Just wanted to share this Gem/Froot from a female and feminist rockstar! Some lines have really sparked debate about what feminism is, but I feel all Marina is saying that women can be whatever the heck they want to be!
"Can't Pin Me Down"
Marina and the Diamonds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsi2xvbTwQw
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Now I got your back up
What do you not like
Do you think I'm stuck-up
'Cause I'm always picking fights
You might think I'm one thing, but I am another
You can't call my bluff
Time to back off, motherfucker
Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem
I'm happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband
Yeah, yeah
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
You ain't got me sussed yet
You're not even close
Baby, it's the one thing
That I hate the most
All these contradictions pouring out of me
Just another girl in the 21st century
I'm never gonna give you anything that you expect
You think I'm like the others
You need to get your eyes checked
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
I could be your sister
I could be your mother
I could be your friend, or
I could be your lover
Do you like my body
Do you like my mind
What is it that you are having trouble to define
I am never gonna give you anything you expect
You think I'm like the others
Boy, you need to get your eyes checked
You can paint me any color
I can be your Russian doll
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't make me small
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Now I got your back up
What do you not like
Do you think I'm stuck-up
'Cause I'm always picking fights
You might think I'm one thing, but I am another
You can't call my bluff
Time to back off, motherfucker
Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem
I'm happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband
Yeah, yeah
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
You ain't got me sussed yet
You're not even close
Baby, it's the one thing
That I hate the most
All these contradictions pouring out of me
Just another girl in the 21st century
I'm never gonna give you anything that you expect
You think I'm like the others
You need to get your eyes checked
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
I could be your sister
I could be your mother
I could be your friend, or
I could be your lover
Do you like my body
Do you like my mind
What is it that you are having trouble to define
I am never gonna give you anything you expect
You think I'm like the others
Boy, you need to get your eyes checked
You can paint me any color
I can be your Russian doll
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't make me small
You can paint me any color
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number
No, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
Yeah, you can't pin me down
I think you are right. I think that line is a little bit of dig that might do more harm than good, BUT Marina is really championing the right of women to be complicated, full of contradictions, and always growing and transforming. "All these contradictions pouring out of me/Just another girl in the 21st century." Holla! I think in a lot of her work (and visual expressions) she is always questioning that line for women between authenticity and artifice/performance, like when are we being ourselves, when are we putting on a performance for others/men, when do we WANT to put on that performance. In her FAQ at around 13:55 she sort of talks about this when discussing what she called her new album FROOT--- blending the artificial and the natural https://youtu.be/eYLpKzBqZWA?t=13m50s
ReplyDeleteOn how the media treats female pop stars: “If I got into an artist who was playing a character and then realized that they have another body of work, you’re like, ‘So who is it, then?’ [That happens] particularly with female artists, maybe because identity is such a shaky thing — it feels like you’re constantly trying to be defined. A song on the album, “Can’t Pin Me Down,” is about that. Maybe it’s because we can change the way we look so easily compared to male artists. I always get the impression that media are like, ‘She’s not really the artist, someone else is creating that.’ With this album I want to make a point about writing the whole thing because [then] you can’t say anything — you know I’m the sole creator. There aren’t many of those artists anymore.”
ReplyDeletehttp://time.com/3745237/marina-and-the-diamonds-froot/