Cha Ching!

No, i'm not speaking Chinese! Cha-ching is the Hedley's new song name. Even though it sounds a bit weird, cha-ching is supposed to be the sound that a cash register would do when you open it to put the money into it.

I have already talked about Hedley, so I think you don't need more information about them.

Obviously, this song talks about money. Specially about the money that people make on TV for doing absolutly nothing, that is appearing on reality shows. This message is very clear along the song. I suppose that the reason why these lyrics were written is that Jacob Hoggard, the singer, got to know this world very well when he was in Canadian Idol, which is kind of a reality show. The chorus -where the message is even clearer- sarcasticly encourages people to win money on TV, to swing it, to bring it, to make the cash register do the cha ching! sound. It also says that the only way to go far on TV and to be a star is to get naked, which sadly seems to be true these days.

"So everybody dance and everybody sing,
If you wanna go far, if you wanna be a star
Yeah we can swing it
Cha-ching
When you take off all your clothes, When you strike a playboy pose
If you wanna go far, if you wanna be a star
Then you gotta bring it
Cha-ching"

The lyrics critizise and have many references to different shows and channels, some of them are:

The Real World (an MTV reality show from 1992)

"It started on the real world
A hot tub full of hot girls
Grindin' every frat boy and freak"
Probably they say that it started on The Real World because that show was broadcasted on 1992 and surely was one of the first realities.

Canadian Idol / American Idol

"Line up all the idols
Who paint on phony smiles
Tryin' to ride the fast track for free"

The Biggest Loser ( show with overweight contestants attempting to lose weight to fight for a cash prize) and the channel MTV

"Who's the biggest loser?

I'll bust the biggest boozer
Bigger ratings for MTV"

Survivor (reality show where contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes)

"All the sole survivors
Still stranded on the island
Lying through their teeth for money"

Tila Tequila ( who had a dating game show on MTV in 2002) and the American rapper Flavor flav.

"Pretending to be lesbians
The tila's playing all of them
While flavor flav get fucked up for free"

So, basically, as we can see in those quotes of the lyrics, Hedley is critizing how unreal and false is the TV world and how people appearing on shows don't mind to do anything and they just care about the money they are going to earn. And while we are watching those stupid and useless -in my opinion- shows the people who appear on them, as well as the one who had the idea and the producer are getting richer and richer (and don't think that they like their own shows, they just like the money they make with them). I believe that this idea is reflected on the following verse:

"And all the hotties on the hills
Just getting rich and making deals
While you and I are watchin' TV"

(The Hills was a program that followed the personal lives of several young people living in Los Angeles, California, USA)

At the end of the song, sarcasticly again, they tell us to hurry up and don't miss our minutes of glory on TV and our chance to win lots of money, like many people who seem to be crazy about that.

"So hurry turn it on, turn it on, get your 15 minutes
15's almost gone, turn it on, turn it on.

Cha-ching" 

I hope that the sarcastic message of these lyrics will make people think about the quality of TV shows nowadays and that people will think twice before watching a show of the sort I talked about.

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsreg.com/lyrics/hedley/Chaching/

Song in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRJkpwzJe9Y

Father Christmas give us some money!

"When I was small I believed in santa claus
Though I knew it was my dad
And I would hang up my stocking at christmas
Open my presents and Id be glad"

Merry Christmas time bloggers!

Some days ago, before Christmas, I was looking for some Christmas-time music and I found out two great Cds: A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas, and A Santa Cause 2: It's a Punk Rock Christmas. Well, actually I also found a very fine CD called Christmas Swing with all the classics (Let It Snow, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, etc.).

But I wanted to talk about the two former. They looked pretty interesting and new to me because I had never heard rock or punk Christmas carols. So I listened to them and they were good. They've got some classic carols covered to rock (like Santa Claus is Coming to Town played by Sugarcult, a punk band), and new rock "carols".

