The Misinterpretation of Music and Lyrics

Everyone interprets music differently. And just because one receives a certain message out of certain lyrics, doesn't necessarily mean that what that person interpreted from the lyrics is exactly what the artist was saying.

Recently I posted a post about sexism in the Robin Thicke "Blurred Lines" music video.

I shared it on my Tumblr and Facebook accounts, and was surprised by some of the reactions. 

It got good reception on Facebook. No negativity whatsoever. 

Not sure if all of the people who hit the "like" button necessarily LIKED my blog post (they could have just liked the pictures,) however, contrary to what I said in a previous post about assuming, we're going to assume that they liked the post itself.

The people on Tumblr on the other hand? Did not like the post too much. I got about 3 or 4 unfollows after posting the link, adn some feedback from people obviously angered by the song and video, and now, my post.

First and foremost, an artist can write a song, and the listeners can all have a different interpretation of the words. Some totally different than the artist themselves.

Does that necessarily make the listeners wrong?

It can. But in many ways, NO.

As an artist myself, I believe it's the listener's choice to hear what they want from it. Unless of course the lyrics are straight up blatant with their message to the point where we cannot assume that they're saying anything OTHER than what we're hearing.

However, some of the feedback about my post contained examples of lyrics which the person responding found unacceptable.

• Exhibit A: "Yeah there's that. Personally I feel it's redundant to use [naked women] in order to sell a product. Plus that line about domesticating a girl smacks of men saying 'a women's place is in the kitchen.' There's no need for that in the 21st century,"

To be completely honest, I am NOT sure what that person was trying to tell me, but I gathered that they were not agreeing with me, right? (I could be wrong.)

My personal interpretation of the domesticating line in Blurred Lines is nothing negative at all. If anything it's POSITIVE. Some man is trying to "domesticate" this woman, and either she doesn't want to be (as she shouldn't HAVE to be) or Robin doesn't want her to be (so he can sleep with her, big deal) or BOTH. But I didn't gather that Robin was the one who wanted to "domesticate" her.

Also, women themselves use such imagery to sell products. It's the oldest saying in the business industry: SEX SELLS. 

The video honestly looked like an American Apparel ad, really.

• Exhibit B: "Except for the repeated 'I know you want it' followed by 'Here, breathe this 'Jamaican wind' it always works for me' implying that he's gonna have to drug her up to get her to do it, but he 'knows she wants it.' "

This, mes amis, is a prime example of what I'm getting at with this post.

1.  I know PLENTY of men who have told a girl "I know you want it." When a guy is ready and trying to get a girl in bed (especially if he knows she's not a prude if you gather my meaning.) And a man trying to get in a girl's pants is the oldest game in humanity!!
2.  "Jamaican wind." Hmmmmm, does anyone else think of marijuana when they hear that? What exactly is he going to do with weed? Make her trip out on his body parts?

"Jamaican wind" typically isn't a date rape drug, nor is it a drug where you lose ALL control to the point where you have sex with someone you didn't want to.

If it is for you, no offense, but you have a problem and should stop smoking immediately.

So, you see, my interpretations of the song are totally different than just these two individuals. There are billions of people in this world.

Am I wrong? Who knows?

Are they? Who knows?

But people shouldn't immediately jump to conclusions (or in this case, interpretations.)

 And let's just be honest, are we REALLY surprised at what we hear in music nowadays? After the rap genre, Prince, Vanity 6, Peaches, GG Allen, etc. why do people continue to  act shocked about this stuff?

I mean, there are artists rapping about eating baby's for crying out loud.

And has anyone stopped and asked, "Hey, what if this is what Robin Thicke wanted all along? Now his song and video are getting WAY more promotions."

Hmmmmm.

And lucky for me, I was able to find yet another blog post that agrees that Robin is not being a rapist.

 http://popdust.com/2013/06/20/robin-thicke-blurred-lines-lyrics-rape/

Robin Thicke: Sexist? (Warning: Explicit Content)

The other day, in the wee hours of the morning, I was trolling the trolls on YouTube when I came across the new Robin Thicke music video for his song, "Blurred Lines."

I was rather surprised, because I had heard it on the old school radio station whilst changing the song on my iPod in my car.

I like the song. The beat is excellent, the vocals are great.

But I was surprised to see a majority of negative feedback when I scrolled down to read some of the comments left by other viewers.

Many people believe that the song and video are over the top sexist. Both men and feminists alike.

http://toobaditsgood.com/tag/t-i/

I wasn't necessarily listening to the lyrics when I heard it, but I rather liked the music video. It just looked like a very modern video with three artists, and three models having fun. It seemed tasteful.

I decided to actually take a look at the lyrics to see for myself. Some of the lyrics read:

"Tried to domesticate you

But you're an animal

Just let me liberate you"

"That man is not your maker

And that's why I'm gon' take a

Good girl

I know you want"

I don't know about you, but these lyrics honestly didn't seem so bad to me.

