So baby are you down?

A Maybe Not So Brief Music Rant

There are a lot of songs out there that I just don't get. I have no idea why any of those songs happen to be as popular as they are, since the songs seem to have no apparent meaning and/or creativity lurking behinds it's playful lyricism and catchy beats and autotuned perfection.

A song I do not understand...

Down by Jay Sean feat. Lil Wayne
Down is such a meaningful word, don't you think? I mean, this song clearly shows the importance of this not upward direction. Jay Sean makes it very simple for us: if one is down, one will not need to worry nor will one be lonely. So he asks the all-time important question: "Baby are you down down down down down down down?" No, he could not say the word "down" only once because the point would be horribly vague if he did not say it six more times in a row. I definitely understand the necessity of this repetition because I usually get confused when someone calls my name only five times, or heaven forbid, only once! The repetition (magic number is 6!) in this particular song is necessary for clarity and for an overall pleasing listening experience because everyone loves to hear the same one-syllable word uttered or sung six times in a row in varying tones and pitches as created by cutting edge music production technology. But let's not forget the most important part of his timeless question: "Baby are you down, even when the sky is falling down?" It appears that Jay Sean could not think of another word to rhyme with the "baby are you down," or maybe he just wanted to fully erase any confusion that may have still remained if any listener actually, and quite reasonably, thought that song was really about being "Up," or "Left," or "Right," or "Sideways." I know--it can get pretty confusing deciphering what exactly the song is about, especially when the song's title is only said 62 times. He should have said is 100 times, just to be extra sure.

But of course, I can't forget about Lil Wayne, the marvelous guest on this song. He is accountable for a few of those 62 "down"s. Here is one of his memorable lines:
"Down like her temperature, cause to me she zero degrees,
She cold, over freeze,
I got that girl from overseas,"
Wow. Now, what exactly are you trying to say about girls from foreign countries? I'm not too sure if you know this, Lil Wayne, but if someone is 0 degrees, that person is probably dead. Most of the time. At least, that's what I thought. Apparently, I was wrong. Apparently, girls from overseas can be zero degrees and still be alive. And even more shockingly, these frozen women can still "get down low." That's amazing! I'm 98 degrees and I have no idea how to get down low. Or, maybe Lil Wayne is talking about his attraction to the girl, like...she's zero degrees. I wonder if that's a compliment. Before, the metaphor used to be "He/she is hot" or "steamin" or "smokin" or something along those lines. Not anymore. Lil Wayne is revolutionizing English lingo with this new terminology. Now, the ideal is to be zero degrees, whatever that means. This will be hard to accomplish, since humans cannot quite change their temperature to zero degrees according to their will, unless that person is from overseas as Lil Wayne seems to imply. I'm not sure how we humans can adapt to this, but we will try our best. And finally, my next favorite Lil Wayne line: "And honestly I'm down like the economy."
Hmmm....
Hmmm....
Is this really a good or appropriate thing to say? Our economy happens to be in a horrible state, so if you're "down like the economy," that can't be a good thing.

So, I've obviously got some problems with this song, but it happens to be the #1 song in America right now. It's probably just me.