CTTR lyrics are actually well done...

[Sakrai 4,759]

Just now, Bio said:

I think you're expecting a little too much from a pop singer. And she doesn't talk about liberalism in the song. She talks about hypocritical liberals.

I understand what you mean, but please know that I'm not expecting anything from her. I have never asked Katy to be, or to do, or to write anything because I'm not interested in her. I'm just reacting to people here claiming there's a profound liberal discourse hidden in the song. I don't see it.

In fact, only a mention that the bubble actually "burst" would perhaps sort of make for a stronger case, or even use the bubble as past tense "we lived in a bubble", but no. The song is a loose critique to the society we live in, and the desire to fit into the structures.

[ZephyrInTheSky 1,235]

I like the song alot and the lyrics are good imo. I didnt immediately get the meaning, but then on 2nd listen  i "got it". And the lyric video with the hamster, pretty obvious. I like how she somehow was able to make the somewhat serious/political lyrics work with a disco beat.

[Bebe 17,065]

7 minutes ago, DrewStevens said:

Then the song is quite bland on the political/social side just like Firework was.

I don't think the message is bad, but I don't really appreciate an empty message. In my opinion this kind of messages are as valuable as wishing for "world peace" on a pageant.

I couldn't disagree more with you in terms of the subject matter being bland... I don't particularly like the song (although it's growing on me) but I think it's an interesting take.

Not every political song has to be a rage against the establishment, outrage or a call to arms. It would have been rather easy to go the route of analysing this dramatic shift in America and this complete 180 degree turn in political dynamics from an outward perspective. It would be easy to put the magnifying glass on Trump himself, on his proposals, on his actions, on his blatant sexism/racism/bigotry. 

It's often more interesting when an artist turns the focus inward. What was my reaction? How do I feel? If I'm shocked, why? How did I contribute to this? What was my role? What does this shift mean to me?

Again, I don't think it's a call to arms - but that's not the intent, so it's unfair to judge it for failing to do that. It's meant to capture the feelings of the nation currently, it's meant to capture the reaction and mood of the country for people like her.

And 50 years from now if people are analysing Trump's presidency and the reaction to his presidency - they are going to look to see how artists reacted, they are going to look at the popular music and see that Katy captured the feeling of so many liberals.

 

Just now, DrewStevens said:

I get that's the point of the song but to me it's just bland.

I don't know, the message of the song just makes me think "well duh, welcome to reality miss valley girl".

I mean it's fine if you have that reaction  But unless you have already forgotten what happened 3 months ago - a lot of people felt the way Katy did. 

The mainstream media predicted Hillary would win, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was live and  Stephen Colbert was visibly shaken by the results coming in, so many people were shocked. They had been told Trump had no chance - they all lived in this bubble and didn't see the anger from the Southern rural towns. Headlines everywhere talked about Trump's upset win.

It wasn't just "miss valley girl' who was surprised and I think she captured the sentiments of a lot of people. Hillary won the popular vote by a landslide really, so it's not hugely surprising that people were... well surprised. Most of the country supported Hillary and had been told for months that she would win.

[Buddy 5,686]

No they're not 

They're cringeworthy at best 

The fact that she has to say "bubble bubble" then rhyme it with "trouble trouble"

Why does she keep getting more and more childish each era?

And the Katy Cats are trying to call this song a POLITICAL STATEMENT, wtf?

[Bio 23,538]

1 minute ago, Rescued said:

I understand what you mean, but please know that I'm not expecting anything from her. I have never asked Katy to be, or to do, or to write anything because I'm not interested in her. I'm just reacting to people here claiming there's a profound liberal discourse hidden in the song. I don't see it.

In fact, only a mention that the bubble actually "burst" would perhaps sort of make for a stronger case, or even use the bubble as past tense "we lived in a bubble", but no. The song is a loose critique to the society we live in, and the desire to fit into the structures.

The reference to the bubble bursting is in Skip's rap:

"It is my desire
Break down the walls to connect, inspire
Ay, up in your high place, liars
Time is ticking for the empire
The truth they feed is feeble
As so many times before
They greed over the people
They stumbling and fumbling
And we're about to riot
They woke up, they woke up the lions""

And of course it's not a super deep political song. It's still a Katy Perry song meant for radio. I just find it funny how literally 10% of the people got the message of the song and the rest is acting like she's just talking about dancing to a song and saying she didn't evolve. This definitely has more meaning than any other song of hers and shows a desire of talking about different things than beaches in California.

[DrewStevens 5,249]

6 minutes ago, Bio said:

Katy Perry is not Kendrick Lamar tho  A little too much to expect from her. 

