Friday, February 17, 2012

A little light culture

I don't have any strong feelings about Adele one way or the other. I don't see much depth there and doubt very much that she will  make much of a lasting impact on anything or anyone. But that's okay, she's just a popstar, the cultural equivalent of junk food.

But junk food, not very good for you. I don't mean that there is anything unique about her songs. The problem with them is that they are just like so many pop songs of our era; they display an attitude that is self-absorbed to the point of narcissism.

Here is the opening of her megahit "Someone like You":
I heard that you're settled down
That you found a girl and you're married now.
I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you.
Okay, there are only 5000 already existing pop songs that start this way. And if your familiar with the type you will know there is only two ways to go after that opening move: bitter loser or pathetic loser. "Someone Like You" goes with pathetic loser.

And not just pathetic but also stupid and selfish and mentally unstable. Think about the significance of these lines:
I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.
Here's some rock solid advice: don't ever do that. Fight it and win. Your ex is married to someone else—don't show up at the door uninvited. This is where he starts thinking about calling his lawyer to see if he can get a restraining order to stop you doing this again. It's not just that this is a stupid, self destructive thing to do it's also mind-bogglingly inconsiderate of others.

If you are sitting around just listening to the song and crying it could all seem meaningful. But that's the problem with songs like these. Take a moment to consider how other people feel and it becomes obvious that this is creepy, stalker-like behaviour. But the song doesn't encourage us to think of others, it encourages us to wallow in our selves like we were the star of a show wherein everyone else is a supporting actor.

One hundred and twenty four million views on YouTube! And that isn't 124 million separate people, that's a bunch of really sick puppies tuning in to listen to this thing over and over again.

That other approach—the bitter loser song—is below. It is also crazy but at least the the protagonist is not deluding herself about her intent. Her well-wishing is pure sarcasm: she hates this guy. Oddly enough, you'd probably be better off with this attitude because it is so over the top you'd either realize it or get committed. And if you are just sitting around listening to songs to help you get over it, playing this really, really loud has got to be better for your soul than crying to "Someone Like You"(language warning):



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