One of the songs I liked the most was Father Christmas, sung by Action action, an American indie rock band. This song was originally played and written by The Kinks, an English rock band. The song was relised on 1977. I think that the lyrics are very funny and at the same time it protests against the consumism in Christmas time and remind us that there are kids who got nothing. The end of the song goes like this:

"Have yourself a merry merry christmas
Have yourself a good time
But remember the kids who got nothin
While youre drinkin down your wine"

The song talks about a gang of poor boys who want to beat up a department store's Santa Claus if he doesn't give them money. They don't want toys, because they are unusefull to them and they tell Santa Claus to give all  the toys to the little rich boys. One of the boys also asks for a machine gun to scare other kids, and another one asks Father Christmas to give his dad a job. The chorus goes like this:

"Father christmas, give us some money
Dont mess around with those silly toys.
Well beat you up if you dont hand it over
We want your bread so dont make us annoyed
Give all the toys to the little rich boys"

I think that is very sad that while we are spending lots of money in food, Christmas decoration, toys and gifts there are poor families who can't spend their money celebrating Christmas and can't give gifts to their kids. But it is also true that in this time of the year a lot of campains are run to collect money apelling to the kindness and solidarity of people, because at Christmas time everybody is happier, kinder and more supportive. I don't know why though, but it isn't bad. However, we should try to be like that not only because it is Christmas. Well, maybe I know why. I think it might be that the Christmas spiritis is about behaving that way because Baby Jesus is born and we have to be nice.

So this song might be good for the crisis time we are living and probably the best gift that Father Christmas or Los tres Reyes Magos can give us this year is money!

Oh! By the way, the song has been also covered a number of times by bands including the Gigolo Aunts, Green Day, Warrant and Bowling For Soup.

Lyrics: 

http://www.lyricstime.com/action-action-father-christmas-lyrics.html

Low low low low...

Today I won't talk about lyrics I like. Today it will be about lyrics I dislike.

The song is called Low and it is sung by two guys called Flo Rida and T-Pain. I said sung, because I have no idea who the composers are... and I'd prefer not to know. This song was very popular in North America in the summer of 2008.

First of all, this is one of those ugly songs that you, as a Spaniard, listen on the radio and think "Oh, what cool song! It makes want to dance!". Because, all right!!, it is a catchy song. But as you become more interested on the song (maybe after dancing it at clubs 500 times all summer long) and you look up for the lyrics (or you listen to the lyrics) you will find out how sexist they are. Then you will think, as it happen to me, "oh my god, how can i even dance this?". I think it happens the same for English speakers, the lyrics go through their ears as if they were foreigners and wouldn't understand a word.

The true is that the lyrics of this song, among many others, don't really matter because this kind of music it is not done for music lovers. It is done to win lots of money by becoming the summer song and the song most danced at clubs. So its rythim is catchy and repetitive, and its lyrics silly and mostly sexist with a high sexual content. How can we fight for equility between men and women if those songs adressed to the youth  pass on the wrong message? And the worst thing is that they are played openly on the radios and on TV, where kids listen to it and learn their lyrics.

Low talks about a girl that the singer (a man) met one night in a club. I'm going to quote some lines (in italic) that I find particulary shocking and after I will make little comments (in brackets). Oh, but first I have to say that I coulnd't find a reliable page with the lyrics, because it contains lots of slang terms and each person writes them as he/she likes. So it might be that some words are not well spelled.

So sexual, she was flexible
Professional, drinkin X and ooo
Hold up wait a minute, do i see what I think I
Whoa (I bet that he means a part of her body)

(...)

Imma say that I prefer them no clothes (Haha, he is not silly)

I'm into that, I love women exposed  (Excuse me?)
She threw it back at me, I gave her more
Cash ain't a problem, I know where it goes (Cash? I don't know what to think of this verse...)

 (...)

Hey
Shawty what I gotta do to get you home
My jeans full of gwap
And they ready for Shones
Cadillacs Maybachs for the sexy grown
Patrone on the rocks that'll make you moan

 (...)

What you think I'm playin baby girl
I'm the man, I'll bend the rubber bands (This is the wrong message that I was talking about)

(...)

That's what I told her, her legs on my shoulder (Why would do that for? I don't think he's giving her a horsey ride...)
(...)
Shorty was hot like a toaster (What a nice comparison)
Sorry but I had to fold her,
Like a pornography poster (This line pass on the wrong message to the teens too)
She showed her

 (...)

Shawty
Yea she was worth the money
Lil mama took my cash.(...) (So definitely, she was a protitute. To me, looks like he talks about women as if we all were prostitutes)

And I could go on and on.

Lyrics: 

http://www.kovideo.net/lyrics/f/Florida-Feat-Tpain/Low.html

Song in YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VVuMIB2hC0