Well that's the thing. I expect her to pull a Kendrick but even Rihanna has released stronger social commentaries. The lyrics are way too vanilla and the message is not explicit which is such a shame because the song itself sounds like a basic radio song. 

[Bio 23,538]

Just now, DrewStevens said:

Well that's the thing. I expect her to pull a Kendrick but even Rihanna has released stronger social commentaries. The lyrics are way too vanilla and the message is not explicit which is such a shame because the song itself sounds like a basic radio song. 

That's why I think you're missing the point of the song. It talks about ignoring bothering issues and keep dancing to a catchy beat. The song is every radio cliché ever, pop song with disco vibes and a rap verse at the end. If you connect in to the lyrics it makes perfect sense.

[Sakrai 4,759]

2 minutes ago, Bio said:

The reference to the bubble bursting is in Skip's rap:

"It is my desire
Break down the walls to connect, inspire
Ay, up in your high place, liars
Time is ticking for the empire
The truth they feed is feeble
As so many times before
They greed over the people
They stumbling and fumbling
And we're about to riot
They woke up, they woke up the lions""

And of course it's not a super deep political song. It's still a Katy Perry song meant for radio. I just find it funny how literally 10% of the people got the message of the song and the rest is acting like she's just talking about dancing to a song and saying she didn't evolve. This definitely has more meaning than any other song of hers and shows a desire of talking about different things than beaches in California.

I agree, the song is more than just a shallow song to dance to. Like I have previously stated, this song seems to be more concerned with critiquing the general structures of oppression in our society, which is not necessarily a liberal discourse. In fact, turning this idea of "us" the people against the structures into a political issue might hurt Katy in the long run. The song itself has a much broader and more important (however useless) message than liberal rhetoric, and from what I can see, people are making it into a political statement 'cause that seems cooler. 

But anyway, if Katy wants to support this idea of it being a liberal anthem or something, I guess she can do that, after all her ARTPOP could mean anything.

[DrewStevens 5,249]

5 minutes ago, Bebe said:

I couldn't disagree more with you in terms of the subject matter being bland... I don't particularly like the song (although it's growing on me) but I think it's an interesting take.

Not every political song has to be a rage against the establishment, outrage or a call to arms. It would have been rather easy to go the route of analysing this dramatic shift in America and this complete 180 degree turn in political dynamics from an outward perspective. It would be easy to put the magnifying glass on Trump himself, on his proposals, on his actions, on his blatant sexism/racism/bigotry. 

It's often more interesting when an artist turns the focus inward. What was my reaction? How do I feel? If I'm shocked, why? How did I contribute to this? What was my role? What does this shift mean to me?

Again, I don't think it's a call to arms - but that's not the intent, so it's unfair to judge it for failing to do that. It's meant to capture the feelings of the nation currently, it's meant to capture the reaction and mood of the country for people like her.

And 50 years from now if people are analysing Trump's presidency and the reaction to his presidency - they are going to look to see how artists reacted, they are going to look at the popular music and see that Katy captured the feeling of so many liberals.

 

I mean it's fine if you have that reaction  But unless you have already forgotten what happened 3 months ago - a lot of people felt the way Katy did. 

The mainstream media predicted Hillary would win, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was live and  Stephen Colbert was visibly shaken by the results coming in, so many people were shocked. They had been told Trump had no chance - they all lived in this bubble and didn't see the anger from the Southern rural towns. Headlines everywhere talked about Trump's upset win.

It wasn't just "miss valley girl' who was surprised and I think she captured the sentiments of a lot of people. Hillary won the popular vote by a landslide really, so it's not hugely surprising that people were... well surprised. Most of the country supported Hillary and had been told for months that she would win.

I disagree too.

As a celebrity it is actually way easier to just say "I feel sad because of our situation" than go out and explicitly say what's wrong with the world.

It's easier to be Taylor Swift and talk about how men in the industry try to sabotage her than being Beyoncé and talk about police brutality.

I understand that her message is about how she feels but to me the message is quite unimportant compared to other messages out there. It doesn't mean the message is bad, it's just not as good and as political as some people are trying to make it look like.

[FrankMonster 495]

1 hour ago, GrigioBoys said:

I don't know why everyone is giving Katy and Chained to the Rhythm so much crap for the lyrics. They are actually quite interesting (and dare i say it... profound). Using a social/political background for a dance song definitely isn't easy to do and Katy did it pretty well. I don't know if you guys can't understand her or what but the lyrics that I read/heard are kind of dark and playful. If you're hating the lyrics, I'm almost positive you aren't completely listening to the words. The song is well done and I'm not even a Katy stan. 

