Our second favourite Mena and our favourite swear word: together at last.
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[6.22]
Brad Shoup: Commentism: THE SONG!
[10]
Edward Okulicz: Sure, the idea of hatin’ the hataz on the Internet in song seems gauche, but that’s just because there’s little precedent. If music as an artform had no history and was invented in 2013, you can bet this would be a pretty prominent theme and nobody would think twice. Kudos to Mena for doing it well — the way she utters the word “fuck” with such quiet determination makes Ani DiFranco seem like Zach de la Rocha. The rest of the song, including the word “you” spirals and curlicues so elegantly that you don’t need the swear word, the anger, the anything. The statement doesn’t need the swear word either, but it sure makes the most of it.
[8]
Patrick St. Michel: Sounds like Vanessa Carlton with a little of Mumford & Sons/Imagine Dragons/whoever else fits in this beardy genre thrown in. Except with a goofy chorus that’s neither sincere or edgy or funny. Cee-Lo made those two syllables count…this just expects us to clap along because Mena said a profanity.
[3]
Iain Mew: Yes, I have a thing for bitter songs delivered with an unbroken fake smile, but not as much for bitter songs which dress up aggression as twinkly indie mope.
[4]
Anthony Easton: I like when vulgarity is softened by tasteful cocktail piano and sotto voce whispering — this might sound sarcastic, but it takes words seriously that have been withered by overuse. Elegant.
[7]
Will Adams: The way she delivers the title is just amazing. Too many times I’ve resorted to the under-breath mutter in place of standing up for myself. I tell myself it’s enough to say those two words to myself as that jerk walks away, but it never satisfies. I enjoy the Spektorian arrangement in this, but not so much the overstuffed verses telling off… Internet haters. Whatever, fuck it: it’s all about that chorus.
[7]
Jonathan Bogart: Less jollity and more venom than in the other recent song of the same name, and whether that’s a good thing or a bad probably depends a great deal on which you’d rather relate to. The sentiment remains unchanged, as is only proper; even when the disaster is our damn fault, it’s a relief to get bile out of the way.
[7]
Scott Mildenhall: This should be on the curriculum, played in PSHE lessons, music lessons, maths lessons… you can tell people to “Change Your Life” like a “Firework” because they were “Born This Way” all you like, that could never be as truly empowering or cathartic as telling the bullies to just do one, and in the most elegantly unelegant of ways. Mena is decisive and commanding, but not overwrought, successfully pulling off the balancing act of saying “I don’t like you, but also genuinely couldn’t care less about you,” and making it believable. Obviously if you did play this in schools there’s a chance it would be appropriated by the bullies, and it’s not really the most pragmatic response to them, but the point still stands.
[8]
Alfred Soto: Somebody had an idea: “Let’s juxtapose the profanity against strings and piano.” Nobody had a clue.
[2]