Decommodifying lyrics
I got thinking about celebrity attempts at decommodifying their images and song lyrics came to mind.
Consider these excerpts from Jessie J.'s "Price Tag":
Seems like everybody's got a price
I wonder how they sleep at night
When the sale comes first
And the truth comes second
Just stop for a minute and smile
I wonder how they sleep at night
When the sale comes first
And the truth comes second
Just stop for a minute and smile
...
It's not about the money money money
We don't need your money money money
We just wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag
Ain't about the uh cha-ching cha-ching
Ain't about the yeah b-bling b-bling
Wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag
We don't need your money money money
We just wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag
Ain't about the uh cha-ching cha-ching
Ain't about the yeah b-bling b-bling
Wanna make the world dance
Forget about the price tag
...
Forget about the price tag
Money can't buy us happiness
Can we all slow down and enjoy right now
Guarantee we'll be feeling alright
...
The lyrics suggest that the person singing doesn't care about money and just wants happiness--just wants to make music to make the "world dance" (to make people happy). Yet, the song made her about £4 million in a year's time, and I don't think she gave it all to charities--that really could have made the world dance! So, the song that says over and over, "It's not about the money, money, money" may really be all about the money, but the message attempts to decommodify what celebrities are doing and why--even if it really is all about the money!
Here's another one: "Airplanes" by B.o.B.:
Yeah, yeah, somebody take me back to the days
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes outta' airplanes
Then maybe yo maybe I'll go back to the days
Before the politics that we call the rap game
And back when ain't nobody listen to my mixtape
And back before I tried to cover up my slang
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at Subway
...
Then maybe yo maybe I'll go back to the days
Before the politics that we call the rap game
And back when ain't nobody listen to my mixtape
And back before I tried to cover up my slang
The message is that he wants to go back to before he got paid for rapping, that he wants to go back to being a "normal" person, working at subway with no one really knowing who he is besides close friends and family. The song went quadruple platinum in the United States alone. In my mind I am multiplying 4,000,000 x $1.29 and thinking he didn't give his share away and go back to the Subway job...Just a hunch.
Instead, it seems like lyrics in many popular songs are attempts to "manufacture" commodified images about celebrities so that every day people can relate to them and their songs. Although in practice, little could be further from the truth. At least most people I know don't have a multi-platinum single out there...
No comments:
Post a Comment