There's been a lot of debate about what this year's summer song should be, unlike last year where it was chosen for us ("Blurred Lines") and you had better get in line about it! This year I feel like rebelling from the status quo and am declaring my own choice for the Summer Song of 2014 - Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass".
Before we get to this amazing song, let's discuss the elephant in the cyber room - Iggy's "Fancy". This has overwhelmingly been the song I've been told is THE Summer Song, but I say, "NO!" I don't want my summer song to be about drinking and partying around the world while dressing like a whore. That's not a message I want young girls relating to. I saw the effects of this song first hand on two separate occasions this summer. One was at the end of the school year middle school dance I was chaperoning (yes, that joy is in my job description). When this song (edited, thankfully) came on, all of the girls screamed in delight, formed a circle and started pumping their fists in the air while the boys looked at each other, bewildered, and went into the gym to shoot some hoops. First off let me say that I'm with you boys. As I watched those girls twerking, I was saddened to think that this is their view of the world. Traveling from party to party, throwing money around, getting drunk. This was what they were so excited about. Bothered by this, I did some digging and found a USA Today survey where 18-25 year olds were asked to choose their generation's top goals. #1 at 81% was to get rich, #2 at 51% was to be famous. Helping people who needed it was only 30% followed by being a leader in the community at only 22%. How sad. My second encounter with this song was when my 12 year old cousin came to visit this summer. She was obsessed with this song and Iggy in general. She told me that when she grew up she was going to live in Tokyo and become famous. She then informed me that you don't have to do anything to become famous, ya' know, like Kim Kardashian. Hmmm
Now I'm not saying that this song is the only culprit out there. There are obviously tons of songs that glorify this lifestyle, but to make this one the Summer Song of 2014 was too much for me to handle. This is my line in the sand! Enter 20 year old Meghan Trainor who also had a dream of being famous, but actually did something about it. She grew up playing Soca (a type of music famous in Trinidad) at local bars with a family band. Her parents brought her to songwriting conventions across the country and they eventually moved to Nashville when she was 19. She has written songs for Rascal Flatts ("DJ Tonight" and "I Like the Sound of That") and is now making waves of her own with her debut song, "All About That Bass" which is currently #2 on the Billboard Hot #100 ("Fancy" is finally down to #5). There isn't anything like this song on the radio today. It has a great retro feel. It celebrates all women and encourages them to love their bodies no matter what. It's also a great song for men because it allows you to understand how self-conscious we can be no matter what our size. On top of that it has a beat that makes you want to dance and a video that is so colorful and fun it feels like you are in a cotton candy machine.
She co-wrote this song with Grammy award winning Kevin Kadish, who has worked with Jason Mraz. He had the song title, but no other ideas. Trainor said that she immediately thought, "Booty. Bass. Thickness." It's been 22 years since bootys were properly glorified (tip of the cap, Sir Mix a Lot), and now this generation of kids can learn to love themselves no matter what their size all over again.
This song has it all. It's my Summer Song. I think it should be yours too!
"Fancy" Lyrics
"All About That Bass" Lyrics
