Turn It Up

‘Fun’ for none

January 14, 2010 2 Comments

As a general rule, I don’t post about songs I don’t dig, but for those of you out there who think the record-smashing success of Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” could just be the super-irritating nudge the apocalypse needs to get this end-of-days party started, this next doozy might really seal the deal on our very existence.

It’s not just that J Brazil‘s “Girl I’m Tryin’ dared to flip the gender on Cyndi Lauper‘s ’80s feminist anthem, “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” because the late songwriter Robert Hazard did originally pen the tune from a guy’s perspective (later giving Lauper permission to change it up). It’s more so that, well… just listen for yourself:

Even Miley Cyrus’ version didn’t rub me so completely wrong. Thankfully, J Brazil has yet to gain much traction from his Auto-Tuned travesty (please, dear Jeebus, let it remain so), but the track’s very existence begs the question: What has Ms. Lauper done to piss off the universe so majorly?

And will Cyndi’s appearance on the upcoming season of Celebrity Apprentice reset the balance, or simply throw things even more off-kilter?

  • Anonymous

    John, I think you're way off on this one. I LOVE it. There always was and will always be room for cheesy, mindless, catchy, pop songs. You don't have to hate on them. And don't give me the argument about them not being able to sing. Once upon a time everyone could play instruments too. Enter the world of Pro-tools and Synths.

  • John

    Well, Anonymous, you won't hear any arguments from me against mindless, catchy pop music. Peruse most of Popservations and you'll see I harbor little shame when it comes to loving such tunes. As for not being able to sing, one of my current favorites is Jennifer Lopez's "Louboutins."

    I just didn't happen to like "Girl I'm Tryin'." However, I didn't like Miley Cyrus' "Party In The U.S.A." or Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield" for the first several listens, and eventually was won over. So I reserve the right to come around to J Brazil later. But I'm sticking to my guns on Ke$sha's "Tik Tok."

    Thanks for reading, and your comment.