Don't Hurt Yourself

The Queen is going to be in Cleveland tonight performing during a Get Out the Vote event with Hillary and Jay Z, and I'm missing it!!! I would have loved to be able to be there, but I already had plans to see another concert (Band of Horses at the Masonic Auditorium). But, seriously, when else will I get the opportunity to see Jay and Bey alongside the future Madam President, and for FREE?!














In thinking about all that I would be missing, I started wondering what songs would be appropriate for Beyonce to play during a political event. Certainly sex-driven songs like "Drunk in Love" or "Partition" would feel out of place, even though her fans might love to hear those options... [#watermelon #surfboardt]

When Katy Perry played at the Democratic National Convention this summer she sang two empowering anthems ("Roar" and "Rise") that spoke to overcoming obstacles, persevering despite personal struggles, and learning from prior experience. But what do we find in Beyonce's repertoire? 

You may not think that a diss track about a cheating husband makes sense to promote a lady presidential candidate, but if you read the lyrics from "Don't Hurt Yourself" off the Lemonade album and imagine Hillary or any one of us directing them at Donald Trump, you might realize how perfectly they speak to this candidate.

Bad motherfucker, God complex
Motivate your ass call me Malcolm X
Yo operator, or innovator
Fuck you hater, you can't recreate her no
You'll never recreate her no, hero

Donald is a hater of anyone or anything. This song can respond to the news we hear every week about yet another controversial statement, video, or lawsuit involving the Republican candidate. He can't become someone he's not. He can't recreate what Hillary symbolizes for decades, no centuries, of women suppressed by this political system, just wanting to voice their opinion...

Beautiful man I know you're lying
I am not broken, I'm not crying, I'm not crying
You ain't trying hard enough

He lies about everything, really, I don't really care to give examples, because I'm sick of hearing about it at this point in the election. And he doesn't even seem like he's trying to learn about the issue we care about. He just repeats the same phrases over and over again. 

Try not to hurt yourself
When you play me, you play yourself
Don't play yourself
When you lie to me, you lie to yourself
You only lying to yourself
When you love me, you love yourself
Love God herself

Donald doesn't think about how his attacks on Hillary or her family make him look bad. If he tries to bring up Bill's indiscretions, it only amplifies the ones he has committed. Bill is not running for president, Hillary is our candidate. She's a woman who decided to stand by her man despite everything. She has seen so much shit, been through so much shit (personal, political, public), learned from all of it, and will teach us how to be better people if she has the chance. 

I agree with Louis C.K...As he said on Conan - she's a mother, and mothers give 200%. I want someone in the White House who can get shit done. Someone who cares about all of us and will help us all get where we want to be, even if we complain....

For Beyonce's performance tonight, "Formation" is a must, perfect for a political event because it's all about organizing around a common goal. Getting "in formation" and "information." #slaytrick

And Beyonce should also play this version of "Sorry", because, seriously #boybye #hillaryforpresident

Disclaimer, I had to finish this post after attending the non-Beyonce concert where I had several $8 beers.

Update: Beyonce played "Formation", "Freedom", "Diva", "Bow Down/I Been On" aka "Flawless" (so sad I missed it #iwokeuplikedis), "Tom Ford", "Independent Woman", "Girls", and "Holy Grail" with Jay Z.

Our Past Presidents Say: Vote for Clinton, Not for Trump

For most of us, when we cast a vote for president, we do so because we believe that candidate will lead our country to greater things. That they will properly govern our country and make changes that will improve our quality of life. We agree with most, if not all, of their positions on social, economic, and environmental issues. We value their opinion, knowledge, and vision. 

In this contentious election year, many voters have expressed frustration with both the Democratic and Republican nominees, so are having a hard time deciding who deserves their vote. It may be unfortunate that our government is a two-party system, where voting for a third party option won't change election results much. However, regardless of your opinion of these candidates, our feasible choices this year are Hillary Clinton (D) and Donald Trump (R). 

