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Author Topic: My hump! My hump! My lovely lady lumps!
Michelle
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posted 27 April 2007 06:52 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I saw this version by Alanis Morrissette last night for the first time at writer's place, and it's pretty funny! I know it's old news by now.

The thing is, I watched the original video, and while it's somewhat vapid, I don't think the original was all that bad, and while the message is a bit mixed, to me even the original seemed to be saying, "When guys are shallow and only go for "my hump" and "my lady lumps", then fine, I'll let them buy me stuff. But if I'm dancing at a club and you try to get possessive with me, I'll tell you to shove off - you're not my man, I'm just here to dance." Seems like kind of a grrl power message to me.

[ 28 April 2007: Message edited by: Michelle ]


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
M.Gregus
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posted 27 April 2007 07:00 AM      Profile for M.Gregus     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
The Alanis version does a good job of spelling out the lyrics, which, in the faster pace of the original, were buried. Not that they're terribly profound or anything, but it does help with evaluating and forming an opinion on them! That said, I'm not sure how much credit I'd give Fergie with intending a message of empowerment...but then, who knows?
From: capital region | Registered: Oct 2006  |  IP: Logged
babblerwannabe
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posted 27 April 2007 11:00 AM      Profile for babblerwannabe     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ughh a feminist wont just let any guy to buy them stuffs.
From: toronto | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 27 April 2007 01:37 PM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Alanis is in my family tree. She's cool.
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
Steppenwolf Allende
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posted 27 April 2007 02:24 PM      Profile for Steppenwolf Allende     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I have liked a bunch of her music (have her first two CDs), and I have met her in person twice (she lives here in Vancouver now).

This video seems to be in keeping with her dashy/provocative character, and the message of show-some-respect-keep-your-paws-off is good.

But the whole thing about buy-me-stuff-and-you-might-have-me is a bit elitist, and also could be seen as her objectifying herself.

Interesting to note, though, the she considers herself bisexual, so I wonder if her values expressed in this video would apply to overly assertive women.

Just curious. Good tune, though, regardless.


From: goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here | Registered: Aug 2006  |  IP: Logged
babblerwannabe
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posted 27 April 2007 04:07 PM      Profile for babblerwannabe     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Oh my GOD, Alanis was MOCKING the song, the video is a Parody of "My Hump" by Fergie.

Cmon, why would anyone think Alanis would dress up in those outfit ?

[ 27 April 2007: Message edited by: babblerwannabe ]


From: toronto | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 27 April 2007 04:11 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Well, I'm probably the only person on the planet who hasn't heard the original version of My Humps. So I probably wouldn't have gotten the joke either if writer hadn't explained it to me.

The only time I've heard the song before this is in a trailer for Blades of Glory, where Will Farrell is singing the chorus on his treadmill.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 28 April 2007 01:56 AM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Well, you and I both then Michelle. I watched the Alanis video yesterday, and without the original to compare it to, I just thought it was creepy.

quote:
Cmon, why would anyone think Alanis would dress up in those outfit ?

.....to sell records, maybe?

I don't watch the music video chanels much-- in fact I usually only catch stuff my 18 year old is watching when I walk into the room.

But from that I sense that there is now a collection of women performers who decry the sexualization of music, and insist that for them it's all about the art.

And, they always manage to wear something sexy while saying it.

If Janis Joplin were young today, she'd never have gotten out of that stinky Texas town.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Stargazer
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posted 28 April 2007 04:21 AM      Profile for Stargazer     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Oh come on guys and gals! This video was a genius joke put out by Alanis. She didn't do this to sell records (I don't even think this is on a record). The lyrics in Fergie's version are not even remotely feminist or empowering - just juvenile and degrading. Go Alanis!!! By taking the song and making it her own she has exposed it for the absolute silliness that it is. The lyrics are incredibly dumb de dumb dumb.
From: Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist. | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 28 April 2007 04:25 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Here's the original for comparison, Tommy.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
aka Mycroft
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posted 28 April 2007 07:39 AM      Profile for aka Mycroft     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
From Wikipedia (yes, Wikipedia has an article on "My Humps":

quote:
Alanis Morissette covered the song in 2007, seemingly as an April Fools' Day prank, although she has not confirmed this.[5] In contrast to the original "My Humps", Morissette's cover is performed slowly and in the style of a torch song, with only a piano accompanying the vocal. On April 2, a video in which Morissette parodies Fergie's dancing moves in the original "My Humps" music video was added to the website YouTube. By April 3, the video was the most viewed on Technorati,[6] and it was viewed 4 million times six days later.[5] The Associated Press wrote that Morissette's "quiet, somber version only highlights the ridiculousness of Fergie's original lyrics".[7] The video has been hosted on Morissette's official website. On April 15, Fergie confirmed to E! News that she thought that the cover was "hilarious," and "genius." Fergie also said that she sent Alanis a cake in the shape of a "derriere."

