WORST SONG OF THE YEAR (cast your vote)

1468910

  Comments


  • Well, I'm convinced. AY BAY BAY is DOPE!!!

    Now I'll just have to rethink what the worst song of the year is. Are people still making the country musics? Luckily I'm not exposed to it at all where I live.

    Self hating white liberal fetishizing black culture. Next.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Okay, someone good and pasty plaese to explain this "fetishizing of black culture" speak.

  • Okay, someone good and pasty plaese to explain this "fetishizing of black culture" speak.
    '

    I'm in no position to explain this phenomenon, but Greg Tate might be:

    http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0303/tate/excerpt.html

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    Okay, someone good and pasty plaese to explain this "fetishizing of black culture" speak.
    '


    I'm in no position to explain this phenomenon, but Greg Tate might be:

    http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0303/tate/excerpt.html
    fetishizing black culture 1965-1975 vs. fetishizing black culture 1997-2007

    seriously nobody in this forum can really throw stones w/ that argument if they're just basing it on somebody enjoying 'a bay bay'

  • Well, I'm convinced. AY BAY BAY is DOPE!!!

    Now I'll just have to rethink what the worst song of the year is. Are people still making the country musics? Luckily I'm not exposed to it at all where I live.

    Self hating white liberal fetishizing black culture. Next.


    Don't discount the local redneck experience just because you don't like it. Yeah yeah yeah, I know, Country was "better" in the 50s. You're just old, and probably hate hillbillies. Just because they don't make country they you like it doesn't discount it as a valid representation of cletus culture. If you would spend any time in a line dancing club you might be in a position to speak on shit, but until then, you don't understand it so shut the fuck up. Typical white liberal rockist attitude you got there.

  • emyndemynd 830 Posts
    I agree with nearly everything Archaic is saying in this thread.

    Nobody is automatically a "racist" for disliking a song like "Ay Bay Bay." Where things become problematic is when people want to use words like "trash" and "garbage" and "retarded" to describe these songs that are clearly important and "authentic" expressions from a very real community. Nobody would ever claim that "black folks" are one unified group who all have the same opinions, values, and mores. But, that being said, the songs that people are hating on in this thread are songs that speak to a certain segment of the black community. To say you don't like these songs is one thing, but to declare that they are "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation that implies that anybody that actually enjoys this "trash"/"garbage" is some type of idiot. And so, I find this type of value judgment really depressing and while it certainly isn't a KKK badge or anything, it's still quite a troublesome view that suggests a very real disconnect and disdain for this type of "black culture."

    In other words, if a song like "Crank Dat" is truly "trash" and "garbage," what does it say about a culture that accepts it as something enjoyable and important? To take the view that these songs are "trash" basically invalidates the opinions and feelings of a community that doesn't see it that way. So, again, if people were just saying, "Man, I really can't mess with that song," it'd be a different story. But, folks are on here saying much more damning things than that, which in turn suggest some dark things about the community that creates and supports these artifacts.

    I'm honestly shocked (and depressed) only 3 or 4 people in this thread can wrap their minds aroudn how ignorant a great deal of what's being said in here truly is.

    -e

  • noznoz 3,625 Posts
    Okay, someone good and pasty plaese to explain this "fetishizing of black culture" speak.
    '


    I'm in no position to explain this phenomenon, but Greg Tate might be:

    http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0303/tate/excerpt.html
    fetishizing black culture 1965-1975 vs. fetishizing black culture 1997-2007

    Actually these days it's all about fetishizing South Asian culture 1972-1982.

    GOML: Get On Marco's Level

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Okay, someone good and pasty plaese to explain this "fetishizing of black culture" speak.
    '


    I'm in no position to explain this phenomenon, but Greg Tate might be:

    http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0303/tate/excerpt.html

    Yeah, I've got that.

    But I'm looking for one of you on this board who regularly wields the accusation to illustrate their line between natural interaction and ___________ (fill in the blank with your negative opposite).

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    I agree with nearly everything Archaic is saying in this thread.

