that whether or not a raver took ecstasy was their personal choice. The video was filmed in Victoria Park, London.[citation needed]

Track listings

  • Suburban Base Records (UK) and Possum Records (Australia)
  1. "Sesame's Treet" (edit) – 3:33
  2. "Sesame's Treet" (Krome & Time Remix) – 5:22
  3. "Magnificent" – 4:36
  4. "Sesame's Treet" (12-inch version) – 5:10
  • Pyrotech/Big Beat/Atlantic Records (US)
  1. "Sesame's Treet" (edit) – 3:33
  2. "Sesame's Treet" (12-inch version) – 5:10
  3. "Sesame's Treet" (Krome & Time Remix) – 5:22
  4. "Sesame's Treet" (Beltram Mix) – 5:04
  5. "Sesame's Treet" (Hardcore Mix) – 3:22
  6. "Magnificent" – 4:36
  • ZYX Records (Germany)
  1. "Sesame's Treet" (edit) – 3:33
  2. "Sesame's Treet" (Krome & Time Remix) – 5:22
  3. "Sesame's Treet" (12-inch version) – 5:10
  4. "Magnificent" – 4:36

Charts

References

  1. ^ "9 of the most 90s things that ever happened to music - BBC Music". BBC.co.uk. 27 April 2018.
  2. ^ Best of Rave [Westwood] – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
  3. ^ "Kniteforce - Label History". Archived from the original on 10 September 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Toytown Techno". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  5. ^ Flick, Larry (10 October 1992). "Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard. p. 78. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  6. ^ Fox, Marisa (22 January 1993). "Sesame's Treet". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Smart E's – Sesame's Treet". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 30. 25 July 1992. p. 13. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sesame's Treet". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Smart E's – Sesame's Treet". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 July 1992. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Billboard > Artists / Smart E's > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Dance Club Songs". Billboard. 14 November 1992. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. 14 November 1992. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Rhythmic Airplay". Billboard. 3 October 1992. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Cashbox Top 100: December 5, 1992". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  18. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1992 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 152)". ARIA. Retrieved 13 October 2016 – via Imgur.
  19. ^ "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
  20. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 52. 26 December 1992. p. YE-48.