One blog said that the song is about him trying to talk an unwilling girl out of her panties. I kind of got that the girl was already naughty, and her boyfriend was trying to get her to settle down, but Robin knows what's up. However, I've misunderstood lyrics in the past, so I could be TOTALLY off. 

However, aren't MANY women unwilling at first??? 

But then, I thought, perhaps she's this married or not single woman whom Robin is trying to coerce. Either way, I didn't fully understand what the big fuss was over.

THEN I saw the unrated version of the music video.

http://thetrendingreport.com/robin-thickes-blurred-lines-no-1-on-uk-charts/

 Okay, now I can see where a lot of this is coming from. The girls are seen nude throughout various scenes in the video (all while having a great time.)

http://www.pedroandradetv.com/en/blurred-lines-by-robin-thicke/

http://www.pedroandradetv.com/en/blurred-lines-by-robin-thicke/

 It is a little much (for certain people,) and I can see how people can view it as sexist.

But then I think of other music videos like Rob Zombie, and Chingy's uncensored Right Thurr music video in 2003 that would come on BET at 3am.

http://tomcatmuzik.blogspot.com/2008/07/chingy-right-thurr-uncensored-dvd-rip.html

 

http://www.wat.tv/video/chingy-right-thurr-uncensored-1scz1_2i7f9_.html

http://allfbvideos.com/show/chingy-flip-boozie-balla-baby-remix/&page=10

I'm not trying to brush off any sexism, but I just don't see why he's taking so much heat for it. This is NOT new for music videos, and this is nothing new in life period.

I mean, look at all the films that do this, especially HORROR flicks.

As far as the lyrics to the song go, I am not surprised at what I hear in songs anymore. 2 Live Crew, Too Short, Lil' Kim, Prince, Trina, and many more have EXTREMELY detailed lyrics, and today many more artists are doing the same.

Now, as far as the video goes, I can sort of see why people would be angry.. IF this were something new. However, it's not.

Robin, T.I. and Pharrell are all married men. It's not like this is a documentary of their lives or something....or is it?

http://hiphopissue.com/2013/03/28/robin-thicke-friends-blurred-lines/robin-thicke-new2/

I even read that one of the models:

http://www.pedroandradetv.com/en/blurred-lines-by-robin-thicke/

Didn't mind shooting the video at all.

http://64eiffel19.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/11513/robin-thicke-blurred-lines-ft-t-i-pharrell-explicit-version-%E2%80%8F-4/

And we need to remember, a lot of music videos are typically the director's idea and art.

America is Sexist

I'm not one to be violent towards women. However, why is it a rule that men shouldn't?

Women back in the day fought for all of this equality. And with all this Rosy the Riveter "We can do it!" hype, you'd think women would want to EQUALLY equal to men.

BUT, that's not the case. And America is not helping one bit.

If a man is caught peeping through a woman's window he will be called a "peeping tom" and be arrested. If a woman is caught peeping through a man's window he could still be arrested for "indecent exposure." NOT FAIR.

Then there's all this violence stuff. Women are allowed to hit men all they like. Sure they'll be taken to jail if anyone would like to press charges, however it's not that big of a deal. It's the same as if a woman were to strike another woman.

But when a man hits a woman? WATCH OUT. Everyone is going to go crazy. It's the worst thing a man can do. Why? If a woman is costantly smacking you, do you not have the right to defend yourself? Pushing can only do so much when she is lunging at you.

I'm not saying that if a man feels the need to smack a girl to just go out and do it.

It's just not clicking to me why women want all this equality, and dish it out, but can't take it.

(This is not referring to all women because I'm sure some of you agree).

I'll also bring up some unfair examples:

1. 
   
   Chris Brown got a lot of crap for what he did to Rihanna. I don't necessarily agree with what he did. (Although I do think she must've been doing something she had no business). He took it a bit far, and he suffered for it. BIG TIME.
2. 
   
   Then there's Liza Minelli. She beat her husband on a regular basis. Where's her criticism?
3. 
   
   Then there's Tiger Woods in his situation. Everyone can come to the same conclusion that his wife was beating him up, and THAT'S WHY he crashed into that tree and fire hydrant, because he was trying so frantically to get away from her. Instead of her going to jail or getting criticism for her actions, everyone is more focused on what he did to deserve it. (No one cared to bring up what Rihanna must've been doing). And Tiger's wife also is being backed by females. Saying her actions were justifiable.
4. 
   
   THEN there's the Jersey Shore incident mentioned before. People are hitting eachother left and right on the show. They don't get no crap. But the one time a man stikes a woman, all hell breaks loose!! JWOWW (a cast member of the show) is clearly seen striking the man repeatedly afterward. Did she go to jail with him? No.

I'm sure my point is being taken into consideration now with my 4 examples.

I'll say it again:

I'M NOT SUGGESTING MEN SHOULD HIT WOMEN. I JUST DON'T SEE THEY BIG HYPE WHEN THAT SORT OF SITUATION OCCURS.