Every once in a while a song comes along that transcends a genre. A song so powerful, that its hook is almost instantly burned into our somewhat-permanent memory banks. In most cases, we would be talking about a really great song—an “instant classic†to borrow an industry cliché—but not always. And not in this case (bear with me). Some songs are so bad, so utterly cheesy, that they also become unforgettable. Examples include: “Macarena†(both the song and the dance), “MacArthur Park,†and “Mambo Number 5.â€
No musical genre is immune from this phenomenon. Recently, I experienced a new song that falls into this instantly unforgettable trash category. This one comes from rap mogul Snoop Dogg and is called “Sensual Seduction.†In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I’m actually a big fan of the Doggfather. His song “Gin and Juice†is one of the very few rap songs that is still relevant and good almost 15 years after its debut. Very few rap songs have a shelf life of more than a few months. “Gin and Juice†is truly a classic. Snoop’s new song “Sensual Seduction†also won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
If you haven’t experienced the song yet, you’ll need to go hear it before you continue reading. You can hear it and watch the video for free on YouTube. Go check it out, I’ll wait for you to get back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKz-RXSeIYA
Pretty bad, huh? But dammit, you’ll be hearing that melody and the electronic effect on Snoop’s voice the rest of the day and into tomorrow. You’ll call friends over to show them how wonderfully awful the new song is. You’ll forward the link and watch it again before you hit send just to be sure. You’ll watch it and listen to the song again and again just to laugh at the absurdity of the genre-bending attempt by one of the biggest names in rap music. And each time you expose yourself to this song, its infection will grow onto you, in you, and through you. You won’t soon forget “Sensual Seduction.â€
Snoop’s new song will be intermingling with truly good songs that are stored in your permanent memory to the point where a few weeks or months down the road you’ll question whether “Sensual Seduction†can really be a bad song if you’re still thinking about it and hearing the melody so many weeks later. The line between good and bad art will blur because we’ve learned to equate memorable with good. Because the song is written and performed by Snoop Dogg, there’s a level of trust there. We’ll give it a chance. Heck, we’ll probably give anything Snoop does a chance because he’s so good. And there’s the rub. Snoop just seduced us… again. Eh, maybe the new song ain’t so bad.