Till the Wasted zombie part kicks in. That makes me cringe. 

 

The rest of the song is pretty good. 

[DrewStevens 5,249]

8 minutes ago, Bio said:

That's why I think you're missing the point of the song. It talks about ignoring bothering issues and keep dancing to a catchy beat. The song is every radio cliché ever, pop song with disco vibes and a rap verse at the end. If you connect in to the lyrics it makes perfect sense.

Just because it has thought out into it doesn't make it sound less basic. It's basic because it's a generic message about... realizing something. 

Im not missing the point, I just don't care for the meaning of this song because it's quite redundant to say "hey the world is has some issues". 

I guess the song is a good starting for white children and teens but that's about it.

[Bebe 17,065]

1 minute ago, DrewStevens said:

I disagree too.

As a celebrity it is actually way easier to just say "I feel sad because of our situation" than go out and explicitly say what's wrong with the world.

It's easier to be Taylor Swift and talk about how men in the industry try to sabotage her than being Beyoncé and talk about police brutality.

I understand that her message is about how she feels but to me the message is quite unimportant compared to other messages out there. It doesn't mean the message is bad, it's just not as good and as political as some people are trying to make it look like.

To simplify the song as "I feel sad because of our situation" is disingenuous and a misrepresentation of what I said.

The song is reflective - it's not "I feel sad, boo hoo" it's "Oh, I didn't see this coming - so many of us didn't see this coming - and this is a song reflecting on how we got here and critiquing my own bubble and the bubble so many people lived in". It's clearly reflective of the current mood of the world really.

If I'm going to make a crude comparison to an album I consider one of the best ever - I'd compare it to Kanye's MBDTF - I don't mean that on a musical level, Kanye far surpasses her there, but I'm talking purely on the inward self reflection, self critique and self awareness he displayed on the album.

You compare her to Taylor Swift talking  "about how men in the industry try to sabotage her"... But that's outward thinking - that would be Taylor critiquing the outside influences rather than putting the magnifying glass inward like Katy does in this song.

Beyonce's great - a lot of political songs that focus outwardly are great - But that's not what this song is, that's not what it's aiming to be so it seems unfair to judge it for not being that. It's kinda like if she released a love song and people complained that it wasn't a call to arms - like no that wasn't the point - it's a song by an artist who is reflecting on this huge, unexpected shift in culture and how this huge shift has also shifted her worldview and perspective.

"the message is quite unimportant compared to other messages out there"

Again, this makes me feel like you miss the point of the song though  The intent isn't to send a strong message against Trump, it's not a call to arms, it's not trying to send a huge political f*ck you to his policies. It's a song that's reflecting on and capturing the mood of the country. She doesn't need to make a political song that's so outward, I think the value of this song is that it comes from an alternate angle and aims more to capture the country's mood and reflect on how the U.S got to the place that it currently is.

It's not meant to be a song that sends a hugely important message, it's a song that's reflecting on the current times and mirroring the feeling of the nation at this time - and there is absolutely value and cultural importance in doing that.

You're critiques constantly seem to be "It's not like Beyonce critiquing police brutality!!" or criticising it for not being a political song that calls for political action - but that's because the song isn't supposed to be about that, it's a reflection of her feelings to this huge adjustment and in being so reflective she has created a song that captures and immortalized the current mood and state of culture today.


This is coming from someone who doesn't even like Katy and doesn't even like the song musically  I don't know why I end up writing essays about artists and songs I don't really like - but I do find the content and the alternative angle interesting.

[DrewStevens 5,249]

3 minutes ago, Bebe said:

To simplify the song as "I feel sad because of our situation" is disingenuous and a misrepresentation of what I said.

The song is reflective - it's not "I feel sad, boo hoo" it's "Oh, I didn't see this coming - so many of us didn't see this coming - and this is a song reflecting on how we got here and critiquing my own bubble and the bubble so many people lived in". It's clearly reflective of the current mood of the world really.

If I'm going to make a crude comparison to an album I consider one of the best ever - I'd compare it to Kanye's MBDTF - I don't mean that on a musical level, Kanye far surpasses her there, but I'm talking purely on the inward self reflection, self critique and self awareness he displayed on the album.

You compare her to Taylor Swift talking  "about how men in the industry try to sabotage her"... But that's outward thinking - that would be Taylor critiquing the outside influences rather than putting the magnifying glass inward like Katy does in this song.

