There’s a song that’s sweeping the nation, and it comes in the form of cheap drum beats, a touch of reggae, and the incomprehensible thoughts of a rapper nicknamed “Soulja Boy.”
I came across “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” not too long ago during my usual Internet exploration, and upon discovering it, I also found that it even had its own dance. Multitudes of videos on YouTube portrayed several people attempting this dance, one of which being Soulja Boy himself, who has his own instructional video about it.
And I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
I won’t lie: I admit that the song is catchy, despite the seemingly little amount of thought that seems to have been put into it, and that the dance is easy enough to learn after watching it about two or three times. But is that really why the song has become popular? It’s “catchy?” It has a dance that everyone can learn by the end of a party that plays it three times over the course of the night? (True story.) Is that all it takes for a song to be “good” anymore? What has happened to meaningful lyrics and beautifully crafted harmonies? I believe there is more to a song than simply on how “catchy” it is.
I question if this is the direction in which song and dance are turning. I’m not saying that there aren’t recent songs and forms of dancing that are impressive, but the fact that something such as “Crank That” has become immensely popular just baffles me. Google the lyrics. I find it quite disturbing that such nonsense was even considered for production.
Picture this: When our generation grows old, we are going to be rocking out to songs that tell us to “Superman that hoe” and to get us some “bathin’ apes.” Although I bet by that time, we still won’t know what “bathin’ apes” are.
Haha this whole thing made me snicker at the reality of it too. I won't lie, I know the dance too, but what's it going to be like to turn to the 'oldies' station when we're 40 and hear "superman that hoe?" Odd to contemplate.
More evidence of the sad path our generation has taken. It was fun to watch kids at homecoming dance to it, though.
I wouldn't be sad about the path your generation has taken...I feel like teens of every generation have had music, dances, slang --- whatever --- that might seem trite or dumb in retrospect. My best friend and I used to watch the opening sequence to "Austin Powers" over and over again to learn that dance...talk about stupid. But we were just having fun. And fun doesn't always have to have much substance to it.
I agree with Sue. Being in late 20s category I can relate. Back in the day, I knew a dance to "Men in Black," "Oh What a Night" and "Let Me Clear My Throat." We had a blast at dances showing off our skills. It hasn't affected my ability to function in the real world!
I guess I was aiming more at the fact that this is considered a song, and not the dancing part.
bathing apes are shoes, made by the designer clothing company, ironically also named bathing ape.
also, soulja boy sucks.