Hate The Way You Sing

Read this:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/10/1612413/is-violent-rihanna-eminem-song.html

Now heed my words for a moment:

I have little to no interest (ok, I think I'll go with "no") in rapper Eminem or even, to some extent, Rihanna. I thought her tunes were catchy about 8 years ago, when her songs had a distinct bubble-gum quality and I can remember how fun it was to swing-dance to"Pon de Replay" (the beat is perfect). But now I just feel sorry for her, as well as for the women quoted in this article who are not representing a major organization.

I saw the interview she did with Diane Sawyer last year, where after stating, "I am strong. This happened to me. I didn't cause this," referring to Chris Brown, she later admits - sounding like a teenager trying to bumble her way through a lame explanation - that Brown had shoved her into a wall before the incident after the Grammy's:

Rihanna: Noooo, he didn't shove me into a wall.

Diane: Then what happened?

R: He shoved me into a wall. (:-o)

D: ......that means it didn't happen?

R: Well, when I say it didn't happen, I mean...uh....I wasn't bleeding, I wasn't swollen...uh...it wasn't a fight.

There was a police report filed. If you have to call the police, it's not playing around - it's a fight.

Ok. Knowing she was raised in an abusive household makes this all a lot clearer. But trying to explain away something obvious is ridiculous.

Then there's Allison Churchill, the music fan quoted as saying that she has "friends who never really hear the lyrics to songs they like - 'they just like a good beat.' She herself listened a number of times to 'Love the Way You Lie' before she realized what it was saying." Clue-less. This isn't some young girl who's too busy texting to look up and listen. She's 31 years old and oblivious.

Then there's someone named Diane Maxwell. " 'I like the lyrics because they ring true,' says Maxwell, 35. 'I've heard things like that in my life. This gives people a voice, and tells them, "You're not the only one out there." It's pretty powerful to me.' And so when Rihanna sings "I like the way it hurts," Maxwell says she hears: "That's OK - I'm tougher than you. Kind of like when two men are boxing. ... Come on, let's go, I can take whatever you throw at me."

I'm sorry. Battered women aren't boxers looking for glory. It was the most shocking sentence I read this morning. Putting on a poker face and staying strong is good advice for anyone in any stressful situation, but trying to one-up a deranged animal who is attacking you isn't going to get you anywhere. Want to hear women singing about strength? Listen to this one instead. Do I endorse the attitude in this song? Well, no, not really, but it sure sounds better than "Please hit me again. I'm strong, I can take it."

I just wish Eminem would move to Siberia. Or just listen to Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Now he's cool. 8)