80 million views and counting. Man, Psy’s marketing team must be doing something right!
Anyway, anyone heard of Psy’s new song, “Hangover” with Snoop Dog?. Trying to copy Pharrell by repeating a single word over and over again does not a hit make. In “Happy’s” case the backing track creates a joyful mood by going with a smooth and light instrumental score. (It does help that it literally brainwashes the word into our minds). But in Hangover, the electro-synth beat induces psychedelia, similar to getting high or drunk.
Two very distinct songs, with very different goals. Happy promises us a good time, but Hangover’s the aftermath. It reveals the gory, unpleasant morning-after when you wake up with a splitting headache and confused with where you are and questions your personal moral values. Take it as a warning against drinking culture, but it’s so much more than that.
“Party’s over, it ain’t over”
Contradiction right from the start. Kids, this is no 1D song. Its strangeness does not make for easy listening. We want instant gratification, for the younger generation party follows party and nothing’s “ain’t over” yet. Instead Psy wants us to find meaning amongst the repetitive nature of our current culture. Our tendency to follow what other, “cooler” people do (trust me, there’s always someone cooler, just look at Snoop Dog.) has resulted in a total lost of our individuality, we want “to make a bad memory over and over” because of the ephemeral joy it brings us. Moral decay, I “cannot find a single piece of me, game over.”
“Life of a superstar”
Not game over yet, I’m afraid. We’ve got the promises of a good life! Except this is contrasted with the unsightly activity of being hungover, so Snoops says don’t be fooled by the one side of fame and glory, there’s another darker, more evil side to it.
“Snoop be hard in the paint”
For such a mass produced song, why is Snoop using cryptic rap jargon? Yet we’re all too hungover to notice the wool being pulled over our eyes! There’s Psy and Snoop on this song, the music machine will make it a success, who cares if it’s good or bad! Dumb public, zero, corporate music companies, one.
“Catch a lady by the toe”
Another stab at our patriarchal and shallow culture. Males always boast of bagging a “hot chick” or coveting a girl because of her looks and not her personality. (This is officially endorsed by Snoop Dog and Psy. We all like hot girls twerking right?)
“But I can’t stop”
We’re sucked in to the money-making machine of “up-to-date” culture, so no matter how hard we try we still fall for the “same shit”. I’M LOOKING AT YOU ONE DIRECTION. Do us all a favour and break up.
Where have all the music geniuses gone? Mozart, The Beatles, Michael Jackson… Instead of temporary fixes, where are the songs that give us eternal satisfaction? Yes, Beethoven might be impossible to understand, but it must be more worth it than regurgitated pop songs!
Ah who cares? Pop that shot and have fun! That’s what the song is about right? No matter how ghastly the consequence, we humans live for the moment, doing the same shit over and over again. (and over, and over…….)
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