There is a certain type of thrill that surrounds controversies; or “drama” like I love to call It. This thrill simply stems from the fact that most of these occurrences we term as controversies are conspiracy theories while the others are as a result of subjectivity; or in simpler terms, a demonstration of what makes us so similar yet so diverse as humans.
It is yet another Tuesday and as usual, I will be sharing three tunes with you. The #threetunetuesday or #ttt is an initiate brought to us by @ablaze. My theme for this week is “musical controversies” and as such, I will be sharing with you three specific tunes that were tagged as controversial and why they were tagged as such. Before I proceed, I would like to state that controversies are subjective, in that, something that seems very inspiring and liberating to a group of people may be perceived as hazardous or a threat to others. Also, musical controversies could be as a result of lyrics being misinterpreted or taken out of context. Without further ado, let me dive right in.
Under My Thumb–Rolling Stones.
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The title of this song alone is enough to raise controversies because what exactly is under the artist’s thumb? “Under My Thumb” is a song by The Rolling Stones released in the year 1966 as part of their very first music album called ‘Aftermath”.
This song was criticized for allegedly promoting misogyny in some parts of the song. Lyrics like “ under my thumb where you belong” and “the girl who once had me down” suggest control, dominance and revenge against a woman. However, this was just the perspective of some people.
The other lots suggested that the song was ideal for ladies who always ‘played hard to get’ and the lyrics were just from the perspective of a man who after surviving the turmoil and distress from the lady, finally gets her…under his thumb.This indeed is some food for thought.
Blurred Lines–Robin Thicke.
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The song ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke was released in 2013 and some parts of the music lyrics were criticized for allegedly promoting rape culture. A good number of people thought that the line “You know you want it” seemed too pressuring and as such consent was ignored. Another line that stirred up some form of controversy was “I hate blurred lines” as this was interpreted as diminishing the importance of consent.
The artist, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams (co-producer), denied intentionally promoting rape culture. Thicke on the flip side, stated that the song aimed to explore the ambiguous aspects of relationships where boundaries and intentions are unclear.
Legends–Juice WRLD
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I am not exactly a fan of this artist because of the type of songs he released but one particular song of his caught the attention of critics and the song; “Legend”. The song Legend by Jucie Wrld is said to potentially promote or glorify depression and suicidal thoughts. However, the artist’s ever-active fans say that the song raised awareness about mental health struggles and encouraged open discussions about addiction and depression. I feel the fan’s narrative is a bit twisted but you may do what you want with this information:)
Legends marks the end of my music selection for this week. What do you think of the songs? Do they seem controversial to you or do you have an entirely different point of view? If yes, I'd love to hear about it.
Liebe
