First, I want to take a moment to thank (in no particular order) Wong Fu Productions, Kev Jumba, and David Choi for making "Dance To This Song." If you haven't heard it yet, feel free to take a moment and play it.
Clever, right? Not only is it successfully satirical, but it is also, as it promises, pretty damn catchy! From random cheering to auto-tune, "Dance To This Song"is an irreverent spoof (is that redundant?) to Top 40s music. My favorite line is in the opener. "Yeah, uh, it sounds like that other song." "But it's NOT, it's THIS song."
The best part of all? ASIANS!
Why you gotta do dat, recycleorburn? Why bring race into this? Sorry, it's what my blog's about. Okay, okay, that's all I had to say about the fact that it was made by Asians. Now let's see if we can get it on the radio!
Kev Jumba also had another video blog (is that what he calls them?) about the ridiculousness of lyrics. You can watch it, of course. (optional. no wait. EXTRA CREDIT. oh, whatever, it's just fun. PLUS, you can see people livin' it up like Ke$ha and brushing their teeth with Jack Daniels! SPOILER ALERT: it's not pleasant)
Top 40 music has a tendency of talking about partying, sex, and drugs. Check out the Billboard Hot 100 for yourself. Lady Antebellum's crossover hit "Need You Now" is the sole country song in the top 10, and even that is about drinking! Lately it's been a face-off between B.o.B and Rihanna for the #1 spot, and it looks like Jason DeRulo's heading on up! (Okay, maybe not, but I just really love Jason DeRulo! "In My Head") Now this is a bad example because B.o.B.'s "Nothin' on You" is actually a sweet little diddy about fidelity and both inner and outer natural beauty. Rihanna's "Rude Boy," on the other hand, is a raunchy piece about sexual prowess. But you didn't know that, did you? Do people listen to lyrics anymore? "Come here, rude boy boy, can you get it up? Come here, rude boy boy, is you big enough?" REALLY? What do you think this song is about?
Take heed and be sure to listen to the lyrics. Do you really want to be caught singing lyrics like these? You know, everytime I note that Timb[aland + erlake]'s "Carry Out" is about the fast food industry, everyone always goes, "Wait, WHAT?!" Go ahead and listen to the lyrics of your favorite song. As the internet's favorite 5 Asian guys said...
"Drink, girls, dance, beat, blah blah, repeat"
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Analyze That
I keep a journal. I'm usually very good with it and write often... except when I'm off at college. Then life goes on and I leave it locked in my drawer. My last entry is from March 20, 2010. That's why it makes sense that my last blog was in November. I apologize for my inconsistent writing. Let's try to improve on that! Come on, I'm a n00b and only have 3 entries!
There isn't a shortage of ideas. Upcoming entries include "Asian Parents Don't Hug" and "Asians Can't Date" to name the next few. Perhaps something like "Am I Racist?" for my white friends with whom I play a little game called "Oh my god, that's so white!" (It's a silly game really, but it's a moment when we take the most stereotypical things about white people and see if they're true. "Do you like, go camping? Or, like, talk to your neighbors?")
I was sparked to write again because I was given the opportunity to participate in a study. What kind of study? I was asked about my Asian-American upbringing and the immigrant experience of my parents. I got paid $10 to talk about being Asian! SUCCESS! I gave the researcher the link to this blog so she's probably going to be reading it! HA! (She's still looking for a handful of participants, so Facebook me if you're interested.)
It got me thinking about my parents and how much I, even as a child, was responsible for helping them. Something I've always been embarrassed to do is argue with a salesperson. Perhaps this stems from the fact that I had to do this quite often. Who's in line making a return and a fake excuse? Me. Who's calling up cable companies and asking them to guide me through the problem? Me. Who's on sales calls at the age of fourteen dealing with steel vendors for my parents' company? Me. Okay, this last one is probably only me, but I'm sure you can identify with the other stuff! The point is that having that skill of being able to speak good English was sometimes a pain in the arse.
