04/06/2011

Please (Don't) Stop The Music

Oh Rihanna. Lately it seems as though this girl can do no wrong, in both the charts and style stakes. This year alone she's had countless hit singles, and undergone a drastic hair revamp that has seen baths and sinks across Britain run red with the dye of countless imitators.

Now I love Rhi Rhi as much as the next person. And I don't deny her talent, she isn't the greatest singer to be fair but as a performer and an icon she's up there with the greats. However, I have to question what the heck she was thinking when she decided to release Man Down as her latest single from the album Loud.

Considering the other tracks on the album, it's bewildering that she chose the worst one on it (/possibly on any album of hers EVER) as her next single, a follow up to S&M which, despite its questionable themes and content, was undeniably awesome and ridiculously catchy.

Man Down has glimpses of something good, the dance hall beat could have hit the charts with something relatively fresh and different from the saturation of dubstep and dance. But that's about as far as it goes in my opinion. The lyrics seem faintly ridiculous, as if the writer had an idea but couldn't really be bothered to think it through, so just laid down the first thing that popped into their overpaid little head.

She's also recieved a lot of criticism for the video, which features her gunning a man down in a station who has raped her. To be honest, I don't understand how this is causing so much outrage, considering the content of most of her other videos. They've all been explicitly sexy, even in the early days, and more recently they've become more and more outrageous. It isn't just Rihanna, every artist with sense knows that to make an impact they have to shock. And as time goes on this becomes a much harder thing to do, as audiences are becoming more desensitized by the hour.

I don't see how the violence of Man Down is any worse than S&M, which sees the star cavorting around in bondage gear SINGING ABOUT HOW CHAINS AND WHIPS EXCITE HER. It's right there in the lyrics! Were the rest of the world living under moss covered rocks while this languished in the charts week after week?

Perhaps these parent groups were too busy oggling over Rhianna in the other videos to care too much about the content, but now they've closed their mouths and wiped away the drool they've had a change of heart.

Either way, the song sucks. Do better next time please Rhi, I don't wanna be disappointed at V!


5 comments:

  1. Anonymous5/6/11 10:52

    Oooo I disagree, I love this song... I think it's probably the best one on the album... not only does she sound Carribean on it but she isnt singing what she likes during sex, umbrella's or about forgetting her name lol It actually has a storyline to it, and I don't think a lot of songs have that these days =)

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  2. I totally agree, it really isn't her best but then S&M was always going to be hard to follow. I'm going to V too so hopefully she'll be good for us :) x

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  3. Nooo! I think this is one of the better ones on her album! The last one she released Californian King bed I couldn't stand!! haha. It depends on different people's musical tastes I suppose! But I totally agree with you about how everyone is outraged at this video - I think its one of her less shocking ones compared to some of the others (as my boyfriend lovingly points out to me quite often - you can see her nipples through her tops!) haha I know I';m a lucky girl!
    And I'm going to V Fest aswell - I actually cannot wait!! If I bump into you I'll buy you a drink! haha.
    xxx

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  4. Anonymous6/6/11 21:08

    my personal analasis:
    crap idea. crap lyrics. crap and inappropriate video...identical to S&M...well done rihanna.
    the thing is, she has so many younger fans as many artists do nowadays, who will all have access to these videos.. and this is a pretty touchy subject as well, is it really something to be turned into a song..?
    ANOTHER great post :)
    nicola xxx

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  5. Pebbz - Ahh really?! You're the first person I've heard say this lol, maybe it's just my uni hatin on it! Maybe it's my simple mind but I'd much rather the umbrella lyrics lol!

    Torieee - I know right, such a good song! Eee I've got such high hopes, she better be awesome!!

    Manths - Oh see I actually quite liked that one! Haha yeah it's definitely a personalised thing isn't it, especially with someone as diverse as Rhi. Hahaaaa oh dear, well at least he's observant I guess?! Wicked, yes definitely! We should have a bloggers meet up lol!

    Nicola - THANK YOU! Yeah that's so true, she's a role model to a lot of girls, and in this day and age that means younger ones too cos they're exposed to the same stuff as any other age group these days. It's great she is comfortable in her body and sexuality, but maybe she shouldn't flaunt it in our faces so much! Thanks lovely :)

    Thanks for all the comments guys, really boosts my day to see you've all been reading! :) xxx

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