Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day & sorry, I’m not sorry if this post breaks your heart a little bit.  But first a preface on why I’m writing this today:

I didn’t watch the Grammys this year for a number of reasons, mostly because I have a 2.5 month old baby, so my bedtime is about 8 pm these days in order to make up for being up to feed her in the middle of the night . . . But also because the Grammys have become so ridiculously stupid that they are honestly a joke.  I mentioned this last year but when “Call Me Maybe” gets nominated for a Grammy you know the music industry is in a truly shitty place.  (Actually to be truly honest, I don’t think I’ve ever watched the Grammys & after the way Metallica was treated at this year’s show I’m pretty sure I never will.)

Anyhow, all this talk about the Grammys & how “devastating” it is that Beyonce’s Lemonade album didn’t win album of the year has me thinking about just how overrated she really is.  Yes, I said it: Beyonce is overrated.  I know she has become this sacred cow that no one is allowed to criticize or else you’re deemed sexist, racist, misogynist, or whatever else is considered politically incorrect these days.  But the fact of the matter is I couldn’t possibly care less about being politically correct.  (One of the biggest & best ways being a mom has changed me is that it has made me FAR less concerned about other people’s opinions.  There is so much freedom in being able to express exactly how I feel & not worry about what others will think of me because of it.)

Now let me expound on this matter a bit lest you think I’m just some hateful bitch who is jealous of Beyonce’s talent, wealth, beauty, or fame.  Does she have a great voice?  Yes.  Is she a talented dancer?  Sure.  Is she beautiful?  Absolutely.  But is she worth all the hype & praise that has landed her being called a role model by someone as imminent as Michelle Obama?  Hell no!    (P.S. I can’t help but wonder if Michelle’s statement was colored a bit by the fact that Beyonce helped raise millions of dollars for Obama.  Hmmm . . . ) I’m sorry but I find it extremely hypocritical that Beyonce has somehow become this feminist icon when she is just another pop star who has allowed her sexuality to overshadow any other aspect of her persona.  

I’ve been trying to give Beyonce the benefit of the doubt for years now, but when I watched her Superbowl performance I couldn’t help but be disappointed (though not surprised) at how sexually suggestive it was.  However, when I read all the praise about her latest album, I decided to peruse the lyrics & see if maybe this album was more serious than some of her previous releases.  But alas, my suspicions were confirmed when I found lyrics as inanely stupid, not to mention sexually explicit & derogatory, as these.  “Suck on my balls . . .”  Seriously?  This is the stuff that people consider worthy of a Grammy?  Oh, & then there’s this jewel in which she sings “When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster, cause I slay.”  Say what now?!  Love Drought is actually not half bad, but she ends the song with “Them old bitches so wack, I’m so tough, wassup?” & completely ruins any momentum she had gained.  Worst of all are the disgusting lyrics in Don’t Hurt Yourself when she sings “Who the fuck do you think I is?/You ain’t married to no average bitch, boy/You can watch my fat ass twist, boy/As I bounce to the next dick, boy.”  Umm, what?!  As if the grammatical felonies committed here weren’t bad enough, “bounce to the next dick” is considered a lyric worthy of a Grammy?  Please!  

And let’s not forget some of Beyonce’s earlier work which includes such gems as Bow Down Bitches in which she repeatedly sings that illustrious phrase or Partition in which she crudely describes herself performing oral sex on a man in the backseat of a car.

Now explain to me again how this woman has become a “role model” for women & little girls!  I don’t know about y’all but Beyonce is not a role model for me & she sure as hell won’t be one for my little girl either.

Not only are most of Beyonce’s lyrics grammatically incorrect well beyond the grace of poetic license, more importantly they are vapid & just plain ridiculous.  And what’s even sadder is the lyric credits for most of the songs are a mile long.  Seriously, it takes five or six people to come up with this nonsense?  Apparently so.  If you’re wondering why I care so much it’s because music is like a religion to me.  As the great Corey Taylor so wisely stated “Music is not a fucking soda.  It is not a fucking insurance rate.  It is not a fucking T-shirt.  It is the only real religion that is worth devoting your soul to.  It is the last remnant of the primal scream, the funeral dirge, & the wedding march.  It is the light that keeps me out of the shadows, & it is the reason my immortal soul is not in dire straits.”  And as Taylor also stated “Bad music is a form of murder to the true art of music in general.”  THAT is why I care so much about crap like Beyonce’s music being glorified the way it is.

Since I’m going for full disclosure here, let me be truly transparent.  As some of you may know, I am a big rock & roll fan.  And as you’re probably well aware there is plenty of sex in rock & roll.  After all the phrase “sex, drugs, & rock & roll” exists for a reason.  However, if you study the music scene today I think you’ll find that most modern rock bands are actually much tamer than the “glory days” of rock that spawned that phrase.  And as far as modern female rock stars go, ladies like Lzzy Hale of Halestorm & Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil have figured out how to be beautiful & sexy without letting that dominate their careers.  Yes, they both wear outfits that could be considered provocative at times, but that isn’t their only wardrobe.  Nor do they perform sexually explicit dances on stage.  While they both have a few songs that definitely reference sex, those songs are well written & far more mature than this crap Beyonce is “writing.”  I say “writing” because I seriously wonder how much she contributes to her own songs when she needs so many different songwriters to help her with the process . . .

The point is most musicians become sex symbols in one way or another & that includes men as well as women.  Tim McGraw & Luke Bryan are certainly examples of this.  What bothers me is when a musician’s entire career becomes wrapped up in being a sex symbol.  I believe that is exactly what has happened to Beyonce, & worse yet the music for which she receives so much adoration is frankly stupid & trashy & only feeds into the overly sexualized image she has created for herself.  She’s not so much a singer as she is a product, a veritable piece of meat.  And isn’t that exactly what feminists hate to see women become?

What it comes down to is this: I am by no means a prude.  I do not have a problem with music & sexuality being blended in some ways & at some times.  But I do have a problem with a woman who has become nothing more than a stereotypical sex symbol being regaled as not only some “amazing musician” but as a role model for young girls.  Sorry but no!  Beyonce isn’t a good role model for little girls any more than Britney Spears is (or should I say was because I’m not sure anyone cares about her anymore?).

So there you have it. Beyonce is overrated.  End of story.

And sorry, I’m not sorry.