Alternative Music Fan Notices Contradiction In Jessie J Hit Song

Jesse J sexy

By Our Reporter In The Indie Trenches Wearing The Baby-Doll Tank Top And Plaid Flannel Shirt

In a revelation that has sent shockwaves through the music industry, Trevor McMillan, a 31-year-old self-confessed ‘alternative’ music fan, has spotted an inherent contradiction in the lyrics of Jessie J’s 2011 chart smash ‘Price Tag’. McMillan, who lists post-punk, 4AD, Indie Before It Sold Out, Bon Iver and The Shins as his favourite music, said he happened to hear the song on the radio one day and noticed the contradiction. Explaining that he doesn’t normally listen to the radio but he was at work, McMillan noticed that while the song seemed to be espousing a strong anti-capitalist message, the pop nature of the song itself and the fact that Jessie J was rich, set alarm bells ringing in his head. As soon as he got home, McMillan wrote as his Facebook status update, “If it’s not about the money Jessie J then why are you so rich?” The update sparked two replies and got 9 ‘likes’, the second highest amount McMillan has ever gotten for a status update.

As news spread of the revelation, Jessie J went into damage limitation mode. After pledging to give a percentage of the profits from the song to charity she also arranged a free concert for her angry fans. A representative for Jessie J was quoted as saying:

Look, we didn’t think anybody would notice. When a bit of time passed we thought we were in the clear but McMillan has us bang to rights. There was a certain profit-driven motive in this endeavor and now that it’s been pointed out Jesse feels relieved. She doesn’t have to hide it anymore.

Despite her best efforts to clear up the mess, some fans have been unforgiving. An official spokesperson for the Occupy movement, which up until now had regarded ‘Price Tag’ as their theme song, has stated that they can no longer endorse the song now that this contradiction has been pointed out. “It just wouldn’t feel right,” said the unnamed spokesperson, “I think we’re going to go with ‘Killing In The Name’ by Rage Against The Machine instead. Their stalwart refusal to engage with corporate America is more in keeping with our message”.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 9:52 am. It is filed under Wallace Wylie and tagged with , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

11 Responses to “Alternative Music Fan Notices Contradiction In Jessie J Hit Song”

  1. moker says:
    January 13, 2012 at 9:56 am

    Meh.

  2. Erika Meyer says:
    January 13, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    I have been studying this song for days now. I’d call it a paradox: “a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.” (Dictonary.com)

    It is flawed logic to conclude that because the song makes money, it is ABOUT the money. It is also flawed logic to presume that because Jessie J is rich, it (whatever it is) is about the money. Rich people don’t need money, because they already have it.

    The song gets downright profound in the verse when it longs for a mythical time when “it wasn’t all low blows and video hoes.”*

    And despite being cliché, my grandma said the same thing to me about money not buying happiness. My grandma was an underpaid single working mother from 1947 to 1964 when she married a corporate executive. She married a wealthy man, but even then, it was not about the money, it was about love.

    There may be a small contradiction in the part about six strings and a half stack and keys because I know as well as anyone, that stuff ain’t cheap. And you do need a car to transport it. But I get the point: these are tools of the trade, not ba bling ba bling. So I totally agree, but I’d add transportation and a rehearsal space. Maybe a P.A.?

    This song is an awesome pop song because it is both simple and deep, trite and profound.

    ————–

    * This was an actual conversation last week with my 16 year old daughter. She likes a lot of good pop and rock music.

    B: Most of my friends don’t like rock music. Most of them like hip hop.

    Me: Yes, hip hop has been popular for some time now.

    B: (scowls) I don’t like the lyrics. It’s all about money and girls and cars.

  3. TBeing says:
    January 13, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    Well put, Erika! Indeed, there is an argument that an artist and his or her creative output should be separated – they often know not what they do or say. I have heard a parallel argument about Marx himself, who was by all reports a complete arsehole, getting his serving maid – that’s right, he had servants – pregnant and treating his offspring therefrom with total disregard. He also enjoyed his comfortable bourgeois lifestyle due to the funding of his chum Engels, whose money came from his family’s dark satanic mill in Manchester. But of course, so my friends who follow his philosophies say, that in no way devalues the wisdom of his output.

  4. Erika Meyer says:
    January 13, 2012 at 3:18 pm

  5. Matt O'Neill says:
    January 13, 2012 at 3:54 pm

    This was fucking rad. Well done, Wallace.

  6. Adam Burrows says:
    January 13, 2012 at 7:29 pm

    Did someone just compare Jessie J to Karl Marx? I love the internets.

  7. Doozer says:
    January 14, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    doesnt it all depend on when the song was written? im guessing she wrote this when she had none…

    maybe the words should be “its not about the money money money but id like some” would that be alright?

  8. Dan N says:
    January 15, 2012 at 8:55 am

    She co-wrote a Miley Cyrus hit from a few years ago, so she wouldn’t have been too short on cash.

    As much as I liked the post was just wondering what inspired this? That song came out a year ago, or is it only just breaking in the states?

  9. Matt O'Neill says:
    January 15, 2012 at 10:23 am

    It’s satire.

    Or…Are you guys also being satirical…?

  10. Darragh says:
    January 16, 2012 at 8:20 am

    First comment that springs to mind.

    “Who the f$%k is Jessie J?”

  11. junkieeee says:
    September 20, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    A bit late I know,,,,, but… The people defending “jessie j” about her blatant contridiction in her music sound like politicians with the rhetoric they use, ROFL coptor

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