It's Not What You Think: Misunderstood Music
In this video analysis, YouTube user Alfo Media discusses songs that have been notoriously misunderstood by the general public, aiming to provide the true context in which these songs were written alongside the unfortunate ways in which the meanings of each example were mistaken.
"Hey Ya!" by OutKast "This is one of music history's best examples of a song sounding fun, upbeat, and catchy, so people just assume that the lyrics follow suit. Nope! This iconic track is actually a dark tale about how people stay in unhappy relationships because that's what tradition tells them they should be doing. 'If what they say is 'nothing is forever' then what makes love the exception? So why are we so in denial when we know we're not happy here?' (Verse 2 Abridged: Andre 3000)" (Alfo Media, 2021).
"Andre 3000 knew how people would react to "Hey Ya!". It sounds so joyous and entertaining that people were never going to care about the lyrics. Midway through [the song] he predicts this, saying, 'y'all don't wanna hear me, you just wanna dance', and millions of people never realized what went over their heads" (Alfo Media, 2021).
"Rednecks" by Randy Newman "I would assume that a majority of people know him from that one cute Pixar song ['You've Got a Friend in Me', written for Toy Story] and that's it. But Randy has a long, relatively controversial career as a singer-songwriter. He's written songs that are bullying little people, happily inviting slaves into the United States, and glorifying violence against the LGBTQ+ community, but all of these are satirical songs written from the point of view of terrible, horrible human beings. You're supposed to be disgusted by the lyrics, not sing along with them" (Alfo Media, 2021).
"The very people that he's satirizing take the songs and use them as celebrations. 'Rednecks' has lyrics that are antisemitic and extremely racist...Newman had to stop playing the song in the South because people at his concerts were singing along to it like it was the national anthem" (Alfo Media, 2021).
Review
Alfo Media gives several other fascinating examples in this analysis, each one displaying a monumental disconnect between the songwriters' work and listener interpretation. I think it's safe to assume that everyone is guilty of gleefully dancing to a song with incredibly sobering lyrics or belting out a bop about abusive relationships at one point or another. I'll be the first to admit that some of my favorite songs are my favorite because of a sweet guitar riff or the way the melody makes me feel rather than the lyrics themselves. People don't pay attention to the message that the writer intended, formulating their own assumptions about the song based on other contextual clues like we see with "Hey Ya!". The response to Randy Newman's "Rednecks" displays a sheer lack of critical analysis on the part of listeners, and also (horrifically) suggests that there are individuals who don't interpret Newman's writing as satirical. I am interested in how design might use "context clues" and social/behavioral cues as a strategy for preventing waste and pollution in state parks if words (perhaps, signage?) is unsuccessful in communicating the message.
References
Alfo Media. (2021, May 7). EVEN MORE of the most MISUNDERSTOOD songs in music history [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC6sBJDQbPM**