From: Toronto | Registered: Aug 2004  |  IP: Logged
Tommy_Paine
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posted 28 April 2007 07:52 AM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Rebecca West viewed both and claims there isn't a feminist analysis of either, "it's just shit."

Having viewed the Black Eyed Peas original, I get the Alanis satire now.

Strangely, I found the B.E.P. version produced more belly laughs. But then, that's me.

I've sounded off on the music industry before in this forum, and I find putting a non-hypocritical opinion together on it difficult.

On a certain level, I don't think there is anything wrong with the cellabration of sex, or young people enjoying their attractiveness.

While it lasts.

And even the B.E.P. video wouldn't be a problem if it was a single event. But, unless there is some statistically impossible coincidence going on when I happen to see Much Music or other music stations, this stuff is wall to wall.

And, I think there is a problem with that. I think there is a problem leading girls to think that the only way to have value is to dress in fetish gear all the time and get material gain for sexual favours.

And, it's insulting to both genders, when you think of it.

Of course, I'm a hypocrite. That silver satin pencil skirt about drove me nuts. And once and a while I have been known to engage in sexual behaviors that would make Fergie look like a Nun.

But there's a time and place. And, mercifully, I never prostyletise my sexuality, or shill any art or product while I'm doing it.

I guess I'm a prevert, but an honest one. Not the same could be said for the music industry as a whole.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
TemporalHominid
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posted 28 April 2007 08:38 AM      Profile for TemporalHominid   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
a boot stompin' !

heh

awesome

I'd never seen this parody before... great fun...

my wife enjoy's the B.E.P original... I heard a lot of women singing the lyrics in the staffroom, having fun with it...

[ 28 April 2007: Message edited by: TemporalHominid ]


From: Under a bridge, in Foot Muck | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged
CMOT Dibbler
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posted 28 April 2007 11:55 AM      Profile for CMOT Dibbler     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think that that a lot of the hypoceracy of the entertainment industry, comes from the fact that while they plaster sex on billboards and broadcast it in movies and TV, they are completely subservient to the reactionary fuckwits in organizations like The Christian Coalition and will censor a bare breast at the drop of a hat.

Our society hates sex. We see it everywhere and yet we are loathed to discuss it. We watch Britany Spears dance in halter tops and short skirts, but when Jane Canadian tries to immitate that particular look, we condemn her as a slut. What a wretched, represseed and fundamentaly screwed up society we live in.


From: Just outside Fernie, British Columbia | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
Steppenwolf Allende
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posted 28 April 2007 12:30 PM      Profile for Steppenwolf Allende     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
But from that I sense that there is now a collection of women performers who decry the sexualization of music, and insist that for them it's all about the art.

And, they always manage to wear something sexy while saying it.


True, but there is obviously a sense of personal power and respect they have too.

quote:
I guess I'm a prevert, but an honest one.

I guess I am too. I would never deny that I don't admire these women when I see them. Maybe males just have pervert genes (better known as testosterone) to keep the human race alive by the desire to impregnate any reasonably convincing female body

quote:
If Janis Joplin were young today, she'd never have gotten out of that stinky Texas town.

Likely true. But I think Janis was kinda sexy in her own way. It’s been a long time, but I remember her as being fairly attractive. Then again, she and her style were a product of that time. If she was a young and upcoming artist today, she would likely dress more like the women artists of today, and downplay her signature blues sound in favour of the more techno-disco pop sound (which means I likely wouldn't be listening to her music)


From: goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here | Registered: Aug 2006  |  IP: Logged
Pride for Red Dolores
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posted 28 April 2007 05:18 PM      Profile for Pride for Red Dolores     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
That Alanis video is absolutely hilarious ! The song is quite vapid.

I find that these videos bring to mind questions of agency though- as in are these genuine expressions of female sexuality or women who are making displays under pressure from a record or similar type of executive ? If we assume the later, aren't we steeling them of their agency as human beings ?


