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Mick Jagger's swagger pops up in new lyrics: Are artists getting lazy?
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Rolling Stones icon Mick Jagger has recently been name-dropped in a whole lot of song lyrics. You've got "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, and of course "Swagger Jagger" by Cher Lloyd. You can also catch mentions in "The Time" by Black Eyed Peas ("All these girls, they like my swagger, they callin' me Mick Jagger"), "Heart & Soul" by the Jonas Brothers ("That won't matter if you can swagger like old Mick Jagger"). T.I.'s "Swagger Like Us" features guest artist Kanye West proclaiming, "My swagger is Mick Jagger."
Are you noticing a theme?
Yep. Jagger rhymes with swagger, and some music experts tell the Ottawa Citizen that's the major reason he's been cropping up in more lyrics lately. "For the most part, I strongly believe (it's because) the word swagger has been so overused," says Radio 3 host Lana Gay. "And who has a very memorable swagger and a name that rhymes with the word?"
Pop culture scholar John Alberti says that the current name-drop trend betrays a "lyrical laziness," but that Jagger remains an icon for a youth revolution regardless. "He's the avatar of being a badass," Alberti says.
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These artists are really lazy, totally. No teenybopper wants to listen to a song by the Jonas Brothers or any other young musical act and have a mental picture of an aging Grandpa rock star they probably have never heard of. And I bet none of these artists immediately think of Mick Jagger when they think of a dude with swag. Puh-lease!
These artists are really lazy, totally. No teenybopper wants to listen to a song by the Jonas Brothers or any other young musical act and have a mental picture of an aging Grandpa rock star they probably have never heard of. And I bet none of these artists immediately think of Mick Jagger when they think of a dude with swag. Puh-lease!
Gee Jessica, nasty much? Too bad you probably have a 9 PM bedtime.
Don't forget Kesha's Tik-Toc - We'll kick them to the curb if they don't look like Mick Jagger. Really?
^ at least Ke$ha didn't rhyme it with swagger.......
@ just sayin'...actually Kesha did rhyme swagger with Jagger. "The boys are lining up cause they hear we got swagger but we kick them to curb unless they look like Mick Jagger."
I think most are just saying Jagger because it does rhyme with swagger because some of the artists name dropping Jagger probably don't know squat about him or the rolling stones. I kinda hate top 40 music right now, there seems to be a real lack of originality and creativity.
At least Kesha knows who is Mick Jagger :)
I don't think "swagger like us" should be in this group. yeah they used swagger and jagger but the rest of the song...no one else is doing what they did.
@ Hi there: dang, you're right!!
Artists aren't getting lazy. I'd suggest that they in fact have _been_ lazy, for at least the past ten years, if not longer.
Has there truly been an influential musical trend over the past ten years generated by artists themselves? (By that language, I'm purposely excluding changes in technological format, like mp3s, and in promotion, like American Idol.)
Gaga strikes me as a retread of Bowies and Madonnas past; the new Amys have flamed out; and singer-songwriters plunking on pianos is oh-so-vintage 1975.
Where is the punk movement of the age? Or the New Wave invasion? Or the Grunge sound?
Generation Y, history is calling, and you're not picking up the phone....