    Nobody is automatically a "racist" for disliking a song like "Ay Bay Bay." Where things become problematic is when people want to use words like "trash" and "garbage" and "retarded" to describe these songs that are clearly important and "authentic" expressions from a very real community. Nobody would ever claim that "black folks" are one unified group who all have the same opinions, values, and mores. But, that being said, the songs that people are hating on in this thread are songs that speak to a certain segment of the black community. To say you don't like these songs is one thing, but to declare that they are "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation that implies that anybody that actually enjoys this "trash"/"garbage" is some type of idiot. And so, I find this type of value judgment really depressing and while it certainly isn't a KKK badge or anything, it's still quite a troublesome view that suggests a very real disconnect and disdain for this type of "black culture."

    In other words, if a song like "Crank Dat" is truly "trash" and "garbage," what does it say about a culture that accepts it as something enjoyable and important? To take the view that these songs are "trash" basically invalidates the opinions and feelings of a community that doesn't see it that way. So, again, if people were just saying, "Man, I really can't mess with that song," it'd be a different story. But, folks are on here saying much more damning things than that, which in turn suggest some dark things about the community that creates and supports these artifacts.

    I'm honestly shocked (and depressed) only 3 or 4 people in this thread can wrap their minds aroudn how ignorant a great deal of what's being said in here truly is.

    -e
    nah i can call these songs trash guilt-free (tho i don't think they are)
    i think there's something more intangible that is so objectionable about the way folks are describing them here, the pile-on aspect, the fact that other (older) genres are taken more seriously, SONIC GENTRIFICATION-esque

  • Okay, someone good and pasty plaese to explain this "fetishizing of black culture" speak.
    '


    I'm in no position to explain this phenomenon, but Greg Tate might be:

    http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0303/tate/excerpt.html
    fetishizing black culture 1965-1975 vs. fetishizing black culture 1997-2007


    seriously nobody in this forum can really throw stones w/ that argument if they're just basing it on somebody enjoying 'a bay bay'

    I'd like to note that I haven't accused anyone of fetishizing black culture (except in a sarcastic joking manner), and personally I don't really care what music anyone likes or dislikes. Someone else brought up the racial fetish issue, I made a joke about it, and HarveyC wanted clarification. I merely tried to offer what resource I could to supply that clarification.

    Still, my main point remains this: it's ok to dislike "authentic community-based regional music" or even "mainstream corporate pop garbage" (and any intersections of the two) without immediately being tagged as racist, disconnected, or unqualified to speak on it.

    Some people seem to forget that taste is a highly subjective animal, and as such, can't always be boiled down to logic or cultural background. Lots of metalheads think Metallica sucks. Lots of rap fans (both black and white, both "informed" and "uninformed") think Hurricane Chris sucks. Some folks apparently have trouble accepting this fact, but that's their problem as far as I'm concerned.

    It would have been great if this fun "WORST SONG OF THE YEAR" discussion could have transpired without flimsy accusations of subliminal racism and dubious claims of cultural connectedness...

    ...but it has been interesting with them, so please continue.

  • Actually these days it's all about fetishizing South Asian culture 1972-1982.

    GOML: Get On Marco's Level

    If that was a joke, I'm a big enough person to take it in good fun. Duly zinged!

    But if it wasn't, then seriously dude: you have no idea what you're talking about and you don't know me at all.

  • mandrewmandrew 2,720 Posts
    I agree with nearly everything Archaic is saying in this thread.

    Nobody is automatically a "racist" for disliking a song like "Ay Bay Bay." Where things become problematic is when people want to use words like "trash" and "garbage" and "retarded" to describe these songs that are clearly important and "authentic" expressions from a very real community. Nobody would ever claim that "black folks" are one unified group who all have the same opinions, values, and mores. But, that being said, the songs that people are hating on in this thread are songs that speak to a certain segment of the black community. To say you don't like these songs is one thing, but to declare that they are "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation that implies that anybody that actually enjoys this "trash"/"garbage" is some type of idiot. And so, I find this type of value judgment really depressing and while it certainly isn't a KKK badge or anything, it's still quite a troublesome view that suggests a very real disconnect and disdain for this type of "black culture."

