Thursday, May 8, 2014

Sizzy Rocket Releases Feminist Response to Beastie Boys' "Girls"

Sizzy Rocket just released a cover/parody of the Beastie Boys' 1986 hit "Girls." Her version is much slower paced, in a more modern electro-pop style, and it's also a whole lot more feminist. With lyrics like "They like the way that we walk / But they don't wanna hear us talk" and "But they have no idea / The pressure that we feel." 

I completely understand the sentiment, but the song is almost 30 years old. Between this and the GoldieBlox parody/rip off of the song, there seems to be this newfound focus on the misogynistic lyrics. This feels odd, because the song is older than the people complaining about it. It was meant as a joke, but once the Beastie Boys realized people were taking it seriously they completely disavowed the song and never performed it live. Later songs contained lyrics like "I want to say a little something that's long overdue / The disrespect to women has got to be through / To all the mothers and the sisters and the wives and friends / I want to offer my love and respect to the end." It's not like there aren't current targets begging for feminist parodies, such as "Blurred Lines" or the entire Odd Futures catalog. Maybe it's because current female singers aren't afraid to insult their parent's generation of musicians, but don't want to alienate their peer's fan base or lose out on doing background vocals in the future.

I completely agree with the sentiment, but let's get a more appropriate target.

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