I'm Too Funky For This Dancefloor!
April 26th 2008 19:28
I don't want to listen to a song without a beat change, genre hop, melodic relocation
It doesn't matter whether it's alternative or the next poppy sensation
I don't want to hear JT rhyming 'girl' with 'world' once more
He may be musically gifted, but in vocabulary poor
I don't want to hear Eminem making fun of him by insinuating he's gay
Misogyny and homophobia? Reject these things today!
I like to dance to hip hop but the lyrics make me cringe
Why is it that on materialism and ghetto cred they hinge?
Call me elitist but I'm not cool with slang
I'm looking for some proper sentence structure in which my words to hang
Expletives leave me cold, there are better ways to make a point
Mobilise an audience, shake up your soul
And please, no repetition - I want things constantly changing
Shifting, permutating, rearranging
I need positive, uplifting lyrics
And dis-orienting, re-orienting beats to match
All the songs that fly by make me conceptualise of an itch that isn't being scratched
And as I become more and more convinced in what I'm searching for
I realise I'm too funky for this dancefloor!
It doesn't matter whether it's alternative or the next poppy sensation
I don't want to hear JT rhyming 'girl' with 'world' once more
He may be musically gifted, but in vocabulary poor
I don't want to hear Eminem making fun of him by insinuating he's gay
Misogyny and homophobia? Reject these things today!
I like to dance to hip hop but the lyrics make me cringe
Why is it that on materialism and ghetto cred they hinge?
Call me elitist but I'm not cool with slang
I'm looking for some proper sentence structure in which my words to hang
Mobilise an audience, shake up your soul
And please, no repetition - I want things constantly changing
Shifting, permutating, rearranging
I need positive, uplifting lyrics
And dis-orienting, re-orienting beats to match
All the songs that fly by make me conceptualise of an itch that isn't being scratched
And as I become more and more convinced in what I'm searching for
I realise I'm too funky for this dancefloor!
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Comment by RubySoho
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Comment by postmoderncritic
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I'm sure there are hip hop songs that don't feature swearing, materialistic attitudes, misogyny, hip hop, and speak proper English, but I can't think of any - which is why I allowed this generalisation to make its way into my poem, but I wouldn't hold to it in an absolute sense.
Thanks for bringing The King Is Dead to my attention, though I must say the name 'The Herd' doesn't appeal to me at all - it makes me think of conformity! And to call Howard a 'king' is to elevate his status in a way which seems to conflict with the message they want to send out. Australia is a commonwealth, not a monarchy. Just two of the issues I have with this offering, and there are a lot more.
On a more positive note, I'm listening to 4 Minutes by Madonna and Justin Timberlake right now, and this is currently my favourite song to dance to - it's very passionate, and passes for empowering in my book. I get the urge to get up and dance whenever I hear it!
Comment by RubySoho
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Their use of the term "king" is staunchly ironic. It's a reference to the way he ruled his party with an iron fist and how it seemed that nothing could topple his reign. Hey, I'm not a big hip hop fan but I like political music...and this song definitely has something to say.
I'd like to hear your other misgivings about this song as I can't help but love it, both for its technical and social/political merits.
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Well, first of all, it's not a bad song. I can see why people would like it... here are the lines that I take issue with:
You turned us into a nation of haters
'Haters' is a rap cliche. It also strikes me as awkward when applied to an Australian context.
Fuckin’ pirate, history will damn him
As I've already mentioned, I don't like swearing, I find the reference to 'pirate' exaggerated, and the religious connotations of 'damning' somebody don't appeal to me. I liked the later reference to him being 'consigned' to history, as this makes me think of Trotsky's eloquence.
Crook, you got your arse played in Mandarin
John Howard was a lot of unseemly things, but a crook? And the line about Mandarin just makes me think of schoolboys who want to learn how to swear at someone in a different language. What does K-Rudd's lingual ability have to do with the election? It may be cool, but it's probably not why people voted for him in the end.
We cried "off with his head!"
This is violent imagery. John Howard isn't "dead" either, so I find that a slightly disturbing way of referencing his going out of office.
It’s like somebody finally did light that match up
And burn down the parliament
Yay, let's advocate the anarchic destruction of property - not.
The dickhead dictator, leader, imitator
Again we have more swearing, but more importantly, I hate it when people say leaders of the free world are just as dictatorial as their totalitarian counterparts. As someone who used to live in Communist Bulgaria, I find this attitude ignorant, misleading and unhelpful.
Made me feel immature when I said “I hate ya”
If they're really so glad K-Rudd is now PM, maybe they should have listened to what he said on Rove (about John Howard, I believe) in regards to hate: "I just don't have that level of angst towards anything/anyone." Hate is immature, and saying 'ya' instead of you annoys me.
Comment by RubySoho
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But firstly, I don't have a problem with swearing, particularly when the context is considered.
Secondly, yeah they do use a lot of metaphors- pirate, king, dictator etc, but these are not meant to be taken literally.
'burn down the parliament' is a reference to their song by the same name. once again not meant to be taken literally - just asking people to protest against Howard's leadership.
How long have you lived in Australia?
Comment by postmoderncritic
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I think the best test of a metaphor is what happens when it is taken seriously (or maybe I've been watching too much Joss Whedon programs).
Even as a metaphor, 'burn down the parliament' is a violent and destructive one, I think. They could have just said 'stand up against JH' or something to that effect.
I came to Sydney when I was seven, which was about the time Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe. But I had to grow up being guided by the paradigms that my parents created for themselves while living in that oppressive environment, so even though I didn't spend a lot of time there I have first-hand experience of how the people are affected by this horribly misguided system of government.
To what extent are you happy with the job Kevin Rudd is doing at the moment? (Feel free to do a post about it on your own blog if that appeals to you.
Comment by RubySoho
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Still early days....
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Australia needs to catch up to Spain, where same-sex couples can not only marry but adopt also.
I'm very pleased with his handling of China, signing the Kyoto protocol, dismantling Work Choices and saying Sorry, though.
Comment by RubySoho
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Ditto on all the good stuff though.
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Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Mis
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Glad you enjoyed the verses, and found the following discussion interesting. It's good to see you.