The theme of this epistle was intended to be the Return Of The Jingle—not in advertising, but in popular music. The irrefutable, inescapable fact that songs with mind-numbing hooks and catchy chants have been dominating the charts of late. I don’t know where it started, but hundreds of millions of human tympanic membranes have been vibrating with the Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” … and Phillip Phillips’ relentless sing-a-long in “Home”. And now we have Taylor Swift’s sticky “Shake It Off” to try to shake out of our ear canals.
Maybe it goes back to “Yellow Submarine”. Or maybe way back to “Sweet Caroline” (I actually got to see Neil Diamond perform at the iHeart Media Advertising Week party last week—the entire gathering literally screamed the choruses of that song when he brought it.)
Hooks. But where is the unforgettable music in advertising today? I must have forgotten it. My bad. But you get the idea.
And then, during the journalistic research process, I lost my train of thought completely after discovering that the top five (5) songs currently on the Billboard Hot 100 are by female artists. Impressive. But wait, there’s more: three (3) of those hooky-as-hell songs are about booty! And two (2) of them are a celebration of big butts.
What this information means and how to apply it to our important work in the marketing and branding worlds is beyond me. But if we all scratch our heads together perhaps an insight will pop off with the head lice.
The Number One single in America is “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor. She sings, memorably,
Yeah, my mama she told me don’t worry about your size
She says, “Boys like a little more booty to hold at night.”
You know I won’t be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll
So if that’s what you’re into then go ahead and move along
Because you know I’m
All about that bass
‘Bout that bass, no treble
I’m pretty sure that “bass” is a metaphor for a big butt, and who doesn’t love a great metaphor? It’s Number One! Number Three is “Anaconda” by Nicki Minaj. Poetry:
He keep telling me it’s real, that he love my sex appeal
Because he don’t like ‘em boney, he want something he can grab
So I pulled up in the Jag, Mayweather with the jab like…
Dun-d-d-dun-dun-d-d-dun-dun
I don’t believe SHOOT would be interested in printing the majority of Nicki’s lyrics—let me assure you that they effectively reinforce her assertion that boys would generally prefer canteloupes to plums.
Rounding out the Top Five we have Jessie J’s tribute to sex as a NASCAR event:
She got a body like an hourglass, but I can give it to you all the time
She got a booty like a Cadillac, but I can send you into overdrive (oh)…
Bang bang there goes your heart (I know you want it)
Back, back seat of my car (I’ll let you have it)
Finally coming in at Number Six on the pop chart we have male primate Sam Smith’s doleful, tearful “Stay With Me”—a sad plea for sexual companionship.
Guess it’s true, I’m not good at a one-night stand
But I still need love ‘cause I’m just a man
These nights never seem to go to plan
I don’t want you to leave, will you hold my hand?
Oh, won’t you stay with me?
‘Cause you’re all I need
Good grief. If you need to be alone with a hanky I’ll understand, but please come back soon, okay. ‘Cause you’re all I need.
What is extremely clear is that we’re in a pop cultural moment of female empowerment and assertion (how that’s playing out in other regions of the culture is another matter). And at the core of the music that’s flying up the charts is the one thing they all have in common: bigass hooks.
Now, I have been remiss—each Earwitness column was to have a soundtrack , so that you, the reader, would have a multi-layered experience while absorbing the content. But it’s taken me till now to figure out what this was about. (Oh well, makes sense to do the score after you get the film, right?) Here you go, then: “Boom Clap” by Charli XCX. Now go back and reread this with the hook in yo head.
And this just in —“Booty” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Iggy Azalea. It just don’t stop…
Lyle Greenfield is the founder of Bang Music and past president of the Association of Music Producers (AMP)
