Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Reevaluating the 'Romantic' Hit Songs of Pop Music's Patriarchy
KQED Arts: In the last week of September, while viewers around the country were glued to the three-ring circus of sexism and institutional power that was the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing, San Francisco singer-songwriter Kendra McKinley was jetlagged in Iceland. Holed up with former Sigur Rós keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, she fought through the fog as she rearranged Doris Day’s 1952 hit single “A Guy Is a Guy.”
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2 comments:
What an interesting piece of art and music. I remember when the controversy around “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke came to a head. I was in high school. I think that was the first time I realized romantic songs could also be predatory. From then on, I’ve noticed quite a lot of misogynistic undertones (or overtones) in the music industry. And not just in the songs rapping about ‘getting b*itches’. No, in the seemingly romantic songs. The ones my mom hummed while working. The ones my grandma and grandpa danced to at their wedding. The ones teenage girls doodle lyrics to in their notebooks in class. It’s ingrained. And I think it isn’t until you’re in a situation like the one set up for the art piece, where you hear each song, one right after the other, that it can really click. It’s mind blowing, but a great example of how the patriarchy is so embedded in our lives we may not even see it.
Being raised on a lot of the music mentioned in this article, it is startling to realize the problem behind a lot of these songs. I used to run around the house singing “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon”, but looking back on the lyrics about the girl will soon need a man since she’s getting older is actually appalling. Music is an art form beloved by almost every person on this earth. Without it, I really don’t know how I would get through half of the situations I go through. The influence musical lyrics have on people is astonishing in the way it’ll make people act. Especially when the whole “Blurred Lines” controversy Emma touched on in her comment. I can never listen to the song again ever since Robin Thicke and T.I. were crushed in the media for their rape-like lyrics. The change needed in musical lyrics like this will hopefully help progress society in the way it’s directed towards.
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