Remiel: Friday, Rebecca Black, and celebrity hate →
Required reading, this one. Remiel has a great head on his shoulders. And great hair on that head, but that’s besides the point.
I love “Friday”. Unabashedly. I hope Rebecca Black makes a million dollars from it, her debut album is a Gaga-caliber hit, and she marries her dreamboat, Justin Bieber.
When I first heard “Friday”
I thought “This is quite possibly the worst song ever!” Every pop musician who pays attention now has to contend with “Friday”. It’s a critical line in the sand. Pop is easy, yes, but say something, at least. Or risk ridicule. Weird Al himself couldn’t write something this hilarious and damning.
I imagined Black wrote the song herself; always a silly assumption to make about pop music. Purportedly, both Rebecca and her mother had doubts about the quality of the lyrics, but the 13-year old did what the vanity studio told her to do.
Whether any artists notice or not (pop is exceptionally poor at “noticing”), Rebecca Black and Ark Music Factory have given us something necessary. Finally, we have a pop song that is loudly, perfectly, about nothing.
On the other hand: who hasn’t fetishized Friday? It’s the beginning of the weekend! And goddammit if the song wasn’t stuck in my head after only one listen.
Yesterday was Thursday, today is Friday, tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards
Rebecca Black is a privileged, teenage girl who probably wouldn’t know good music if it bit her on the ass. 13-year old Remiel made a mix tape for his girlfriend featuring Meat Loaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love”.
Teenagers are idiots. That’s their job. They think having a dream is the same as deserving it, and eventually either give up, or make the enormous effort to make the vision real. But sometimes, they win the lottery, and have their goals delivered on a silver platter. And we hate that.
We we we so excited, we so excited
Celebrity hate is the lamest hate.
What’s the difference between a death threat against the pedophile next door, and one posted on a Paris Hilton YouTube video? The differences are vigor and intent. Despite her massive exposure, Hilton exists relatively free of the loathing we’d feel about an active sexual abuser in our own neighborhood.
But somehow, the rhetoric is the same. “Worthless piece of trash”. “Die you stupid fuck”.
Like a snot rubbed off on a public restroom wall, celebrity hate is fueled by anonymity, not malice. You wouldn’t leave a booger on your own wall any more than you’d actually take a swing at Chris Tucker if you met him in person.
George Carlin wrote:
I love and treasure individuals as I meet them. I loathe and despise the groups they identify with and belong to.What has Rebecca Black done to you? Why not celebrate the fact that it’s possible to become famous just by being a “professional socialite” like Paris Hilton?
Hate Monsanto, if you want. And if you’re willing to do a little legwork and figure out who’s truly responsible, you can hate those guys, too. Even though you’ve never met them, and they’ve probably never personally hurt you the way the guy who ran over your dog did.
Money is just money. Fame is just fame. They’re numbers. Metrics. Piles of stuff somebody got because they multiplied a talent by an opportunity.
If the opportunity seems undeserved relative to their talent, why not celebrate the success of a fellow human being and politely encourage them to use their influence benignly, instead of tearing down a stranger to impress your friends and whitewash your jealousy?
Paging @buffynerdgirl….
