tagged w/ friday friday
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I watched eagerly as I sat outside my family’s home near the San Juan islands this weekend as my boyfriend’s eyes were glued to the cellphone I held out in front of him. His mouth was agape; his eyes, bulging; a look of horror and sheer entertainment covered his face as I -- stifling giggles and knee-slaps -- watched him have his first experience with one of the most puzzling internet phenomenons of the year: Rebecca Black’s viral video and tween-tastic song, Friday.
If you enjoy your Condo Beneath A Rock, you may not have heard of the immensely… popular? new teen sensation, Rebecca Black, and her solo anthem, Friday. With over 80 million views on YouTube, has become both a overnight success… and a bit of a joke. BBC, ABC Australia, and Yahoo Music were only a few of the media outlets to publicly label Rebecca Black’s single “Worst Song Ever.” Sure, it’s auto-tuned to high hell, completely overproduced, and the lyrics absolutely leave something to be desired… But Worst Song Ever? Let’s take a few steps back, mature, adult-run media organizations.
Trust me, I fancy my taste in music to be pretty damned good. Obviously, as you read above, I reveled in my partner’s shock and awe that such an… unusual song could be quite so popular, but honestly -- I support this chick 150% and here’s why:
Meet Rebecca Black. She was born in Anaheim, CA in June of 1997. Yes, that puts her at the end of her 13th year on this planet. Do you remember when you were 13? I certainly hope so. Me? I’m twice her age, but I still recall my interests in my first true year of teen-dom -- I loved Silverchair, making bracelets, and running into my friends at lunch so we could sit on the tables in the cafeteria and pretend we were hardcore badasses. I was less-than-stylish, had a face full of zits, and being cool was slowly climbing the chart of “Most Important Things Ever.”
Obviously, I was no Orange County girl like Rebecca Black, but I think it’s safe to say that interests don’t vary too widely based on geographical location -- I am, after all, a west coast girl, and the only experience I have to compare is my own.
Now, onto the insane amount of criticism, hate mail, and insults this girl has received. I understand that the song may not be up to Tchaikovsky, Dylan, or The Who standards of music, but let’s take some things into consideration:
1) Who is this song geared towards?
Is a 35 year old lawyer going to throw this song on in his BMW Z3 as he drives home from work? Probably not. Is a college kid, thirsty for beer and sex going to blast this during a kegger (sans the irony effect)? No. Are the folks at the tattoo shop going to set their playlist to play this between the metal and butt-rock? Mmm, doubtful.
This song is not intended for everyone, in the same way that Tenacious D is probably not the best musical selection for a 9 year old. Of course Rebecca Black’s song isn’t going to be the favorite of the vast majority of over-15-ers. It’s not meant for you! So when gigantic media outlets and grown-ass adults put this 13 year old girl (13 year old girl…) down for her lack of omnipotent relate-ability… Well, frankly, it makes them look like assholes. Mostly because they’re acting like assholes.
2) Who would you rather kids to look up to?
Rebecca Black is classified, by Wikipedia, as an “American Pop Singer.” That would make people like Ke$ha, Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera her colleagues. Every third day, I run across an article about the demise of modesty in America’s female youth, yet we send a fully-clothed, age-appropriate girl up to bat and she strikes out immediately based on the fact that she’s a “mind-meltingly horrific” singer (oh, please.). It’s no secret that the more attractive you are, the further you’ll get in show business. This girl is cute -- but a KNEE LENGTH DRESS and STRAIGHT, DARK HAIR?! What are you, a KID?! She’s not appealing in the same way that other teenage musicians are, and she’s getting straight up destroyed because of it. Put that girl in a miniskirt, bustier and the latest YSL heels, and we’ve got a star.
[image - view at the webpage]
Vanessa Hudgens, age 21.
Oh.
If we’re sexualizing teen girls on the regular, shouldn’t we support a girls who is… acting her age? Perhaps we should entertain the idea that this kind of personal-insult backlash is what tells young women that, in order to be successful, they have to sex it up. What a notion!
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Taylor Momsen (17), aka Option B.
[image - view at the webpage]
3) Kids need to relate to music, too.
Part of my desire for ultimate badass-ery in junior high school was fueled by my adoration of ladies like Gwen Stefani, Monique Powell, and Beth Gibbons. They were so cool. Not only were they cool, they were gorgeous. Not only were they cool and gorgeous, they were relatable. One of my boyfriends in high school dumped me at a school dance. Did I go home and blast “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt? Hell yeah! When I was jealous of my big sister’s ability to go to rock shows, Save Ferris’ “Under 21″ ran through my mind. Want a song that sums up pretty much my entire high school experience? Listen to Portishead’s “Numb” on repeat and you’ll get the point. At 14 years old, can I relate to Gaga’s pro-gay anthems? Mmmmaybe, certainly not fully. Can I relate to dying and longing and waiting for Friday so I can have a weekend? Absolutely.
Now, pop music was just getting intense as I moved into high school, but even Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” was relative to an extent. These days, the pop stars of my youth are… well, my age. Another unsurprising idea: pop stars’ demographics change along with their age. That’s why Britney can get away with “If U Seek Amy” and Christina can wear assless chaps and talk about how great it is to be a filthy b-, and even then parents of 12 year old are writing nasty letters about it.
[image - view at the webpage]
Even Miley Cyrus grows up… Well, sort of. Here she is performing her “Sweet 16″ routine.
The Justin Biebers (age: 17), Selena Gomezes (age: 19), Vanessa Hudgenses (age: 23) and Zac Efrons (age: 23) are all today’s youth has to relate to and, frankly, not all of the kids in America want to hear over and over about the importance and emergency of finding a boyfriend or girlfriend. One would think it was a refreshing viewpoint to hear a song that was sexless, shameless, and romantic-relationship-less. Even at 25, it’s nice to run across a song that actually tells a story. Remember when music was about more than getting laid or rich or cheated on?
I admit, as a musician and previous explorer of the music industry -- the auto-tuning and lyrics of “Friday” are seemingly below typical music standards, especially for these days. That being said, it might interest you you know that Rebecca Black’s mother paid for this song to be produced by ARK Music Factory. No, she wasn’t pulled out of the mall as she was boppin’ through Nordstrom, and she didn’t almost make it on American Idol -- her mother wanted to give her daughter the opportunity to record a song, and she did. In that case, there is a very good chance this song wasn’t even intended to be super public. Rebecca Black uploaded it to YouTube in February while her life was still publicist-less, manager-less, and record-contract-less.
I know it’s hiarious to listen to the song and marvel at how we can’t currently relate to the things Rebecca Black talks about in “Friday,” but before taking to the ‘net, Twitter, or your multi-million dollar media outlet (ahem), let’s consider the fact that 13 year old girls deserve a voice, too, and more than that, they deserve not to be chastised for, well, acting their age. Give Rebecca Black a freaking break.
http://thedemoiselles.com/archives/rebecca-black-horrible-singer-but-appropriate-somehowI watched eagerly as I sat outside my family’s home near the San Juan islands... more
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