I never really thought of it this way, but it definitely built my responsibility level to have to deal professionally with so many adults at such a young age. My life-skills were being honed at such a young age! A blessing in disguise, you might say. There's an extra charge on my credit card? Call it in! My computer is broken? Call it in! "I can't do it!" I remember whining to my mom (it probably sounded super whiny because I might have been like 10 years old). "LEARN how to do it." Oh shit, now it sounds like an inspirational movie.
That being said, I wonder how my kids are going to be? Certainly, I don't need them calling in companies for me because I possess the skills I need. Am I depriving them of this great experience? A rite of passage? Maybe that's pushing it. This is how I feel when I don't want my little cousins jumping around from table tops ("It's dangerous! But... I did it too...") or playing with knives (I played with knives and boxcutters and things, which sounds pretty dangerous, but I'm pretty sure I never cut anyone and I was never cut myself. My parents didn't hand them to me, by the way, I just found where they were because I was super mischievous). Part of me wants to keep them safe, but part of me wants to let them explore. I did all that crazy kid stuff and turned out fine! But I digress. Giving crazy tasks to children helps them learn and helps prepare themselves for the future.
I'm not "feelin'" this entry because it lacks structure, so let's end it now. We'll just call it my... welcome back entry! More to come quite soon, I promise!
Forever Yellow
-recycle or burn
(is this sign off racist?)
There isn't a shortage of ideas. Upcoming entries include "Asian Parents Don't Hug" and "Asians Can't Date" to name the next few. Perhaps something like "Am I Racist?" for my white friends with whom I play a little game called "Oh my god, that's so white!" (It's a silly game really, but it's a moment when we take the most stereotypical things about white people and see if they're true. "Do you like, go camping? Or, like, talk to your neighbors?")
I was sparked to write again because I was given the opportunity to participate in a study. What kind of study? I was asked about my Asian-American upbringing and the immigrant experience of my parents. I got paid $10 to talk about being Asian! SUCCESS! I gave the researcher the link to this blog so she's probably going to be reading it! HA! (She's still looking for a handful of participants, so Facebook me if you're interested.)
It got me thinking about my parents and how much I, even as a child, was responsible for helping them. Something I've always been embarrassed to do is argue with a salesperson. Perhaps this stems from the fact that I had to do this quite often. Who's in line making a return and a fake excuse? Me. Who's calling up cable companies and asking them to guide me through the problem? Me. Who's on sales calls at the age of fourteen dealing with steel vendors for my parents' company? Me. Okay, this last one is probably only me, but I'm sure you can identify with the other stuff! The point is that having that skill of being able to speak good English was sometimes a pain in the arse.
I never really thought of it this way, but it definitely built my responsibility level to have to deal professionally with so many adults at such a young age. My life-skills were being honed at such a young age! A blessing in disguise, you might say. There's an extra charge on my credit card? Call it in! My computer is broken? Call it in! "I can't do it!" I remember whining to my mom (it probably sounded super whiny because I might have been like 10 years old). "LEARN how to do it." Oh shit, now it sounds like an inspirational movie.
That being said, I wonder how my kids are going to be? Certainly, I don't need them calling in companies for me because I possess the skills I need. Am I depriving them of this great experience? A rite of passage? Maybe that's pushing it. This is how I feel when I don't want my little cousins jumping around from table tops ("It's dangerous! But... I did it too...") or playing with knives (I played with knives and boxcutters and things, which sounds pretty dangerous, but I'm pretty sure I never cut anyone and I was never cut myself. My parents didn't hand them to me, by the way, I just found where they were because I was super mischievous). Part of me wants to keep them safe, but part of me wants to let them explore. I did all that crazy kid stuff and turned out fine! But I digress. Giving crazy tasks to children helps them learn and helps prepare themselves for the future.
I'm not "feelin'" this entry because it lacks structure, so let's end it now. We'll just call it my... welcome back entry! More to come quite soon, I promise!
Forever Yellow
-recycle or burn
(is this sign off racist?)
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