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FraserValleyMan
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posted 29 April 2007 02:10 AM      Profile for FraserValleyMan        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Steppenwolf Allende:
I guess I am too. I would never deny that I don't admire these women when I see them. Maybe males just have pervert genes (better known as testosterone) to keep the human race alive by the desire to impregnate any reasonably convincing female body

Hey, no kidding, eh?


From: Port Coquitlam, BC | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged
Farmpunk
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posted 29 April 2007 04:17 AM      Profile for Farmpunk     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Wish my net was faster. I can't watch Alains' version. But I have seen the Fergie. It begged to be satirized. How Fergie or any other female entertainer make a living is their business.

"If Janis Joplin were young today, she'd never have gotten out of that stinky Texas town."

I hear this all the time and think it's partially wrong. KT Tunstell. Courtney Love back in the Live Through This days. Metric. Pink. L7. The Dixie Chicks (one of my favourite bands; they really have fun with satirizing country themes) I'm sure at many levels womens' entertainment ability is tied to their appearance, but there are enough examples for me to argue differently.


From: SW Ontario | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged
sock puppet
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posted 29 April 2007 06:54 AM      Profile for sock puppet   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
"If Janis Joplin were young today, she'd never have gotten out of that stinky Texas town."
As I recall, she didn't get out alive for very long in her own day....

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Tommy_Paine
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posted 29 April 2007 07:24 AM      Profile for Tommy_Paine     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
This thread has become a little male dominated, and there are those that are uncomfortable with that, so with thier forebearance, I will make this my last post on this subject. Feel free to have the last word.

quote:
But I think Janis was kinda sexy in her own way.

That's how I feel too. But she was considered unatractive by the boys in her town, and by others who, unlike you and I, can recognize that there is attractiveness outside the narrow common evaluation. Those where the days though that sound matter just a smidgen more than looks. Sure, there were T.V. appearances, but no video industry as there is now. And, I think early rock audiences and the industry weren't as keyed on physical appearance of female artists.

quote:
I hear this all the time and think it's partially wrong.

Well, all the examples you sited (I googled the ones I wasn't familiar with) featured conventionally attractive women.

I wonder how many young women with great voices or fine tallent with the guitar who don't see themselves as conventionally attractive don't pursue a career in music, in a kind of draconian, aesthetic based self censorship?

quote:
I find that these videos bring to mind questions of agency though- as in are these genuine expressions of female sexuality or women who are making displays under pressure from a record or similar type of executive ? If we assume the later, aren't we steeling them of their agency as human beings ?

I guess we might find a clue if we knew who was in control of the music industry. My guess is that it's men calling the shots.

Men do most of those inane entertainment interviews with pop musicians. Few to my knowledge ever based an entire interview with "Meatloaf" based on his appearance. But that's all they would talk about with either Ann or Nancy Wilson from "Heart" after one of them put on weight during the same era.

Additionally, it seems to me that, back eons ago, "Mitsou" was squelched for being too sexually explicit in one of her videos. But the only distinction I could really find was that she was the one in control of her career and making her own decisions. Similarly, the independant Toronto area artist, Moonlyn, is outrageously sexual, but she doesn't get time on Much Music. (that I am aware of) It may be that her music video "Butterfly Girl" is a tad on the insipid side. It may be that it's just too sexual even for Much.

But I deeply suspect it's because she making her own decisions, and not doing what she does at the order of the male dominated music industry.

Just a hunch.

And I will leave this now.


From: The Alley, Behind Montgomery's Tavern | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Steppenwolf Allende
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posted 29 April 2007 02:56 PM      Profile for Steppenwolf Allende     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Few to my knowledge ever based an entire interview with "Meatloaf" based on his appearance.

In fairness, it would be hard to talk about his appearance without saying he was fat and express concern over his health (which is apparently catching up with him).

quote:
That's how I feel too. But she was considered unatractive by the boys in her town, and by others who, unlike you and I, can recognize that there is attractiveness outside the narrow common evaluation.

I'm not so sure about that. Although Janis never lived up to the more sex symbol image of her day, I remember her having an OK figure--and added to her powerful voice and singing style made her a musical diva for sure.

Here she is at the Newport Folk Festival in 1968:

and at the Fillmore East same year:

[ 29 April 2007: Message edited by: Steppenwolf Allende ]


From: goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here | Registered: Aug 2006  |  IP: Logged

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