You Belong on the Radio - U.S. Music Charts (2)

It’s time for another charts session and it’s also time for the U.S. billboard charts again. That’s all you need to know, let’s start!

#3 Tove Lo – Habits (Stay High)

A song about dealing with a break-up that involves all kind of extreme behavior, as seen in a pretty unique first line:

I eat my dinner in my bathtub, then I go to sex clubs

We get more of this, drinking, puking, more casual sex, drugs…  It’s very all or nothing, or more just nothing. All of this is done so that there are no feelings at all and while this song is about a break-up, this is just an excuse as this is no behavior exclusive to happen at the end of relationships. It’s a sign of how we refuse to deal with something and instead dive right into escapism of any sort. I find it curious how this is not really played for laughs, but more like a serious attempt at dealing with something emotional by not dealing with it. Culturally, this is a very symptomatic song (not a bad one, though).

#14 Jason Derulo – Trumpets

Why does it still amaze me that songs can be a freakishly sexist as this one? Maybe it’s because I have the feeling things have gotten better when it comes to feminism or because it bothers me that black artists often are more prevalent in reinforcing this cliché. What’s so insane here is not so much the blatant sexism, but that it is (as it often is the case) mixed with “romantic” notions. There is talk about violins and angels, but only in connection to seeing her naked, having sex and admiring the woman’s ass. But it’s all just the narrow male perspective of watching a woman undress and moan and being turned on by her. There is no mutuality here, no idea of her thoughts or feelings, just “come here and let’s fuck.”  Who does really consider those ideas to be cool?

#23 Pitbull – Fireball

Wow, I thought we have had enough sexism already, but this song goes to a different level. Or maybe it’s the same level as in Trumpets, but somehow I find this one more offensive.

Now baby give a booty naked
Take off all your clothes, and light the roof on fire

I came, I saw, I conquered
Or should I say, I saw, I conquered, I came
This little chico on fire and he no liar

Now big bang boogie
Get that kitty little noogie
In a nice, nice little shade
I gave Susie a little pat up on the booty
And she turned around and said "walk this way"

It’s so… aggressively sexist, it has so little regard for women as something else than sex toys and it’s all in this “we’re just having a little fun here” apologist mood, I find the lyrics just repulsive. The “conquer/come” wordplay alone infuriates me. And again, is there any need for degrading material like this? Does it benefit anyone?

#91 Lee Brice – Drinking Class

Hey, cool, a song about the 99%!

We're up when the rooster crows
Clock in when the whistle blows
Eight hours ticking slow
And then tomorrow we'll do it all over again

I'm a member of a blue collar crowd
They can never, nah they can't keep us down
If you gotta, gotta label me, label me proud

Okay, that last line is weird because working a boring job all day doesn’t sound like something to be proud of. Hm, wait, what about the title of the song?

I belong to the drinking class
Monday through Friday, man we bust our backs
If you're one of us, raise your glass
I belong to the drinking class

We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again

So, that is what he is proud of? Drinking every day because the job sucks? Wow, that’s great. I mean, this song tells us everything we need to know about our culture. We waste our lives with shitty jobs but instead of doing something about it, we drink ourselves into ignorance.

#97 RaeLynn – God Made Girls

This is supposed to be a female empowerment song, explaining why girls are so great (as the title suggests already). The problem is that the only reason for girls’ existence seems to be connected to men. So, why did god create girls?

• to wear a pretty skirt
• to be the one to flirt
• to hold his hand
• to let him drive
• to give him a reason to wash that truck
• to drag his butt to church
• to hold him when he hurts

What a disturbing song that is. It really sounds like girls exist only because of boys. The worst part is definitely the “church” part because it so explicitly makes clear that this is what girls want, against the boys’ will, to get married. Of course, what else are girls there for?