Beyonce's great - a lot of political songs that focus outwardly are great - But that's not what this song is, that's not what it's aiming to be so it seems unfair to judge it for not being that. It's kinda like if she released a love song and people complained that it wasn't a call to arms - like no that wasn't the point - it's a song by an artist who is reflecting on this huge, unexpected shift in culture and how this huge shift has also shifted her worldview and perspective.

"the message is quite unimportant compared to other messages out there"

Again, this makes me feel like you miss the point of the song though  The intent isn't to send a strong message against Trump, it's not a call to arms, it's not trying to send a huge political f*ck you to his policies. It's a song that's reflecting on and capturing the mood of the country. She doesn't need to make a political song that's so outward, I think the value of this song is that it comes from an alternate angle and aims more to capture the country's mood and reflect on how the U.S got to the place that it currently is.

It's not meant to be a song that sends a hugely important message, it's a song that's reflecting on the current times and mirroring the feeling of the nation at this time - and there is absolutely value and cultural importance in doing that.

You're critiques constantly seem to be "It's not like Beyonce critiquing police brutality!!" or criticising it for not being a political song that calls for political action - but that's because the song isn't supposed to be about that, it's a reflection of her feelings to this huge adjustment and in being so reflective she has created a song that captures and immortalized the current mood and state of culture today.


This is coming from someone who doesn't even like Katy and doesn't even like the song musically  I don't know why I end up writing essays about artists and songs I don't really like - but I do find the content and the alternative angle interesting.

But why are you trying to make me appreciate the message of the song? I don't care for it and I have said it multiple times.

Just because I don't care for it or I have a different perspective about the message of the song it doesn't mean I don't get the message (and that's a really lazy way to argue with someone btw).

I know the song isn't supposed to be a big political statement and that's why I have said multiple times in this thread that this song is not a political statement, it's just a song with a generic (this is not a bad word) social message.

My purpose is not to bash the song but to express my opinion on it and explain why I don't think it's a political statement like many are saying.

We can agree to disagree and that's why I'm not quoting other people in this thread to debate their opinions on the song.

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

35 minutes ago, Rescued said:

I agree, the song is more than just a shallow song to dance to. Like I have previously stated, this song seems to be more concerned with critiquing the general structures of oppression in our society, which is not necessarily a liberal discourse. In fact, turning this idea of "us" the people against the structures into a political issue might hurt Katy in the long run. The song itself has a much broader and more important (however useless) message than liberal rhetoric, and from what I can see, people are making it into a political statement 'cause that seems cooler. 

But anyway, if Katy wants to support this idea of it being a liberal anthem or something, I guess she can do that, after all her ARTPOP could mean anything.

I agree with the first bold, but Im not sure if its for the same reasons as you

That being said, what do you think the message of this song is? and what "Liberal Rhetoric" are you referring to? 

[Bebe 17,065]

23 minutes ago, DrewStevens said:

But why are you trying to make me appreciate the message of the song? I don't care for it and I have said it multiple times.

Just because I don't care for it or I have a different perspective about the message of the song it doesn't mean I don't get the message (and that's a really lazy way to argue with someone btw).

I know the song isn't supposed to be a big political statement and that's why I have said multiple times in this thread that this song is not a political statement, it's just a song with a generic (this is not a bad word) social message.

My purpose is not to bash the song but to express my opinion on it and explain why I don't think it's a political statement like many are saying.

We can agree to disagree and that's why I'm not quoting other people in this thread to debate their opinions on the song.

I'm not really trying to get you like it - I'm just defending it's value, its cultural relevance and status as a 'political statement'.

In terms of you critiquing the way I have argued with you, I've given you reasons for why I think you don't get the intention - I've given you reasons for why I think that you don't get the intentions behind the song.

It's obviously political though  just because it's focus isn't outward like most political songs, doesn't mean there isn't a political statement - it doesn't mean it doesn't have political value. It's a song that's capturing the country's feelings towards the current political climate - the fact that it also talks about her having rose-coloured glasses and such also is a clear message and criticism not just of the liberal bubble - but it implies that the reality is far less pleasant.


I'd love for you to mention another political song that's so inward in it's exploration - you say it's generic, but I think it's a pretty unique way of exploring the current political climate.

"I know the song isn't supposed to be a big political statement and that's why I have said multiple times in this thread that this song is not a political statement"

But you contradict yourself when you say that you know it's not supposed to be a big political statement and then critique it by saying things like:

"the message is quite unimportant"

as if it is supposed to be sending some big political statement   Like you said, it's not supposed to be a big political statement - so why are you critiquing the song for having an unimportant message? It's like critiquing John Wayne for having a unimportant message... It's not supposed to... 

It's fine though. We can leave it here, it's not going anywhere really.