    In other words, if a song like "Crank Dat" is truly "trash" and "garbage," what does it say about a culture that accepts it as something enjoyable and important? To take the view that these songs are "trash" basically invalidates the opinions and feelings of a community that doesn't see it that way. So, again, if people were just saying, "Man, I really can't mess with that song," it'd be a different story. But, folks are on here saying much more damning things than that, which in turn suggest some dark things about the community that creates and supports these artifacts.

    I'm honestly shocked (and depressed) only 3 or 4 people in this thread can wrap their minds aroudn how ignorant a great deal of what's being said in here truly is.

    -e

    this presumes that the only people who enjoy "ay bay bay" and "crank that" (and such) are "a certain segment of the black community." WHICH IS FAR FROM TRUE.
    calling disposable pop songs "trash" - no matter how enjoyable they are - is not racist.
    how did this become a discussion about race? sheeeesh

  • to declare that they are "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation

    uh NO. are you serious?

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    I agree with nearly everything Archaic is saying in this thread.

    Nobody is automatically a "racist" for disliking a song like "Ay Bay Bay." Where things become problematic is when people want to use words like "trash" and "garbage" and "retarded" to describe these songs that are clearly important and "authentic" expressions from a very real community. Nobody would ever claim that "black folks" are one unified group who all have the same opinions, values, and mores. But, that being said, the songs that people are hating on in this thread are songs that speak to a certain segment of the black community. To say you don't like these songs is one thing, but to declare that they are "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation that implies that anybody that actually enjoys this "trash"/"garbage" is some type of idiot. And so, I find this type of value judgment really depressing and while it certainly isn't a KKK badge or anything, it's still quite a troublesome view that suggests a very real disconnect and disdain for this type of "black culture."

    In other words, if a song like "Crank Dat" is truly "trash" and "garbage," what does it say about a culture that accepts it as something enjoyable and important? To take the view that these songs are "trash" basically invalidates the opinions and feelings of a community that doesn't see it that way. So, again, if people were just saying, "Man, I really can't mess with that song," it'd be a different story. But, folks are on here saying much more damning things than that, which in turn suggest some dark things about the community that creates and supports these artifacts.

    I'm honestly shocked (and depressed) only 3 or 4 people in this thread can wrap their minds aroudn how ignorant a great deal of what's being said in here truly is.

    -e

    this presumes that the only people who enjoy "ay bay bay" and "crank that" (and such) are "a certain segment of the black community." WHICH IS FAR FROM TRUE.
    calling disposable pop songs "trash" - no matter how enjoyable they are - is not racist.
    how did this become a discussion about race? sheeeesh

    your use of 'disposable pop song' has not been fully interrogated (wtf does that mean and why do you think its so universal? what are the characteristics of a 'disposable pop song' vs. the tasteful classics you love? why should this disposability be self-evident when some folks on this thread like and enjoy these songs?) and i think emil might be right to assume that on a lot of folks' parts race is an underlying unaddressed aspect of the hatt ... altho socioeconomics + age also play into it.

    aka u old


  • how did this become a discussion about race?


    simple. this is how:


    Hands down it has to be "AY BAY BAY" I've never made it past 10 seconds of this song. Its that bad. it sounds like a retarded kid asking for something, and you aren't sure what it is he wants and he's like "AY BAY BAY!" 'what?' "AY BAY BAY!" 'i dont understand what you want' "AY BAY BAY!" and then the thrashing starts. I was in tears the other night in the car as we were listening to this song and we started screaming AY. BAY. BAY! So funny. Even then I don't think we broke the 10 second mark.

    So honestly I'm not even sure what market this song was made for. Kids? Do kids really like it? I mean, Biz markie sounded semi retarded on 'you got what i need' and we all like it, but then again we all know biz was just clowning around too. who knows.

    but anyways, thats my vote, hands down, for worst song of the year. I dare you to find something worse than that.

    X =


    it only took Harv-chaic 4 posts in this thread. clearly he was chomping at the bit.

