Of Bad Music
Okay, “bad” is probably not the best word to use. But I just can’t stand these three songs any longer:
- Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z Feat. Alicia Keys
- Airplanes- B.O.B.
- Love the Way You Lie- Eminem Feat. Rihanna
(Embarrassingly, I had to Google the title and performer of each song because I was never in the know haha!)
Yesterday I texted JB that these three songs constitute the holy trinity of bad music that will unfailingly remind me of the year that has been. JB replied that he likes all three.
I’ll be fair: the first time I heard each song I admit I kind of liked the catchy beat. But #1 is playing EVERYWHERE and has consequently been a constant earworm (though all I hear in my head is NEW YORK NEW YORK — DREAMS ARE MADE OH — LIGHTS WILL INSPIRE YOU — NEW YORK NEW YORK — MAKE YOU FEEL BRAND NEW — NEW YORK NEW YORK). Oh the agony.
Song #2 has also been a constant annoying earworm (WISH RIGHT NOW WISH RIGHT NOW WISH RIGHT NOW SHOOTING STARS WISH RIGHT NOW WISH RIGHT NOW). As is #3, which I find that people like to play before/after #2.
Oh fine, they’re not inherently terrible songs. But I would love to spend a day without being subjected to any of them.
* * *
Last week, an indigenous-looking family got on the jeep I was riding, handed out envelopes, and performed a song-and-dance number. The father held an ice cream canister between his knees and beat it like a bongo drum while singing this tribal-sounding song. The daughter danced with her arms to the beat.
I’d had enough of receiving unsolicited envelopes that stressful day but something about their performance was… beautiful. I expected them to perform the usual we-wes-you-a-merry-kresmas (or any familiar Christmas song for that matter) so I was pleasantly surprised to hear what I imagined to be an ethnic Yuletide carol. I couldn’t understand any of the words (for me to Google the title) so I just did my best to commit the melody to memory. I also gladly gave them a small bill for their efforts.
Today, I was shocked to hear the song in a bar in LB Square, of all places. So it wasn’t a tribal song — it was Portuguese. And it wasn’t an ethnic Christmas carol — it was a club anthem (and a popular one, apparently).
