Posted
by Joel Mathis
April 3, 2007 at 6:22 a.m.
I stand behind no man in my contempt for the Black Eyed Peas' "Humps" song.But when Alanis Morissette brings her dulcet wail to the table. Well. Everything changes.This is one of two things:¢ A brilliant parody.¢ Or, the act that killed parody.I can't decide which.
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jochan (Jocelyn Craft) says…
Holy crap. holy. crap.
That is so beautifully, beautifully unexpected.
My vote's for parody. (Dern well *better* be). ^^
JohnB (anonymous) says…
A second vote here for parody, one that exposes the sadness beneath the "sentiment" of the original.
"Exposes"--ha. More like "eviscerates."
mitzibel (Misty Nuckolls) says…
You know, that's the first time I've ever heard that song all the way through.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Joel, you just made my morning.
Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says…
Isn't that grand? A friend of mine sent it to me. As he put it: "Skanky Alanis is hot."
Beautifuk.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Dazie: I don't know if this was your intention, or if you just hit "k" where "l" was intended, but you just contributed a new word to my personal idiom. (I'm speaking of the last word in your post.)
One I can't repeat in public, but it certainly evokes "skanky hotness."
OnShakedown (Chris Tackett) says…
what a great way to start the morning! Thanks, Joel.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Followup to my comments about Dazie's word:
It is, in fact, on UrbanDictionary.com already.
Pretty much exactly what you'd expect.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
WOW.. Thanks for the birthday present Joel.
I don't know about parody. Parodies usually make people laugh. This one just wants to make me cry. As one of my favorite writer's would say "it brings the sadness back in". Honestly, she took this supposedly sexy song and broke it down to what is really being said. The objectification of the female body is so boldly, undeniably portrayed in these lyrics that it makes a mournful commentary on pop culture. I think that's what she was going for.
Or maybe thats just me.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
The more I think about it, the more I think it might be the most potent piece of pop culture satire of the last decade - as John notes, this goes beyond parody, into evisceration, forcing you to move past the beats and audio sheen to confront the essential soullessness of the original song.
Or maybe Alanis was just trying to be funny.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Also: Alm -- I'm just guessing from your screenname, as I have absolutely no idea who you are, but: Is this your 30th?
Either way, congrats, and may more to you.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
Yup. Its the big three-oh. and tomorrow is the big 10 for our wedding anniversary. The beginning of April is always fun at our house!!
THANKS!!
Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says…
I meant it Joel... :) I thought it fit the occassion.
thetomdotdot (anonymous) says…
Parody? Yea, maybe, but I'm thinking more commentary.
Maybe it's just me, but it packs more punch than any jagged little pills ever did.
ihatejohntravolta (anonymous) says…
i thought it was funny the first two times i saw it, but then my roommate watched it about six times last night while i was pulling my hair out during the osu/florida game. after that i found it not so funny.
leslie (Leslie vonHolten) says…
Yep: I've always liked her.
katnip (Deb Townsend) says…
That was splendid! Happy belated, Joel!
OtherJoel (anonymous) says…
I have to say few singers have annoyed me over the years more than Alanis, but that almost redeems all the times I had to endure "Yoo-uh, Yoo-uh, Yoo-uh, awtuh kno-o-ow".
Almost.
Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says…
I think the end is the best- where she starts cracking up. She knows it's all a big joke.