Let's put it out in the open.
Kanye's got ego. Attitude. He's over-emotional, he's complicated; compensating for something, angry, bitter, blitzed.
He's a gay fish.
Happy?
Great. Now that the pettiness of his pursuit for the limelight is in full focus we can all forget about the fact that the men redefined pop music, took several public stands against hip-hop-homophobia, and was the first public figure to point the broken arrow of judgement to George Bush's crossed arms once the levees broke.
But that's not important, right?
What's important--yes, Jesus, I almost forgot--
The important thing is that he ran up on stage, said a one sentence opinion, and crushed the dreams of a 19 year old.
.....
Who gives a red-hot-shit?
Every decade has famous, brilliant people who just happen to be nutso pajamas.
Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Maddonna, Prince, Tupac; these-are-people-who-would
They are ego-driven, angry, not very nice people.
It is not Kanye's job to sit back as some interchangeable chunk of B-grade Americana takes an award she stole under the nose of an icon.
It is Kanye's job to take the stage and say what everybody else was thinking-
now,
not to say that his outburst was politcally correct--
It was rude ad juvenille and selfish.
But he was telling the truth.
..........................
The sad thing is? Everybody knows it.
Beyonce's "Single Ladies" music video is already a pop-culture-pinpoint of the years 2008-2009.
It's a catch-phrase.
A flash mob preformed the dance to record numbers.
The president of the United States can do the "Robot Hand."
It's here to stay in a way few songs catch on.
The video itself; a swift (seemingly) single shot is a masterwork of choreography, camera placement and percision.
It's hot.
Now, Ms Swift's video: "You Belong With Me."
Coke bottle glasses. Jumping on a bed. Teenage angst.
The song is literally about a girl at peace with her invisibility; she doesn't stand out in a crowd, "She wears short shirts I wear T-shirts"; she's a doormat.
She likes a boy. He likes a slut.
So what does Taylor do? Ms.Swift puts on a prom dress and gets the man by becoming something that's less then a shadow; she slips into a sliver.
The editing, the pace, the shot-set-up and the imagrey is typical mid 90's VH1.
If the sound was off, the 4 minute short could be easily confused as a scene from TV's "Gossip Girl" or a Clearisil Ultra commercial.
..........................
"Beyonce had one of the best videos of all Time."
Debatable.
But one of the best of the decade? Sure. One of the best of the year? Fact.
This doesn't make the stunt on Sunday any less painful for Ms.Swift.
This also doesn't make Kanye a villain.
The man is obsessed with perfection. He does not understand mediocrity.
We shouldn't either. Instead of rushing to the side of another guitar playing, lite-rocking, carbon-copy-cookie-cutter-
In 2007, West gave his BET award to Big Boi of Outkast because he felt an injustice had been done.
He spoke out.
In 2009, Kanye took the stage and stuck up for what he thought was the right thing to do.
He didn't murder your dog.
He didn't poison the town's water supply.
He was simply sticking up for what he thought was a massive missconception; holding a Prada magazine up to the Emperor's New Clothes and saying "I mean it's cute--But look at what you're MISSING."
.....Just telling it like it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment