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| Image from Trinikid.com |
Miley Cyrus has that song Wrecking Ball, the one that has received so much attention because of the provocative video that was released along with the song.
Yes, that one.
The one where she’s naked on a wrecking ball. And licking a sledge hammer.
Yes, that one.
The one that has, most likely, become the first sexual experience for post-pubescent boys who have a computer, smart phone or tablet and have had three to five minutes by themselves.
That one.
I’m not even going to link to that video because I really don’t want to promote any more views on it.
Funny thing, though, the song isn’t actually bad.
I was in the car with Rene and we were listening to the radio and suddenly this sad pop love song came on. Rene said, “You have to listen to this!” So I listened to it and I enjoyed it. I didn’t recognize it and, sure, it’s a pop song so it’s maybe not the deepest most introspective bit of musical poetry in the world – but it’s not a bad song. Like, this is going to be the love anthem for junior high and young high school relationships this school year.
So I ask Rene who it is and she gets excited and her eyes get big and she starts pointing at the radio and the only thing she can get out is, “This is Miley Cyrus! I wanted you to hear this!”
So I’m like, “Is this Wrecking Ball?”
And she nods and says, “Mm hm,” with a big “can you believe it?” look on her face.
This got me curious and Rene and I had a long conversation about it and Miley and… well that’s what the rest of the blog is about. When I got home I decided that it might be worth a look at the video since the song seems to be pretty vulnerable and sincere, even in its poppyness, and that must mean that there’s a reason why she’s getting all crazy on the sledgehammer, right?
No. Not at all. The video everybody knows about really is just sloppy soft core.
However, when I was searching, the first thing I found was a director’s cut of the video and it looked like this:
And here’s a link for those looking on mobile devices: Director’s Cut.
Now this makes much more sense for the message of the song. Here, lets take a look at the lyrics courtesy of AZLyrics.com:
“Wrecking Ball”
We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain
We jumped never asking why
We kissed, I fell under your spell.
A love no one could deny
Don’t you ever say I just walked away
I will always want you
I can’t live a lie, running for my life
I will always want you
I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
All I wanted was to break your walls
All you ever did was wreck me
Yeah, you, you wreck me
I put you high up in the sky
And now, you’re not coming down
It slowly turned, you let me burn
And now, we’re ashes on the ground
Don’t you ever say I just walked away
I will always want you
I can’t live a lie, running for my life
I will always want you
I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
All I wanted was to break your walls
All you ever did was wreck me
I came in like a wrecking ball
Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung
Left me crashing in a blazing fall
All you ever did was wreck me
Yeah, you, you wreck me
I never meant to start a war
I just wanted you to let me in
And instead of using force
I guess I should’ve let you win
I never meant to start a war
I just wanted you to let me in
I guess I should’ve let you win
Don’t you ever say I just walked away
I will always want you
I came in like a wrecking ball
I never hit so hard in love
All I wanted was to break your walls
All you ever did was wreck me
I came in like a wrecking ball
Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung
Left me crashing in a blazing fall
All you ever did was wreck me
Yeah, you, you wreck me
Yeah, you, you wreck me
Here we have a girl talking about mistakes made in a relationship, one she misses. She’s lamenting how she acted and at the same time she’s standing up to him and facing how he treated her. These are vulnerable thoughts and the director’s cut of the video brings that messages home so much more. In fact, in my humble opinion, this video actually
elevates the song above its lyrical content. I am willing to believe this is the most honest Ms. Cyrus has been in front of a camera for a very long time.
Here’s the most ironic thing for me about the fact that this is the director’s cut – the director is Terry Richardson.
Yes, that Terry Richardson.
The Terry Richardson who is a very talented photographer…
…but has also been called out as a perv on many occasions.
Many occasions.
This particular article is the one that got the most heat, probably because the stories are the most explicit.
So, when you see all that, the naked video with the licking falls right into form…
…but again I point to the actual raw vulnerability in the director’s cut and suddenly you start to wonder how these two things were made by the same guy.
Here’s what i’m getting at: we have two creatives who are both at high points in their careers. Both have talents that are appreciated by the general public and are looked up to by people young and old – but the story with these two is all about sex. Sex has become the conversation, not the songs or the pictures, and that’s a shame.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of sex. I understand why it is used and exploited and I do believe there are times when using sex and/or sexuality can actually be a strong statement in art. But when it becomes schtick or a crutch it’s very obvious and that, more than any moral reason, is why I think both of these artists – and yes I will use the word “artist” and not feel bad – get as much backlash as they do.
We, as the listening/viewing public expect more because they’ve both shown that they can do better. There’s disappointment when you watch someone phone it in or try to force you to believe them as they flail out of character. With Richardson in particular, I personally believe that he’s let his persona get the better of him and it’s drowning out the actual person who takes good pictures.
So I turn to you, what do you think? I look forward to your comments.
See you next time!
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It’s Funny What Strikes a Chord…
I have been doing a lot of website building and refining these last three weeks as part of my new year commitment, and things have been going well. When all the sites are completed and ready you can bet that I’ll push them like crazy.
First one’s free: AndelonProd.com
As I’ve been refining CurtisAndersen.com I noticed some glitches in my RSS feed and had to go back to my old Blogger page to check some of the old posts. Imagine my surprise when I saw that, even months after having changed sites with the exact same URL, there were thousands of hits on the old version of the blog! Thousands!! I was shocked. There hadn’t been a new post since August, but that didn’t seem to matter.
Out of curiosity I decided to look and see what the most popular post of all time was and it turns out to be my examination of the Macklemore song “Thriftshop.” So since it’s Friday and it’s an appropriate party night I thought it might be nice to revisit that post:
Hey Macklemore, can we go thrift shopping?
I think this still holds water, even if I would write things a bit differently now. What do you think?
See you next time.
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Filed under music, music video, social commentary, Uncategorized, video, YouTube