To help shed some light on how to vote in this election, here's a look at the opinions of our past presidents, presidential nominees, and presidential candidates regarding our current nominees. 
(click on each person's name for more information about their position)

-Did you vote for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary this year? (I sure did.) 
He endorses Hillary Clinton and is proud to stand with her.
OR
-Did you vote for Ted Cruz, John Kasich, or Jeb Bush in the Republican primary this year? 
They all will NOT support Trump. 
Instead, Cruz encouraged Republicans to "vote their conscience" during the RNC last week. Meanwhile, Kasich refused to attend the RNC at all and declined to be on Trump's ticket as VP. Jeb published a piece in the Washington Post this month where he shared that he hasn't decided whether he'll go third party or write-in this November, but definitely won't be voting for Trump.
[If you voted for Marco Rubio, he, surprisingly, endorses Trump despite claiming the man is unfit to be our president. Rubio is up for re-election as a Florida senator this year, that might be a reason...]

-Did you vote for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and again in 2012? (Yes and yes!) 
He endorses Hillary Clinton and thinks she is incredibly qualified and will be very good at this very tough job. First Lady Michelle Obama gave an amazing speech last night at the DNC in support of Clinton.
OR
-Did you vote for Mitt Romney (R) in 2008? 
He will NOT support Trump because, among other things, he does not want to see trickle-down racism. Trump's nomination breaks his heart <3
-Did you vote for John McCain (R) in 2012?
He, surprisingly, endorses Trump despite the demeaning things Trump has said about him and his time as a P.O.W. McCain is up for re-election as an Arizona senator this year, that might be a reason...

-Did you vote for George W. Bush (R) in 2000 and again in 2004?
He will NOT support Trump and there's this photo by David Chalian from Mrs. Reagan's funeral that may serve as a clue to who he could be voting for.

OR
-Did you vote for John Kerry (D) in 2004? (I waited in the rain for 2 hours to cast my vote!) 
-Did you vote for Al Gore (D) in 2000? (He should have won!) 
They both endorse Hillary Clinton.

-Did you vote for Bill Clinton (D) in 1992 and again in 1996? (Yes, in school mock elections :)
He endorses Hillary Clinton (obviously) and thinks that she will be a "change-maker."
OR
-Did you vote for Bob Dole (R) in 1996?
He supports Trump, calling for party unity.

-Did you vote for George H.W. Bush (R) in 1988 and again in 1992?
He will NOT support Trump.
OR 
-Did you vote for Michael Dukakis (D) in 1988?
He endorses Hillary Clinton and thinks Trump is "nuts."

Out of these 15 well-respected past presidents, nominees, and candidates, only 3 endorse Trump. Of those 3, 2 are seeking re-election this year and need the support of the Republican party to re-gain their seat. The third has been retired for many years (Dole is 93).

The recommendations from these opinions are vote for Hillary Clinton, do NOT support Donald Trump.

Our last 5 presidents are sending that message loud and clear, and they know a thing or two about what it takes to run this country.

1. Barack Obama (D), President 44, 2 terms 2009-2017: Supports Clinton
2. George W. Bush (R), President 43, 2 terms 2001-2009: Will NOT support Trump
3. Bill Clinton (D), President 42, 2 terms 1993-2001: Supports Clinton
4. George H. W. Bush (R), President 41, 1 term 1989-1993: Will NOT support Trump
5. Jimmy Carter (D), President 39, 1 term 1977-1981: Supports Clinton

Cast your vote in November.

Fly or Rise? Are they the same thing?

Katy Perry gave the world a new song yesterday, one that we will not be able to avoid this summer, as it has been selected to represent the summer Olympics this year on NBC. For Katy Cats (her fan club), this song is a small gift that will tide us over until Katy releases her fourth studio album (fifth if you count the one from 2001 under her given name "Katy Hudson"). 

For everyone else (Taylor Swift, Russell Brand), the song is fodder for critique and/or parody, or background noise heard while enjoying the next diving or gymnastics competition. Since Katy released Prism in 2013, she has been touring the album (May 2014-Oct 2015), promoting Hillary Clinton for president, attending awards shows, and entertaining us on Instagram and Twitter with her silly antics and selfies.

It's been a few years since we've heard new material from her, so this is exciting, right? Maybe not...

Although she has a special place in my heart (we share the same name spelling! we're practically the same age!), I don't always agree with her fashion, lyric, or boyfriend choices (one bad boy after the next!), and the more I listen to "Rise" the more I realized this song, unfortunately, has already been done...

