It could be the robotic vocal delivery. Or the inane chorus of "tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards". But "the worst pop song of all time" has become a global sensation, catapulting its 13 year-old performer to stardom.
"Friday" by Rebecca Black is either a witty parody of saccharine teen-pop or a new low in manufactured song production. The song, which details the fresh-faced California girl's excitement at the impending weekend, has become a YouTube sensation since she posted the video last month.
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Law professor, blogger and not to be missed Madison Wisconsin reporter Ann Althouse and her mate Meade meet the new civility.
ReplyDeleteA Communication from Operation:Countertroll to Ann Althouse and “Meade
Operation:Countertroll
"You think we should go down quiet while Walker economically rapes us because you want to lead a f...... tour group? Sorry babe, not gonna happen. And because you couldn't even show a modicum of fairness, integrity,or neutrality and because you had the iron f...... stones to try to pull this here, on OUR campus, in OUR city, in OUR state in OUR country (and that is about the only reason we have any grudging respect for you), now YOU are a target"
Ann Althouse
Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's 3:48 I'll never get back. What weirded me out was the older black guy in the video. He looked at least in his mid to late 20's and the idea of this teenager hooking up with him (did you notice there were only white kids at the party) seemed very odd - not to mention, a little creepy.
ReplyDeleteI liked it. It was fun, fun, fun, fun and educational: Thursday comes before Friday, and Saturday and Sunday come after Friday. I so excited!
ReplyDeleteShe will be rich at fourteen, I'll be poor at 53. She wins. I cannot judge. Let her have fun.
ReplyDeleteBesides, as I said to others, My father loved Elvis, his father hated him. But my dad hated Led Zeppelin and I liked them. I think Rap is the end of our society (and still do), some kids love it.
And to simply top it all, YOU and I both survived Disco, which was and is probably the worst musical era ever and I have the flowered polyester shirt to prove it.
So, let's see. We've got a modestly dressed teen-aged girl singing about going to school, and getting together with friends to listen to some music on the weekend. Yeppers, I’m going to be upset about that.
ReplyDeleteFrom the end of the article:
The credit for "Friday" does not belong to Black alone. She is the product of the Ark Music Factory, a Hollywood company that charges wealthy parents a fee in return for the chance to turn their offspring into stars.
Ark writes and produces bespoke songs for star-struck teens and produces low-budget videos. The company says that its mission is to "make it possible for an emerging arist to be discovered, defined and delivered, to advance in their career and be successful."
…
Black has been compared to Justin Bieber, the teen sensation brought to prominence through the power of social media. But she has shrugged off the criticism her song has prompted, tweeting "Yay! Friday is on Itunes top 100! Sweet dreams! xoxo. So honored. So many amazing and talented people actually KNOW of my song."
That is all it seems to take to become famous - a viral YouTube video, a Facebook account, and Twitter. End of the record and music industry as we've known it.
ReplyDeleteiTunes is IT for music. Teen magazine, American Bandstand (and its progeny), MTV - all irrelevant. Not for fame today.
The few times I have been to Poland I heard English As A Second Language pop music with lyrics just slightly less embarassing than this song. Many of the Poles speak passable English even to my American ears, then I heard "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller. First despair, then perspective (like archer52's take) occurred to me. I resumed breathing and lightened up.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Professor.
OK. Some of the most vapid lyrics ever that sound like they were chanted by a robot-- but at least she's not cussing at the audience. Kinda sad how that's become a notably positive quality now.
ReplyDeleteI have young people in my family and am exposed to a lot of new music so I consider myself very open minded. I'll see everything from Big Time Rush to Slayer to Allan Holdsworth in a week. (admittedly, no Rap or Country).
ReplyDeleteBut I couldn't get to the 50 second mark on this song and video. Absolute torture. Then I wasn't going to post this until I read about the whole ARK music assembly line thing and that kind of infuriated me. You can almost see the path this kid is going to take if she succeeds from this:
1) Instant fame.
2) A couple more songs, then appearances on shows or a movie appearance or two.
3) The whole time, she's beginning to appear more frequently on racy Hollywood sites for 'slipups' and 'indiscretions'.
4) As realization that there was no talent in the first place, fame begins to disappear so out comes the obligatory 'stolen' nude photos, sex scene or upskirt shot when she's getting out of a limo or falling out of a club drunk at 3AM.
5) Booze, coke, more coke, brushes with the law.
6) Wildly flailing at this point for any attention she can get, she runs to the mic to scream about how bad Conservatives are, in particular Sarah Palin.
7) Marriage or violent dramatic relationship with some Hollywood dope slob.
8) Life in ruins.
I much prefer our daughter Emily's music video (looks like the producer has temporarily blocked access) to this tripe.
ReplyDeleteThe music of youth is definitely de-evolving. Look at what used to be.
Now, that is music for the young.
It's 2011's version of "1979", if you compare the two, they are a lot alike, in a way, right down to the kid configuration in the back seat.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvIGksPmGHM