That it might not even be the most memorable refrain of “Levels” is about the only thing you need to know about the song’s greatness.ģ. But it was epochal essentially from first listen, a hook that fills your head until it runs out of room, then seeps its way through your entire bloodstream and just keeps going. No math to explain this thing’s power: Trying to unpack the brilliance here would be like asking Keith Richards to explain why the “Satisfaction” riff still whips Boomers into a frenzy a half-century later. Like Orbital’s “Chime” or Darude’s “Sandstorm” before it, Avicii’s “Levels” uncovered a synth hook of unnerving simplicity and unthinkable potency. But for the full impact of “Levels,” all 5:39 of its full-length version was needed, with peaks that rose and crested throughout in near-perfect symmetry, as majestic as the mountains cartoonishly superimposed in the background of the song’s music video.Ģ. 60 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2012 - excellent for a dance near-instrumental, though hardly reflective of the place the song held in ’10s pop culture - ran a scant 3:20.

It earned its full-length edit. The version played on radio that helped propel it to a No. Here are ten of the biggest reasons why.ġ. 20), at the age of just 28 - would go on to enjoy bigger top 40 hits, it’s the singular rapture of “Levels” that will undoubtedly soundtrack the late DJ’s introduction to the great cosmic rave in the sky, an anthem so naturally in tune with the most visceral forms of musical and physical connection that it absolutely should have the power to cross realms. While Avicii - who was tragically found dead today (Apr. Avicii's Death Mourned by Calvin Harris, Marshmello, deadmau5 & More

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