February 29, 2008
I don't consider myself a fuddy-duddy (or even an old-timer or a geezer). I
consider myself to be hip to the latest shizzle, and I'm pretty sure that I know
what's going down in the hood (at least in my hood). Although I am one of the
few in this great nation who still speaks the Queen's English, I believe I am in
touch with the slang and the terminology that the youth of America seem to
prefer.
I must confess that, despite my bootyliciousness, I don't always know what the
kids of today are talking about. And I don't have a problem with that. Sure, I
can decipher that a song like "Buy You a Drank" really means "Buy You a
Drink", or that the song "Get it Shawty" is really "Get it Shorty" ("Shorty" of
course referring to one's girlfriend). When it gets more complicated and I get
lost in the slang, I understand that this is just the latest generation's way of
saying, "Back off, Daddio, you're not one of us". Which I can appreciate.
However, I think that I personally, and we as a nation, need to draw the line at
poor pronunciation. I'm referring specifically to the artist Pink's song about
keeping your drink and just giving her the money. I have heard this song on
the radio, in clubs, on airplanes and in elevators, and I have been sucked in by
the funky beat and the rockin' groove. I enthusiastically sang along with it in
my car, in clubs, on airplanes and in elevators. But today I found out that the
song is actually called "U and UR Hand". Aside from the obviously pretentious
grammatical borrowing from the Artist formerly known as Prince, I have
another beef with Ms. Pink. As I mentioned, for months now I have sung my
lungs out, in the aforementioned cars, clubs, airplanes and elevators. Because
of her poor pronunciation, I have been singing about it being just "you and
your hair tonight". Since this made perfect sense to me in the context of her
song, I never thought twice about it. But now I realize that her poor
enunciation has caused me to look foolish in numerous public venues, and that
her song has an entirely different meaning than that perceived by me (of a
gregarious young fellow with a little money and a great head of hair). I am not
so vain as to be angry at Pink for making me look foolish, but I don't want her
and her ilk sucking future generations of young Americans into her "poor
pronunciation gang". As President, I will act quickly and decisively to ensure
that, as our current President stresses, "our children is learning". And I will
take it a step further, and insist that our children is learning good.
I don't consider myself a fuddy-duddy (or even an old-timer or a geezer). I
consider myself to be hip to the latest shizzle, and I'm pretty sure that I know
what's going down in the hood (at least in my hood). Although I am one of the
few in this great nation who still speaks the Queen's English, I believe I am in
touch with the slang and the terminology that the youth of America seem to
prefer.
I must confess that, despite my bootyliciousness, I don't always know what the
kids of today are talking about. And I don't have a problem with that. Sure, I
can decipher that a song like "Buy You a Drank" really means "Buy You a
Drink", or that the song "Get it Shawty" is really "Get it Shorty" ("Shorty" of
course referring to one's girlfriend). When it gets more complicated and I get
lost in the slang, I understand that this is just the latest generation's way of
saying, "Back off, Daddio, you're not one of us". Which I can appreciate.
However, I think that I personally, and we as a nation, need to draw the line at
poor pronunciation. I'm referring specifically to the artist Pink's song about
keeping your drink and just giving her the money. I have heard this song on
the radio, in clubs, on airplanes and in elevators, and I have been sucked in by
the funky beat and the rockin' groove. I enthusiastically sang along with it in
my car, in clubs, on airplanes and in elevators. But today I found out that the
song is actually called "U and UR Hand". Aside from the obviously pretentious
grammatical borrowing from the Artist formerly known as Prince, I have
another beef with Ms. Pink. As I mentioned, for months now I have sung my
lungs out, in the aforementioned cars, clubs, airplanes and elevators. Because
of her poor pronunciation, I have been singing about it being just "you and
your hair tonight". Since this made perfect sense to me in the context of her
song, I never thought twice about it. But now I realize that her poor
enunciation has caused me to look foolish in numerous public venues, and that
her song has an entirely different meaning than that perceived by me (of a
gregarious young fellow with a little money and a great head of hair). I am not
so vain as to be angry at Pink for making me look foolish, but I don't want her
and her ilk sucking future generations of young Americans into her "poor
pronunciation gang". As President, I will act quickly and decisively to ensure
that, as our current President stresses, "our children is learning". And I will
take it a step further, and insist that our children is learning good.
| Entertainment - February 29, 2008 |
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