I run the risk of echoing the sentiments of my disillusioned elders, but kids these days are saying some outrageous stuff! It makes me sick. Some guy named Sea Low is singing a song with the f−word in the title! Whodathunk?
No, I'm not that out of touch with popular culture. Cee Lo Green is not a mystery to me, nor is his new song, "F**k You," enough to send my arthritic limbs into perpetual shakes. In the past month, "F**k You" has clogged the Internet airwaves and Facebook pages of thousands of individuals simultaneously thrilled and appalled by Cee Lo's lyrics; the combined total views of the song's two main videos on YouTube is quickly moving towards 12 million. Viral? You betcha.
All the usual suspects are weighing in on the song, with unsurprising commentary by Pitchfork and Rolling Stone remarking on the duality of the sunny beat coupled with the aggressive lyrics. However, a chorus of other unexpected critics is commenting on the controversial nature of the song's message.
An Aug. 30 New York Times article by Noam Cohen avoids mentioning the correct title itself while discussing the crudeness of the song, unintentionally highlighting the awkwardness the song imposes. "F**k You" shows us that in spite of our foul−mouthed tendencies, four little letters can still cause quite a stir, even for a news source that has seen it all.
Why, though, should this be so controversial? This isn't even the first expletive−centric song to air with the f−bomb dominating the title and chorus.
Lily Allen's "Fuck You" on her 2009 album "It's Not Me, It's You" paired a chipper, upbeat melody with a face−slapping set of lyrics. She cited closed−minded opinions and general hatred as the grounds for her distaste, alternating between perfectly polite requests and downright rude demands. Fulfilling her primary goal to produce an ironic jab at the idiots who grind our gears, Allen's song was forceful and without apology.
But we're not that easily surprised; it takes more than some tasteful swearing to ruffle our feathers. Walk around campus and you will hear plenty of "f−−− you"s thrown around with reckless abandon. This ain't new.
The shock among students our age, then, is not the swearing or the irony. It is the straightforward honesty of the universal anger felt after heartbreak that moves us to listen to this song. Say what you will about the genre or the mainstream appeal that might turn off discerning music aficionados, there's a satisfaction behind Cee Lo's "F**k You" that cannot be denied by anyone with a history of letdowns.
Remember the girl who inexplicably ignored your romantic overtures in seventh grade? Sure, a 10−page love letter written in her favorite color ink (magenta) was kind of overkill, and the detailed description of the back of her head as it appeared to you during homeroom didn't win any hearts, but she didn't have to post it online for everyone's enjoyment. Better yet, do you remember that guy who hit on you for the entire evening, enjoyed a "classy" night with you and then promptly made off with all the spare cash from your desk in the form of repayment for his "chivalry"?
Somehow this tune sings true to the embarrassment and disappointment that we all experience from time to time. It is much easier to let Cee Lo squeak our favorite phrase for us at maximum volume, rather than shout it ourselves.
Besides, isn't it more joyful to hear a rhyming admonishment directed toward the jerkface that ruined your whole day? There's nothing like some sick rhymes to heal that hurt.
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Madeline Hall is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at Madeline.Hall@tufts.edu.
