Popular Music

Labels or Love
Fergie

Shopping for labels, shopping for love
Manolo and Louis, it’s all I’m thinking of
Shopping for labels, shopping for love
Manolo and Louis, it’s all I’m thinking of

I already know what my addiction is
I be looking for labels, I ain’t looking for love
I shop for purses while I walks out the door
Don’t cry, buy a bag and get over it

And I’m not concerned with all the politics
It’s a lot of men, I know I could find another
All I know is that I’m always happy
When I walk out the store, store

I guess I’m supercalifragisexy
Nothing to be playing with
I love him, hate him, kiss him, diss him
Tryna to walk a mile in my kicks

Love’s like a runway but which one do I love more?
No emotional baggage just big bags willed with Dior
Love’s like a runway so what’s all the fussing for?
Let’s stop chasing those boys and shop some more

I know I might come off as negative
I be looking for labels, I ain’t looking for love
But relationships are often so hard to tame
And Prada dresses never broken my heart before

And ballin’s something that I’m fed up with
I’ma do the damn thing, watch me do the damn thing
‘Cause I know that my credit card
Will help me put out the flames, flames

I guess I’m supercalifragisexy
Nothing to be playing with
I love him, hate him, kiss him, diss him
Tryna to walk a mile in my kicks

Love’s like a runway but which one do I love more?
No emotional baggage just big bags willed with Dior
Love’s like a runway so what’s all the fussing for?
Let’s stop chasing those boys and shop some more

Gucci, Fendi, Prada purses, purchasing them finer things
Men they come a dime a dozen, just give me them diamond rings
I’m into a lotta bling, Cadallic, Chanel, and Coach
Fellas boast but they can’t really handle my female approach

Buying things is hard to say, rocking Christian Audigier
Monolo or Polo, taking photos of my Cartier
So we can’t go all the way, I know you might hate it but
I’ma shop for labels while them ladies lay and wait for love

Love’s like a runway but which one do I love more?
No emotional baggage just big bags willed with Dior
Love’s like a runway so what’s all the fussing for?
Let’s stop chasing those boys and shop some more

Shopping for labels, shopping for love
Manolo and Louis, it’s all I’m thinking of
Shopping for labels, shopping for love
Manolo and Louis, it’s all I’m thinking of

This song by Fergie represents how some people view today’s culture. Labels or Love was introduced to the mass public earlier this year with the release of the hit film Sex in the City that some might claim portrays women in a negative way. In Labels or Love, women are seen as materialistic by some, while others might see this as women being seen as independent, and do not need men to control their lives. These women are hard working, and earn enough money to spend on frivolous, expensive accessories from Gucci to Chanel. While these are not labels that I could ever afford, it give hope to women that even though they cannot depend on men, they can always depend on what they purchase for themselves. This song is not telling the general audience that women must make a choice between love and labels, but that men are not dependable, and that they should never depend on any one but themselves.

Even though this type of music is sometimes looked down upon because of how popular it is, listening to the popular songs from the different decades can really show its audience what was going on and the fads that were going on during that time. I had a hard time growing up because I was brought up listening to country music, so I was never up to date when it came to music until recently since no one in my social circle listened to country music. But even comparing the country music of my childhood (think "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus) to the country music today (i.e., "Love Story" by Taylor Swift), many of the same themes are still there, only they are made more accessible to today's audience. Now I'm in a social circle where the Twin Cities radio station The Current is the more popular choice of music, while often my dirty secret of sometimes listening to KDWB, or that I still listen to country on K102 stays hidden.

“If that woman does later declare "Bailamos" great, that statement and its qualifiers allow her to enter into a social discourse that pop creates. But such judgments aren't adequate in capturing the full experience of loving music, which is as much about breaking down distinctions as determining them” (Powers, 237). Just as Powers stated in her article on unpopular music, When someone decides that Labels or Love is a great song and likes it, it allows them to enter a social group that she may not have been in before. It's kind of like watching a television show. For example: This year, I have found myself addicted to the television series "Gossip Girl," though I rarely tell people that I watch it out of embarrassment. One day, I heard some girls in my class talking about the show, and I admitted to watching it and it opened up a new social door for me.

"Anyone, regardless of class or educational background, is capable of understanding this body of material, for it positions itself as being neither superior to nor beyond the comprehension of the average person. The seeming simplicity of its language and musical technique enables the songs to be readily absorbed and transmitted to others" (Sanjek, 162). I found this information from Sanjek to be very interesting when comparing it to Labels or Love. While Sanjek is focusing on folk music here, at that time, it was the popular music of the period. As with past folk music, Fergie's song is meant to be able to be experienced by the average person, and should be easily transmitted to others. This song would not be a part of popular music if most people could not understand her message. Although I rarely understand or relate to the meaning of many of the popular rap songs that are played on the radio today, I can still understand and see the message that they are trying to get across to their audiences. Many times, artists are trying to reach out to a particular audience (unlike the Folk musicians who try to be understood by the average person) or age groups. Very rarely do you see one's grandmother listening to the likes of 50 Cent or TPain. It would be curious to for someone to do a study on how the elderly members of the community relate to the lyrics of songs from today's artists... I would like to argue that the folk music that is supposed to be easily accessible by the average person is not always so. Take the average urban American. How often would he or she actually be able to relate to living the simple life in the country? While, yes, the music is easy to understand, the connections between the majority of Americans and folk music just is not there.

As of right now, I cannot pull up the other readings from WebVista to comment on since it seems to be down for Web construction, I will have to finish the last paragraph of this posting later!