Record of the year

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Party and Bullshit in the USA by Notorious B.I.G. and Miley Cyrus

I was first turned onto this by my good friend Nathandernal (Nate) Larkin-Connolly on his blog...
http://stadiums-and-shrines.blogspot.com/2009/11/mixtape-teen-age-dance-party.html



My life is now different after hearing it.  Rarely do we have an experience so fulfilling on so many levels.  The only time I listen to the radio is when I drive with dad.  We were going to a Jets game with my little brother so Z100 was on.

Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA" came on.

I never thought this could exist.  Jack White, after receiving an award from Dublin, Ireland's prestigious Trinity College, spoke about authenticity.  His quotes were taken wildly out of context later on blogs, but essentially what he said was that in some ways he considered Britney Spears more authentic than guys like Bob Dylan.  He was not criticizing Dylan in any way, but simply referring to his desire to tell stories not his own.  Britney is true to herself, only tells her own story, sings about what she knows and wants to sing about, knows her limits, knows her strengths, and owns them all.  She succeeds for those reasons.  Just to be safe, I'll make clear that Dylan succeeds because he's as much of a creative genius and student of the human condition as has existed period.



This song might be the most authentic piece of pop music to ever be created.  Does it suck?  OF COURSE IT SUCKS!  But I think I will go as far as to say that this is the absolutely greatest thing someone like Miley Cyrus could ever achieve.  I don't mean that as a dis.  I mean she did exactly what she should be doing.  She is not pretending to be the best singer, or dancer, or writer, or sex symbol, or mature adult, or anything that she is not.  She is singing about being a young kid who's pretty hot, got some style because she's from the south but rolls in major circles, and is a big time pop star and celebrity who's obsessed with other pop stars and celebrities.

Oh my God.  I just listened to it again.  That synth that comes in on "So I put my hands up, they're playin' my song, the butterflies fly away."  Holy shit.  This song is so crazy.  It's so basic, but so real and so effective.  Not since "Since You Been Gone" have I heard a pop song like this and actually felt ok about liking it.

(Yeah, I was there for this performance)



At first, in the car, I slapped my little brother for grooving to this autotuned protoolsed practically garage banded abomination.  In the last 24 hours though after hearing the mashup remix I've completely turned around.  I think this is my latest "Fire Burning" (stupid, annoying pop songs that despite being a major music snob unabashedly love).



I think you kind of have to give people like Miley Cyrus a chance.  She obviously has this niche.  Don't ask her to abandon it.  She's not pretending to be talented as anything more than a celebrity, which is why I give her a pass here.  The ones who bother me are those who get pretentious about their bullshit.  Miley is being pretty fucking open here about just having fun with all of this.  Notice she's not singing some song about relationships she's never had or spouting venom at the media that puts her in her Rolex and Cadillac.

We can't live in a culture where success and celebrity automatically condemn you.  Most of them suck.  But there needs to be a way for them to remain credible while embracing their pop star and celebrity persona.  That's what she's doing here, nothing more nothing less.

Ok, speaking of Rolexes and Caddys.  Quoting Adam Herzog from Gchat about 10 seconds ago..."Just picture Biggie getting a lap dance from Miley with two blunts and a heineken, and an achy breaky heart."



This remix/mashup/whatever Dana Brandon Kreiss the mashup king calls it is beautiful.  Sure, there are some issues with the levels at times that could've been easily fixed.  But they're completely in synch and it's just such a great idea.  This blows anything Girl Talk has ever done out of the water.  You need to listen to it.  At first I was angered at its existence, as I said, and more that my friend put it on his mix.  But now I get it.  It's the party jam of the decade.  Better than "From the windowwwww to the wall."  This needs to be played at every party I go to for the next six months.  I think that with our nostalgia centric culture (see my forthcoming Where the Wild Things Are article for that discussion) will embrace this.  Hipsters will love it.  Music snobs should too though.  If they don't like this, they out themselves as curmudgeons who just want to own cool for themselves popularphobes (people who hate things that become popular no matter what they are even if they're awesome like this).

Anyway, I've ranted on about this song long enough.  I now out myself as thinking Miley is the realness.  Go buy her album, see her 3D movie, wear a t shirt, watch her Disney Channel special, buy the lunch box, the bobblehead dolls, whatever.  I love it.

Now who did this remix????
(thanks to @demusic on twitter...HATHBANGER is the mastermind behind this)

2 comments:

  1. Nate points out just now that she comes in with "Jay-Z song was on..." after the first Biggie verse. Something a girl her age would easily be confused by. I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't in good conscience let you call Miley Cyrus "the realness", the song isn't authentic, you like it because it's catchy, but its ok...I do too.

    http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1625691/20091106/cyrusmiley.jhtml

    "Honestly, I picked that song because I needed something to go with my clothing line. I didn't write it and I didn't expect it to be popular, originally"
    ...
    "I've never heard a Jay-Z song. I don't listen to pop music," Cyrus answered. "['Party in the U.S.A.'] is not even my style of music."

    ReplyDelete