Talk to your parents, or even your grandparents. They’ll tell you about the old days when their parents got all sorts of mad about the music they listened to. In the 70s, it was Alice Cooper and KISS, with their theatrical makeup. In the 80s, it was Ozzy Osbourne and other heavy metal acts, whose music had the whole country believing playing albums backwards were making kids commit suicide. In the 90s, gangsta rap forced hand-wringing politicians to create the “Parental Advisory” stickers that some of us wear ironically.
Since the 2000s, the number of true generational controversies has been limited, but right now we’re kind of in an era of music that has so many ups and downs. Controversial music is at a new peak.
On this Vibe, we’ll take a look at a few songs. Some are just trash, but others are surprisingly . . . pretty good.
“Demons” (2023) – Doja Cat
This song has seemed to be hated but loved all over the internet. People are attacking Doja Cat for recently being accused of being a hard core satanist. Personally, I hate this song and everything that Doja Cat is recently standing for. It’s this new type of wave of music that sounds like obvious industry plants. Even though this song is terrible it is still trending.
“Bad Idea Right?” (2023) – Olivia Rodrigo
Similarly Olivia Rodrigo is also falling into this new wave of rock that is trending. When singing she sounds like she’s just talking not singing which is the main purpose of the song but personally it doesn’t play out well. Rodrigo is not a stranger to controversies from being sued by Taylor Swift and her team then, seemingly copying her early type of songs with attacking ex’s which she does all over this new album.
“Blurred Lines” (2013) – Robin Thicke (ft. T.I and Pharrell)
At the time in 2013, #MeToo had yet to happen and many men still overlooked sexual assaults. But when “Blurred Lines” came out, it seemed that people hated the song for its sexually suggestive lyrics impring rape. Also the song was allegedly ripping off Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give It Up. The song though is surprisingly really good and personally I believe it is better than Got to Give It Up, also it uses Pharrell as its advantage as one of our generation’s best producers and artists.
“Hold That Heat” (2022) – Southside and Future (ft. Travis Scott)
While Travis Scott didn’t release this song himself, he was featured and helped it significantly. Then after the tragic events that happened in Houston at the AstroWorld Festival, people were just waiting to tank this song. It was a flop, but it was a very good flop. “Hold That Heat” uses Travis Scott to its advantage rather than being afraid of what the media would say for even featuring him in this song.
“Try That in a Small Town” (2023) – Jason Aldean
When I listened to this song, not knowing pretty much anything about it except it was controversial, I didn’t expect it to suck this much. Jason Aldean is trying to evoke the message that a small town will hurt you if you disrespect their country. The whole thing comes off as goofy. I honestly got distracted while listening to it just because it was so generic. If you’re going to try to make a song to spread a message that you hate change, at least try to make it something original. Or, at least be from a small town.
“Fast Car” (2023) – Luke Combs
In 1988, Tracy Chapman had an unexpected hit with the song “Fast Car,” about finding a home in the love of another person with whom they could run away. Because of the song’s success, Chapman became a black female queer icon. So, it wasn’t surprising that straight white country star Luke Combs might stir up controversy by covering her signature tune. Despite Chapman’s co-sign, Combs has taken some heat for the decision, especially as the song has climbed the country charts, making it the first song ever by a black queer woman to chart at number one. As sung by Combs, the song is wistful and nostalgic, yet lacks the emotional urgency of Chapman’s original. Definitely to be expected.