See, I am also a lightweight Barb (aka Barbie, a Nicki Minaj fan), and I have spent a lot of time listening to Nicki's first album Pink Friday, 2010. Her style changes from song to song - she's vicious one track and sweet the next. She raps the verses and sings the choruses, and sometimes she takes on a new accent or bizarre persona. A particular favorite of mine from PF is "Fly" featuring Rihanna, where these two dynamos belt out high notes that give me chills. Here's the official video that features big wigs and complicated dresses in a dystopian universe.

Nicki Minaj feat Rihanna "Fly"Official video:

For comparison, here is the video NBC put together with "Rise" to promote the 2016 Summer Olympic games:

Katy Perry "Rise" NBC Olympics video:

Both songs contain sentiments about overcoming an opposition - thriving, surviving, fighting, winning, and ultimately flying or rising (arguably one in the same). I get the same feelings from both songs, so wanted to look closer into how similar they really are lyrically. I've pulled out key lines from each artist and highlighted where they are alike. The amazing thing is, not only does Katy copy Nicki's words ("Copy Kat"?), but also the words and phrases show up in similar orders, so much so that it feels like Katy is paraphrasing Nicki's work that came 6 years before her own.

Check out the similarities below. Nicki's lyrics are first, with Katy's similar lyric segments second. Note that the lyric segments are not necessarily shown in the order they are in the song.

Nicki Minaj feat Rihanna "Fly" lyrics:
I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly

Katy Perry "Rise" lyrics:
I won't just survive
Oh, you will see me thrive

------
Nicki:
'Cause I am not a word, I am not a line
I am not a girl that can ever be defined
I am not fly, I am levitation
I represent an entire generation
I hear the criticism loud and clear
That is how I know that the time is near

Katy:
Can't write my story
I'm beyond the archetype
I won't just conform
No matter how you shake my core
Cause my roots, they run deep, oh

Author's note:
While Nicki references that she cannot be defined or reduced to individual words and lines (or labels), Katy claims that no one else can write her story or make her conform.
------

Nicki:
Get ready for it
I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly
To fly

Katy: 
Oh, ye of so little faith
Don't doubt it, don't doubt it
Victory is in my veins
I know it, I know it
And I will not negotiate
I'll fight it, I'll fight it
I will transform
------

Nicki:
They got their guns out aiming at me
But I become Neo when they aiming at me
Me, me, me against them
Me against enemies, me against friends
Somehow they both seem to become one
A sea full of sharks and they all smell blood
They start coming and I start rising
Must be surprising, I'm just surmising
I win, thrive, soar, higher, higher, higher, more fire

Katy:
When, when the fire's at my feet again
And the vultures all start circling
They're whispering, "you're out of time."
But still, I rise
This is no mistake, no accident
When you think the final nail is in; think again
Don't be surprised, I will still rise

Author's note: 
Nicki mentions guns specifically, but we can assume the meaning is open to be literal guns, verbal attacks, media criticism, etc. Katy is more vague and calls the attack or critique fire at her feet, which could also be self-imposed pressure to win or stress caused by running out of time.
Nicki uses the shark/blood metaphor, while Katy decided to use a different animal, the vulture.
Both are rising above all the opposition and expecting the opponent to discount them as a possible victor.
------

Nicki:
Praying but I think I'm still an angel away
Angel away, yeah strange in a way
Maybe that is why I chase strangers away

Katy:
I must stay conscious
Through the menace and chaos
So I call on my angels
They say...

Author's note:
Both turn to the heavens for some extra support and both use angels.
------

After investigating this further, I'm wondering how Katy's song was even able to get produced without someone saying, 'Hey, maybe this is too close to this other really famous pop star's song about the same thing.' Intentional or not, if this was student work, I'm sure teachers would call out this plagiarism, because it is at the very least heavy paraphrasing. Is Katy properly referencing her sources?

Beyoncé did it right - she made sure to credit her sources in writing the songs for the phenomena that is Lemonade:
When she paraphrases a line from Animal Collective's "My Girls" song by taking, "I don't mean to seem like I care about material things," and changes it to, "She too smart to crave material things", she credits the band.
When she takes Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig's tweet, "Hold up...they don't love u like I love u", containing lyrics from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps", she credits both the author of the tweet and the band.

Has Katy done the same? Or is she going to be sent to the principal's office?