“my humps, they got you”

I am still a big fan of Alanis Morissette cover of Fergie’s “My Humps.” If you don’t know what I’m referring to, congratulate yourself on making good use of your free time. Then, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91sqAs-_-g

It’s a strange and glorious mix of the ridiculous and the…kind of good? Mostly, it’s ridiculous.

Now, Tori Amos is giving impromptu performances inspired by other, um, cultural phenomena. Here are a few lyrics to a song she recently performed in concert. The best part of the audio is the audience reaction. After a few uncomfortable laughs, it’s completely silent. What are these singers up to?

Britney, they set you up
Is your contract winding up?
But you drank from the cup
Boy, this is what it looks like
Yes, I said, this is, this is what it looks like, Disney, yes

When a star falls down
When a star falls down

You may be a mother
Baby, you still need a mother
Yes, I may be a mother
But I still need a mother
To pick me up
Yes, to pick me up

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5 thoughts on ““my humps, they got you”

  1. I’d like to see this as a feature piece on harlot…Morrissette’s video is, essentially, a rhetorical analysis and critique (via creative/ironic reproduction/cover) of the current culture of mysogyny and sex marketing that is popular music (as represented by the original Fergie song)…. I’d have the two videos running side by side with roll overs or running text underneath examining how they articulate competing ideals of womanhood, femininty, gender relations, etc.

  2. I LOVE this clip too, and can’t wait to see how Jim creates a featured text exercise around it! 🙂

    It’s just so damn good. I haven’t been such a big fan of Alanis since my angsty freshman year of college. It’s funny now to find her speaking to/for me… this time as an intelligent woman with a sense of humor responding to the ridiculous state of gender discourses in contemporary American pop culture — and more to the point, critiquing that awful Fergie video.

    I love the beat-downs, the male dancers, and the “drama” — and that (rhetorical) clip of her laughter at the end…. As Catie asked, what are these singers up to?

  3. WAIT! I said I wanted to see it, not do it! :0
    The laughter at the end is, I think, crucial (as most endings are)…I just haven’t figured out what to do with it yet, but a line in “21 things” is a clue, maybe…it goes, “do you see everything as an illusion but enjoy it even though you are not of it” Also crucial are the minor chords and tempo.

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