I could probably pinpoint something disturbing in nearly every song I listen to on the way to school.
1. ‘I have abducted you/ so I tell you what to do’Â
2. ‘I may be bad, but I’m perfectly good at it.’Â
3. ‘And everybody knows I get off the chain.’Â
4. ‘Tonight I’m gonna do everything that I want with you.’Â
5. ‘I know I’m on your mind, I know we’d have a good time’Â
Although there are many frightening trends in music today, its also interesting that from 1980 until present, there has been a substantial increase in songs about ‘me,’Â according to psychologist Nathan DeWall. DeWall’s research and analysis were presented in a segment on NPR’s ‘All Things Considered.’Â
The idea that modern music is this way was always in the back of my head, but I’d never actually looked through the music of the past decade and looked for songs all about ‘me.’Â So, with the help of my embarrassing collection of ‘NOW’Â cds and Billboard’s top 100 songs of the 2000s, I have compiled a list of some of the more narcissistic songs that we all likely heard a time or two.
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- SexyBack: Justin Timberlake
- Hips Don’t Lie: Shakira
- Yeah: Usher
- Irreplaceable: Beyonce
- Single Ladies: Beyonce
- Goodies: Ciara
- Greatest Man that Ever Lived: Weezer
- Promiscuous: Nelly Furtado
- Me, Myself, and I: Beyonce
- This is Why I’m Hot: Mims
So, if I want to become a modern pop sensation, where do I begin writing lyrics?
To Do List of Lyric Writing for an Up-and-Coming Pop Sensation
1. The song should probably be about me
2. It should probably focus on my body
3. It will be set in a nightclub (the better to see you with, my dear)
4. I will make some hottie jealous because I’m dancing with someone else
5. I am cool.
6. I am hot.
7. I am better than everyone else.
8. I look good in tight jeans.
9. I am a good dancer.
I think more so than the disturbing fact that music is not about ‘we’Â anymore is the psychological effects this is having on our generation. When I sing, ‘Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me’Â in the car, I always wonder if deep in my subconscious, I actually start to believe it.
Welcome to my generation.
P.S. I’m better than you.
