"Rude"

When I first heard the song “Rude” by Magic! in 2014, I remember thinking to myself that even though it had a pretty catchy beat, the lyrics were so cringy I would never like it. Five years later, it has grown to be one of my least favorite songs of all time for the exact same reason. In addition to this song’s awkward storyline and lyrical content, I have also grown to resent the music of the song itself- a mix of reggae and pop music that doesn’t appeal to me. “Rude” is still being played on some radio stations today due to its popularity in 2014, making it almost impossible to escape. With that being said, after opening my mind up to the idea of “sympathetic hearing”, or listening from the point of view of a fan, I noticed a few things that I hadn’t before with this song, especially after reading some positive reviews.

While this song gets its fair share of negative reviews, people who tend to like this song have almost all the same reasons. One big reason is that the song’s music takes a pop song and places a reggae spin on it. People seem to enjoy the return to simpler instruments such as drums, guitar, and maracas that are attributed as typical reggae elements. The way that Magic! manipulates the sound of these instruments and seamlessly puts them together is attractive to many listeners of the song. People have also noted in their positive reviews of the song their appreciation for its overall simplistic nature. The song is easy to remember and has understandable lyrics. It has a simple beat that is not too “out there” in terms of complexity and has a message among the lyrics of the song that is relatable to almost everyone: love. This song is quintessentially pop music by every definition, but with a unique blend of culture to provide a bit of diversity. After learning why people are so quick to fall in love with this song, it is easy for me to see why I don’t like it.

For me, “Rude” by Magic! is too simple. Where some fans may see this as a good thing, I cannot help but have a negative opinion of this song for the exact same reason. I pride myself on being a person who can tell if a song is “good” or not and with that I tend to shy away from songs that are too likeable, too pop, or just too easy to listen to. For me, a good song should have depth. It should have clever lyrics or a complicated music composition, because my mind associates simple with mainstream or inadequate music. While there are a few songs that I appreciate for their simplicity, overall, I tend to be very judgmental towards songs that don’t provide a richer listening experience than just sheer enjoyment. While attempting to have a more sympathetic listening experience with “Rude”, I was able to realize that I have this tendency to put down songs that I personally don’t consider good, even though plenty of other people are able to enjoy the song for what it is. I think part of this comes from my desire to be considered well educated about music, so I tend to focus on songs that are obscure in some way- whether it be the artist, the music, or the lyrics. However, music doesn’t always have to be more than just music, which I think is a lesson I still have to learn.

My distaste of Magic!’s song, especially its role in the reggae fusion genre, lends a hand to my tendency as a music consumer to only listen to music that is familiar to me. I identify primarily as a pop/rap/rock music listener and many other genres are unfamiliar to me. Sounds from country music, disco, reggae, blues, classical, or jazz seem foreign to my ears and when they blend together with genres I do listen to, the result is often strange to me. It is not that I don’t like these genres, but because they are not my first choice to listen to I find it difficult to accept them when their elements sneak into popular music. I think that fans of this song and similar songs that combine different musical elements have a unique ability to be open to new sounds in the music that they easily consume. It makes me wonder that maybe there is some charm to not being heavily invested in the music industry. Perhaps if I had a different perspective on what music should sound like or even if I had less knowledge about music itself, I would be able to appreciate these simpler songs that simply provide entertainment and have an ability to appeal to many different people because of their combination of sounds.

Critics of the song “Rude” tend to have many of the same surface level problems that I do, especially when it comes to the lyrics. As it turns out, the songwriter who is addressing love, was never even in the position that he takes in the song. He had never experienced a relationship with a girl that he wants to marry but the father is saying no, like the lyrics tell the story of. I think that most music fans would have a problem with this song’s lyrics because most listeners desire a sense of authenticity in the lyrics that Magic! misses out on by singing about an emotion they have never felt. This background knowledge would not be available to anyone who is simply listening to the song for entertainment, another example of how ignorance of a song’s background appeals to people. The shallow nature of the lyrics and the main line “Why you gotta be so rude?” seem to have no point besides just complaining about a girl’s father without giving any other information about the relationship. The song leaves many unanswered questions for the listener, but the argument could be made that the lyrics don’t need to give all the details. Some fans of the song might say “It’s not that deep,” again proving the superficial level at which this song lies.

Personally, I think depth can come in many different forms musically. I have a fundamental belief that music is a form of art and should be treated as such both by the artist and by the audience. Factors that give a piece of art “depth” might be the story behind the lyrics. Perhaps an artist is speaking to someone they know or even themselves through the lyrics, sending a message that they believe needs to be heard. This emotion behind an artist’s lyrics are what gives it power and feeling and it is also a way that the artist is able to speak to their fans. Depth can also be shown in a piece of music by the context of when it is released. Maybe it is a song that touches on a subject that will outlast time. Maybe it focuses on a certain event that can be remembered through the immortality of a song. Either way, I find that this context gives the music a sense of purpose which can lead to sophisticated song. I also think that depth can be shown very explicitly through the music by having a complex composition that intrigues listeners and gives the song a feeling of originality. From what I know about “Rude”, it truly is “not that deep.”

After unfortunately listening to this song on repeat for about thirty minutes, I will admit that the beat is sort of fun. Carl Wilson brings up very good points in his book Let’s Talk about Love highlighting why sympathetic hearing is important. I have been able to appreciate more of Magic!’s music from this experience, which I normally would not have even considered. By opening up my mind to the song “Rude”, I was able to gauge why this song was number one on the 2014 pop charts for numerous weeks. While it might not be my favorite song, but there is clearly some merit to it. However, due to the simplicity and shallowness of the song, I don’t think I will be a fan anytime soon.