“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk

Needless to say, this song is based on espousing a “harder, better, faster [and] stronger” work ethic. But whether or not that message is being relayed to us, the audience, is a matter of perspective. For instance, it has been noted that in an anime based on the album this track is featured on (as well as the song’s music video), the idea being put across actually serves a plot device. 

And in that regard, it is actually the protagonists of the cartoon who are literally being made to work “harder, better, faster, stronger” in some type of futuristic, factory-like setting, apparently against their will, or something like that.

But it has also been interpreted that, outside of that context, Daft Punk are in fact referring to their own work ethic. That is to say that they are driven to succeed by continuously upgrading their output.

And then of course is how this message relates to the audience at large. For instance, as many of you already know, Kanye West took a sample of this song and used it, apparently, more along the lines of alluding to his own standard of professional excellence.

Or perhaps we can say that due to the ambiguity in terms of what setting this song is placed in, then the message is, to some degree, open to interpretation. But at the same time, taking the repetitiveness of the lyrics into consideration also makes said message pretty specific. 

And what we do know, as presented, is that there’s always some “work” that needs to be done. Now who is it that is actually asserting such, i.e. who the narrator may be, is once again dependent on how this song is interpreted or what context it is put in. 

But generally speaking, as in if a listener is not familiar with the aforementioned anime or the artist really, this comes off as an encouragement to be more productive today, even “hour after hour”, than you were yesterday. Or put more plainly, this is evidently an inspirational song, one in which a listener can more or less get the message from the title alone.

“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” Facts

Artist(s): Daft Punk
Album/EP: “Discovery” 

Was “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” a single release?

Yes. It was the 4th single of the duo’s album, “Discovery”. And it came out as such on February 26 of 2001.

Credits

“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” was written by Thomas (one half of the group, Daft Punk) with assistance from the following:

• Edwin Birdsong
• Guy-Manuel

It was produced by Daft Punk.

Awards/Honors

In 2009 it beat the following songs to win a Grammy Award for “Best Dance Recording”:

• Hot Chip’s “Ready for the Floor”
• Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance”
• Madonna’s “Give It 2 Me”
• Rihanna’s “Disturbia”
• Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold”

Chart Performance

• US (3)
• UK Dance (3)
• Belgium (8)

Sampling

These are some famous songs that have sampled “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”:

• Kanye West – “Stronger” (2007)
• Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow” (2009)
• EXO – “Overdose” (2014)
• Girl Talk – “Let Me See You” (2008)
• Diplo – “Work Is Never Over” (2007)
• The Fall – “Cowboy George” (2010)

Movies:

An episode in season 14 of a medical drama series, “Grey’s Anatomy” and Cartoon Network’s “Ben 10” featured the song.

“Ralph Breaks the Internet”, an animated comedy film also featured “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”