NOT, mind you, that I'm in any danger of breaking up my romantic relationship at the moment. But sometimes you just need a good jolt of a fuck-you song for whatever reason. Quitting a job. Walking down the street in New York City. Dealing with your student loan companies...
I totally do this dance at work all the time.
One of my favorite things about this particular list is that the fuck you's that I'm about to list come from some of the poppiest artists out there, and ones from whom you wouldn't ordinarily think of for a good break up/brush off song. Except for Pink. For whom it is surprising when she doesn't do a fuck-you song.
Up first is the song that started my most recent collection of songs. Mariah Carey's You Don't Know. Which just has such a fun, upbeat tempo, and entertaining sentiment, that it's been on constant rotation...since the album came out. I'm not wild about the rest of the album, I think it's ok, but this one gets me dancing every time. (maybe with the fluffing of the haters away, as in the video above)
CeeLo, of course, is the master of this type of song, with his perfect, Fuck You (regrettably titled Forget You for the censors):
From the same album, we have Cry Baby. Which has one of my favorite lines "Hate to see you cry/sad to say I've seen it" which he delivers much less nicely than the lyrics read. Also, the video stars Jaleel White (Urkel!) all grown up:
And really, who could forget (ok, probably most people) the Spice Girls' thinly veiled brush off to Ginger Spice, Wasting My Time? Lemme tell ya, Ginger leaving the group rocked my world. Ok, it didn't. And yes, I did actually buy this album, on the day it came out, on CD. Because I'm cool like that.
(no redhead. because, as James Bond has taught us all, redheads can't be trusted)
Whitney. Sigh. Whitney... You were so fucked up, but so brilliant. With the appropriately titled It's Not Right, But It's Ok:
Toni Braxton's He Wasn't Man Enough For Me:
Drama on the dance floor! Many scantily clad men! Kylie Minogue's Get Outta My Way:
Oopsie. Keri Hilson's Beautiful Mistake:
Usher's U Don't Have to Call:
And, of course, I couldn't leave Pink off this list. While she has many, MANY, great fuck you songs, this one is my current favorite:
And, fascinatingly, the Jerkins brothers (Rodney "Darkchild" and Fred "Uncle Freddie" are highly represented on this list, as they did (one or the other, or together), Wasting My Time, It's Not Right, but It's Ok, and He Wasn't Man Enough for Me.
Looking at their list of major singles, it looks like they've also been responsible for fuck off songs by Destiny's Child, Beyonce, and many many others... Heh.
Okay, glad for the opening line, as I felt a sense of doom when I started reading this post...
ReplyDeleteOne thing, though. I have to question the absence of Blood on the Tracks in here. I understand that you have a fraught relationship with Dylan, but "Idiot Wind"? Check this out:
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
Or, off the same album, "You're a big girl now":
Love is so simple, to quote a phrase
You’ve known it all the time, I’m learnin’ it these days
Oh, I know where I can find you, oh, oh
In somebody’s room
Dayum...
Hah. Love the Dylan breakup/bitter songs. Except that they don't really make me feel like getting on down with my bad self.
DeleteThey make me feel like sitting on the back porch drinking whiskey out of mason jars. And contemplating stuff. Like my navel.
Okay, well, the dance thing is a good point. I guess I don't do much fuck you dancing. I do more like fuck you muttering.
ReplyDelete