Sesame's Treet

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."

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").

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine 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". 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."

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.

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

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

References

1. (27 April 2018). "9 of the most 90s things that ever happened to music - BBC Music".
2. [https://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-rave-westwood-mw0000997213 Best of Rave [Westwood] – Various Artists. Songs, Reviews, Credits. AllMusic]
3. "Kniteforce - Label History".
4. "Toytown Techno". [[Oxford University Press.
5. Flick, Larry. (10 October 1992). "Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy".
6. Fox, Marisa. (22 January 1993). "Sesame's Treet".
7. (25 July 1992). "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles".
8. (11 July 1992). "Top 60 Dance Singles".
9. (27 June 1992). "The Record Mirror Club Chart".
10. (25 July 1992). "Indie Singles".
11. "Billboard > Artists / Smart E's > Chart History > The Hot 100".
12. (14 November 1992). "Dance Club Songs".
13. (14 November 1992). "Dance Singles Sales".
14. (3 October 1992). "Rhythmic Airplay".
15. "Cashbox Top 100: December 5, 1992".
16. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1992 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 152)". [[Australian Recording Industry Association.
17. (16 January 1993). "Year End Charts: Top Singles".
18. (26 December 1992). "The Year in Music: Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales".
19. (9 August 1992). "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 10/08/92: Singles".