Check It Out
Why did nobody tell me about this?
I think we all know that will.i.am makes songs with the primary objective of getting it stuck in your head without much thought into the actual content. Todd in the Shadows has been asserting this for a while, I agree with him, and everybody else does too. (On that note I should follow better music critics, but, whatever) I think that was the primary intention in the choice of sample. But I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Why, artistically, does this song musically quote Video Killed the Radio Star?
Sherman, set the WABAC machine for 2013 and my first Music Video analysis. In that review I said "The song is about a radio performer that lost their job because of the popularity of television." In retrospect this barely scratches the surface, it's not just about radio being outdated, it's about the blind march of technology that leaves legitimate talent and skill by the wayside. The song is also not very happy about this. It fully understands that with each new era, the old era dies and the coffin is put in the ground with little left but an epitaph on a Wikipedia page.
It is ironic that it was the first music video played on MTV, but now that look back, maybe that was the intent. Maybe it was the Network's way of saying sorry. But that's beside the point.
The song is sad that the old world is gone. So, how does Check it Out react to that sentiment? The song is a duet to some extent and like many great duets the two singers are placed at odds with each other to develop a 3rd meaning through their musical integration. Answering that last question involves treating this song as though it is a conversation.
Nikki Minaj sings the first verse. She plays the role of the radio star that has been killed. Her outlook on the people in the party is that they all hate her, and she hates them. They're haters that have no talent, but she also drinks her lack of notoriety away. This is the most different part of the song because it's the only verse that carries this tone.
To make that verse fit with the rest of the song we have to assume that the second verse reacts to the first. Billy says I agree with you, but you're also wrong. Video hasn't killed the radio star and I know this because I'm enjoying success in the music industry. You just have to try harder.
The rest of the song is an affirmation of this, particularly in Billy's Rap verse where he says "We on the radio hotter than a skillet" and to a lesser extent in Nikki's rap verse when she says they're "Mad 'cause I’m getting money in abundance."
Check It Out samples Video Killed the Radio Star because it's sticking it to it. Now that we've all had time to reflect since MTV's debut in 1981, will.i.am is confident in saying that the radio star is still alive and well. Sure he's not enjoying the same kind of success he would have gotten in years past, but that doesn't mean that he can't be the most "ni****riffic" person in the club.
I anticipate I'm reading far too deep into this. I've intentionally avoided looking into this song's production history because I like killing the author when analyzing poetry so it's probably a lot shallower than I want it to be. That said, I can hope.
I think we all know that will.i.am makes songs with the primary objective of getting it stuck in your head without much thought into the actual content. Todd in the Shadows has been asserting this for a while, I agree with him, and everybody else does too. (On that note I should follow better music critics, but, whatever) I think that was the primary intention in the choice of sample. But I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Why, artistically, does this song musically quote Video Killed the Radio Star?
Sherman, set the WABAC machine for 2013 and my first Music Video analysis. In that review I said "The song is about a radio performer that lost their job because of the popularity of television." In retrospect this barely scratches the surface, it's not just about radio being outdated, it's about the blind march of technology that leaves legitimate talent and skill by the wayside. The song is also not very happy about this. It fully understands that with each new era, the old era dies and the coffin is put in the ground with little left but an epitaph on a Wikipedia page.
It is ironic that it was the first music video played on MTV, but now that look back, maybe that was the intent. Maybe it was the Network's way of saying sorry. But that's beside the point.
The song is sad that the old world is gone. So, how does Check it Out react to that sentiment? The song is a duet to some extent and like many great duets the two singers are placed at odds with each other to develop a 3rd meaning through their musical integration. Answering that last question involves treating this song as though it is a conversation.
Nikki Minaj sings the first verse. She plays the role of the radio star that has been killed. Her outlook on the people in the party is that they all hate her, and she hates them. They're haters that have no talent, but she also drinks her lack of notoriety away. This is the most different part of the song because it's the only verse that carries this tone.
To make that verse fit with the rest of the song we have to assume that the second verse reacts to the first. Billy says I agree with you, but you're also wrong. Video hasn't killed the radio star and I know this because I'm enjoying success in the music industry. You just have to try harder.
The rest of the song is an affirmation of this, particularly in Billy's Rap verse where he says "We on the radio hotter than a skillet" and to a lesser extent in Nikki's rap verse when she says they're "Mad 'cause I’m getting money in abundance."
Check It Out samples Video Killed the Radio Star because it's sticking it to it. Now that we've all had time to reflect since MTV's debut in 1981, will.i.am is confident in saying that the radio star is still alive and well. Sure he's not enjoying the same kind of success he would have gotten in years past, but that doesn't mean that he can't be the most "ni****riffic" person in the club.
I anticipate I'm reading far too deep into this. I've intentionally avoided looking into this song's production history because I like killing the author when analyzing poetry so it's probably a lot shallower than I want it to be. That said, I can hope.