Call Me Maybe

Hello, and thank you for reading my blog. Let me first lay out my inspiration for this idea. I've been home for the summer, and, as I drive much more during the summer than I do during the school year, I listen to a lot more radio. As I've been listening I've been noticing something interesting: the paradigm of pop music seems to be shifting somewhat. Over, the last couple year, the pop charts have seemed to have been dominated by irritating, shallow club songs. These are still around, mind you, but a number of other sub-genres seem to be vying for top spots on the charts. I first noticed this phenomenon with the rise of Adele. A singer becoming popular on pure talent, rather than eccentricity, shock value, or looks was refreshing. It was even more refreshing to hear pop songs that were not about getting hammered on Patrón and making love on a dance floor. The promising rise of legitimately interesting hits, both musically and lyrically, continued with the surprising popularity of Indie-esque acts such as Gotye and fun. However, I noticed another sub-genre vying for the top ranks of the pop charts, which I will dub "Preteen Girl Pop." Seeing the likes of Carly Rae Jepsen, One Direction, and Justin Bieber become phenomenally popular at the same as the likes of Adele, Gotye, and fun. is, to me, simply an interesting phenomenon. This observation inspired me to keep an eye on the pop charts and to investigate this shifting paradigm of pop music, as well as the lasting effect it has on the wider landscape of pop into the future. To do this, I would like to investigate and review individual popular songs, starting with the current number one hit, Call Me Maybe.

Call Me Maybe, by Carly Rae Jepsen, as previously noted, is exemplary of the reemergence of Preteen Girl Pop. The song clearly is meant to appeal to this genre. It holds an innocent, bubble gummy relationship message, with a strong theme of the power of a crush. Admittedly, there is still somewhat passionate imagery present. She's clearly all hot and bothered by this dude's ripped jeans in the wind-blown hot night, but nonetheless, this all merely falls within the scope of fantasizing within a crush. Carly Rae's character never gets truly closer than a longing for a call from her crush. The song appeals strongly to those who know the power of a crush, but know nothing more about relationships as a whole (i.e. preteenagers). Thus, it is totally unsurprising that this song would appeal to preteen girls, and the likes of acts such as Justin Bieber have shown the power preteen girls can have over the pop charts. However, the remarkable fact is this song has a  far-wider popularity. My 21 year-old, male roommate listened to it on loop for hours, for goodness sake. It even has become an internet meme! What then can possibly explain this song's wide-reaching popularity? 
The fact is, I cannot decide my feelings on this song. When I first heard this song, I had no idea it would be a hit. It reached my school (Northwestern University) long before it became enormously popular, primarily out of pre-Finals Week boredom and procrastination, and to be honest, I hated it. Simply hated it. I hated the lyrics, hated the tune, hated everything but the singer herself (because, come on, who could hate that bubbly, happy face?). Then I heard it a number of times, its incredibly catchy tune got stuck in my head, and, maybe it was only the Mere Exposure Effect, but, you know what? I kinda liked it. The lyrics were still dumb as hell, but it's a summer pop song. Who the heck cares? Then I heard it even MORE, and it's soured on me again. I don't hate it, but I also really don't like it. Point of the story is, it kinda has a weird effect on me, but I'll do my best to analyze it. 
Let's look at the tune first. If I had one word to describe, it has to be catchy. It's like the song was engineered with the sole purpose of being catchy (on second thought, that's probably not much of a stretch). It's a very chorus-centric song with a very typical pop chord progression, with a pretty standard pop beat. The beat remains quite simple during the verses, but crescendos and becomes somewhat more complex into a still simple, but more interesting, chorus, and I must admit, I actually quite like the interplay of the strings and vocals throughout the chorus. Simple, but effective. But all in all, there's really not much to it. It's a prototypical, simple pop song. It's not terribly interesting, but, assuming the goal is catchiness, it is effective. 
Now what about the lyrics; what word would I use to describe them? Honestly: bad. I can't stand the lyrics to this song. They just don't make sense. Let's take a look at them, shall we? 
I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me I'll never tell
Aren't you using the rest of the song to basically describe the wish?
I looked to you as it fell, and now you're in my way. 
Wait, what?
I'd trade my soul for a wish, pennies and dimes for a kiss.
I was under the impression you had a wish. Like, it says so in the first line. And now you're trading your soul for one?
I wasn't looking for this, but now you're in my way.
You weren't looking for this? I thought you were wishing for him? Was that first wish a total non sequitur? That would eliminate some of my confusion, but that would just be stupid. 

Seriously, I just don't get the beginning of this song. There's a motif of a wish, but why? The only way it makes sense is if it doesn't apply to the rest of the song. That's dumb
Then a lot of the rest of the lyrics are just creepy. He's not calling her, probably because he's not interested,  but she still has "foresight" that their relationship will be good. And before he came into her life, she missed him? That's just weird. And what's this "beg, and borrow, and steal nonsense"? Seriously, girl please just move on. These "We were meant to be together even if you never notice ,e because I feel it in my heart and I was told to always listen to my heart" kind of messages just need to stop. They're weird. Granted, I've heard far more objectionable lyrics, but even the parts that aren't that bad, just aren't good either. 

So why is this song so popular? I have to think it's pretty much just a perfect summer pop song. It's just happy and cute. That's pretty much all it is, and that's all it seeks to be. It's innocent, relatively unobjectionable, and even if it's not a great song, it puts people into a good mood. It fits the idea of a stress-free, fun summer season pretty well. So my ultimate review, it's not a great song-far from it-but it does what it seeks to do. It sticks in your head, and cheers you up. I don't really like it, but I understand its appeal, especially if I just can bring myself to ignore the lyrics.