Often, songs are written with some relevance to current happenings in society. With “Respect” by Aretha Franklin released during the time of the woman’s rights movement, and “We Are the World” produced by Michael Jackson during the time of mass famine in Ethiopia, it was just a matter of time before a song would be released about today’s “selfie” craze.
That song is “#SELFIE,” written by The Chainsmokers. The song, as indicated in the title, pokes fun at todays narcissistic society by repeating modern terms such as “selfie” to show how obsessed everyone is with themselves. “#SELFIE” also utilizes modern terms from popular apps such as Instagram and Twitter to add more humor at todays technology dictated world. Lines such as, “I only got 10 likes in the last five minutes do you think I should take it down?” make fun of the issues that are faced among today’s younger generation due to constantly uploading pictures, and in this case “selfies,” to the internet. The song has gained recent popularity in the last few weeks since its release on Jan. 28, and has become one of the fastest selling tracks on the charts. The song is regarded as a popular club and party song, most likely due to its beat and relatable lyrics. “I think it’s accurate.” said junior Zerena Silva, “A lot of girls are obsessed with taking pictures of themselves, and talk like that.” With Instagram gaining more and more popularity, along with the current selfie craze, the song is thought of as humorous because of how accurate and relevant the lyrics are. “Everyone takes selfies,” said junior Sophia Kurt, “so of course its really easy to relate to, which is what makes it popular.” The humorous lyrics aren’t the only thing making the song popular. Along with the relevant lyrics, the beat, which fits the popular “trap” music style being played around dance clubs gives the song a reason to be played for more than just laughs. “The song is also popular because it’s really catchy,” said Silva. “It has a good beat.” The song has a solid beat that is good to dance to with various beat drops and variation, making the song appealing to the audience that the lyrics are targeting; the younger generation. However the song, despite the catchy beat and funny lyrics, can be regarded as annoying. Junior Cody Campbell said “The song is just annoying, and terribly put together.” “It’s annoying, but the lyrics are accurate, and the song is relevant,” said Kurt. Even though the song may not be liked by everybody, there is no disputing the fact that the song has reached new levels of popularity within the last few weeks. The song, with over 17 million hits on YouTube, has made humor out of the modern craze among young people of today, making the song very popular.