  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts

    how did this become a discussion about race?


    simple. this is how:
    board full of primarily white self-proclaimed experts on black music proclaim harsh judgement on wide swath of current black music

  • mandrewmandrew 2,720 Posts

    uh NO. are you serious?

    that's pretty much exactly how i wanted to respond too

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    C'mon, Chad..."fetishizing black culture"...explain your accusation.


  • how did this become a discussion about race?


    simple. this is how:
    board full of primarily white self-proclaimed experts on black music proclaim harsh judgement on wide swath of current black music


    say what you will deej but Harv started the race thread. pure and simple.

  • I sometimes find it hard to hear the big difference between a song like "Ay Bay Bay" and a lot of funk 45s. Some folks like primitive synth beats and call-and-response rapps, some people like off-key singing and chicken scratch guitar.

    I think DizzyBull posts more about what he doesn't like than what he does like!

  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    In other words, if a song like "Crank Dat" is truly "trash" and "garbage," what does it say about a culture that accepts it as something enjoyable and important?
    That they don't know any better.

  • clearly important and "authentic" expressions from a very real community.


    Clear to who? This is the first i've heard of AY BAY BAY being an important monument of black culture. Up until now its just been another bullshit song on the radio. Don't assume that the average radio listener knows are cares anything about whats going on in southern rap clubs.


    the songs that people are hating on in this thread are songs that speak to a certain segment of the black community.

    I'm not sure why this is important. Blink 182 speaks to a certain segment of my community, but I have no problem calling that bullshit either.



    To say you don't like these songs is one thing, but to declare that they are "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation that implies that anybody that actually enjoys this "trash"/"garbage" is some type of idiot.
    Wrong. I actually like the sean kingston song. Everybody else seems to hate it, so who are they "racist" against? Jamaican robots?





    And so, I find this type of value judgment really depressing and while it certainly isn't a KKK badge or anything, it's still quite a troublesome view that suggests a very real disconnect and disdain for this type of "black culture."

    Now you are implying that its somehow wrong to be "disconnected" from "black culture." Why would I be "connected" to "black culture"???? Or better yet, how pompous is it to assume that you are such a special whiteboy that you have somehow tapped into that special culture, thus making you supierior to everybody else? Why don't you just make yourself a "I'm connected to black culture" t-shirt and walk around. I'd like to see how far you get before you are laughed at, and/or beat up.



    In other words, if a song like "Boot Scoot Boogie" is truly "trash" and "garbage," what does it say about a culture that accepts it as something enjoyable and important?




    To take the view that these songs are "trash" basically invalidates the opinions and feelings of a community that doesn't see it that way.
    No, it just means I turned on the radio.





    I'm honestly shocked (and depressed) only 3 or 4 people in this thread can wrap their minds aroudn how ignorant a great deal of what's being said in here truly is.

    -e

    you go, whiteboy!

    there is nothing whiter than trying to "explain the blacks". Harvey could write a fucking book on it. go whiteboy go whiteboy go!

  • emyndemynd 830 Posts
    this presumes that the only people who enjoy "ay bay bay" and "crank that" (and such) are "a certain segment of the black community." WHICH IS FAR FROM TRUE.

    You're right to say that the "black community" I'm speaking about isn't the only community that likes this song. But, that doesn't change the point of my argument at all.

    Again, I think anyone is allowed to dislike whatever songs they want to dislike for whatever reasons they want to dislike them. But, the fact that people are vocally calling songs like "Ay Bay Bay," "Crank Dat," and "Party Like a Rockstar" (notably, these are all songs of a similar aesthetic that originate from and resonate with a similar culture) "trash" and "garbage" and "retarded" comes across as somewhat dubious. I really don't care that any of you people don't like these songs, but they come from somewhere and speak to a very specific group of people that most of you aren't connected to. Therefore, for a group of white folks to ruthlessly pass judgment on these specifically black cultural aesthetics, calling it "trash" and "retarded" all because, figuratively speaking, you don't speak the same aesthetic language? I mean, how can that NOT be "racist"?

    This doesn't mean anybody that dislikes these songs secretly hates black people or anything. It just means that their understanding of this culture's aesthetics is severely limited and, furthermore, this (lack of) understanding marginalizes the aesthetics of this community. How is not racist to say "My/our aesthetic criteria is superioir to this group's"?

    And again, to address the quoted point above, the fact that so many white people have embraced these songs does not necessarily mean that these songs aren't uniquely "black."

    I really don't think anybody that dislikes these songs are bad people or are the next reincarnation of Hitler. I just don't think they're thinking very critically about race and culture when they voice their opinions. And, as white people listening to black music, I don't think it's ridiculous for us to think a bit more critically about our engagement with this music.

    -e

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts

    Now you are implying that its somehow wrong to be "disconnected" from "black culture." Why would I be "connected" to "black culture"????

    Because black culture has contributed so much to you being able to be the complacent white American that you are. You need to at least be connected enough to know how not to be disrespectful.

    Or better yet, how pompous is it to assume that you are such a special whiteboy that you have somehow tapped into that special culture, thus making you supierior to everybody else? Why don't you just make yourself a "I'm connected to black culture" t-shirt and walk around. I'd like to see how far you get before you are laughed at, and/or beat up.

    It's not a superior thing, at least not for me. We truly want you to be able to stop embarassing yourself. And trust that you'd rather hear about it on the internet from a "whiteboy" than to feel it in the flesh from someone you have directly offended.

  • to declare that Ay Bay Bay is "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation

    -e


    ^^^^^ I'm sorry dude but this will provide me laughs for days. ^^^^^

    If you really can't see how ridiculous a statement this is, I just don't know what to tell you....

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    And, as white people listening to black music, I don't think it's ridiculous for us to think a bit more critically about our engagement with this music.

  • emyndemynd 830 Posts
    to declare that Ay Bay Bay is "trash" and "garbage" is fundamentally a racist accusation

    -e


    ^^^^^ I'm sorry dude but this will provide me laughs for days. ^^^^^

    If you really can't see how ridiculous a statement this is, I just don't know what to tell you....

    Well, you're quoting it out of context of the larger argument. It's not just that "Ay Bay Bay" is "trash" and "garbage." It's also that songs with a very similar aesthetic to it like "Crank Dat" and "Party Like a Rockstar" are similarly "trash" and "garbage." If you can't see the links there, then you're ignoring them willfully.

    -e


  • Now you are implying that its somehow wrong to be "disconnected" from "black culture." Why would I be "connected" to "black culture"????

    Because black culture has contributed so much to you being able to be the complacent white American that you are. You need to at least be connected enough to know how not to be disrespectful.

    Or better yet, how pompous is it to assume that you are such a special whiteboy that you have somehow tapped into that special culture, thus making you supierior to everybody else? Why don't you just make yourself a "I'm connected to black culture" t-shirt and walk around. I'd like to see how far you get before you are laughed at, and/or beat up.

    It's not a superior thing, at least not for me. We truly want you to be able to stop embarassing yourself. And trust that you'd rather hear about it on the internet from a "whiteboy" than to feel it in the flesh from someone you have directly offended.

    Maybe I shouldn't have called you whiteboy, RASHEID.


    Its not like I showed up to your club and insulted its patrons. Once shit gets played on the radio a hundred times a day it becomes fodder for anybody. It gets removed from whatever it was orginally associated with, and its not the job of the casual radio listener to give a shit.


  • how did this become a discussion about race?


    simple. this is how:
    board full of primarily white self-proclaimed experts on black music proclaim harsh judgement on wide swath of current black music

    who are responding to a white self-proclaimed expert on black culture and connectedness, who has extreme difficulty in processing population and demographic facts, proclaiming harsh judgement on board member's worldviews and experiences.

    Im done with this thread...when it was seconded and thirded that "proclaiming a song trash is racist because it demeans a culture, blah blah blah"....how one can be supposedly connected yet not living in reality and think they can judge people and brand them racists based on a fucking corny ass song is some silly silly shit.

  • besides, I already retracted my statement about it being the worse song of the year and have changed my position to that of AYBAYBAY = FIRE. I don't know what else you want from me. Its not nice to make fun of something that other people like, unless its sean kingston or akon.
Sign In or Register to comment.