Forget You

“I see you ridin’ around town with the girl I love and I’m like, ‘Forget You’…” Man I laughed when I heard this jam today. And I won’t lie, if profanity bothers you, stick to the edited version. But besides being a comical rendition in the spirit of 60s Motown, this song by Cee Lo touches on such a common human theme – DISAPPOINTMENT.

In Cee Lo’s commentary, it’s a story of the underdog who gets snubbed by the cutie, harbors a little malice, grows out of his Steve Urkelness and eventually becomes quite the catch. Of course by the end of his guttermost to uttermost metamorphosis, he acquires a nice swag that naturally gives him the right to say…”Forget You and uh Forget her too.” But could Cee Lo be onto something even more profound? Perhaps the snide, vengeful snubee who lies in wait to stick it to the heartbreaker actually hasn’t forgotten anything. We’ve been there to be sure, right? We’ve all been hurt or felt rejected. But we’ve probably also been energized by the thought that our vindication might one day come through a proper retribution.

Truth is, and it’s one I still hate admitting, something I was told years ago. “Unforgiveness is like taking poision and waiting for someone else to die.” It still doesn’t completely resonate. But Cee Lo was at least intuitive if not intentional in esteeming the benefit of a short memory. What’s better than the dish best served cold – Letting Go. At the moment of offense, one feels angry enough to pick a fight for the next 365 days but we all know that ain’t how it works. Chances are, if you’re like me, you’ve tried waiting for your time to play Cobra. It’s 2011. Forget You. Payback is probably not why you’re on the planet.

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3 Comments on “Forget You”

  1. Excerpt from Prager article:
    “How does a song replete with expletives, whose very title is “F— You,” get nominated for a Grammy Award as Record of the Year?
    The answer is that the music industry, from producers to artists, is largely populated by people who regard social and cultural norms as stifling. Their professional lives are dedicated to lowering that which is elevated, destroying that which uplifts, and to profaning that which is held sacred.
    There is no better explanation for “F— You” being nominated as Record of the Year. It has little, if any, redeeming moral, social or artistic (to the extent that this word retains its original meaning) value. The lyrics are as vapid as they are obscene; the video further degrades that part of black life that is already too lacking in elevation; and there is the participation of children in a profanity-filled video. “

  2. More excerpts from article:
    “It is also worth noting that the video of this song includes children who appear to be under 12 years of age and all the performers are black — a point I will address later.
    I have long believed that MTV has done more damage to America’s young people than any other single institution. I am referring to the music videos, in which most images or scenes are shown for less than two seconds and thereby numb kids’ minds, and to the sexual imagery and sex talk that permeate the music videos and much of the rest of MTV programming.
    But while MTV should be singled out for the damage it has done to America, the music industry in general has been equally guilty.”

  3. Interesting ponits Mr. Prager, which appear to be cut and pasted from an article on your webpage, but I guess I don’t see how they relate to Mr. Coulter’s original thought…Vengence is something we all want at one time or another…but it’s not worth it.

    The dialogue about the poisons being injected into our society by music and television is an important one, but it is a dialogue that points outward…to what others are doing or should be doing or ought not to be doing. I appreciate Norman’s thoughts because they challenge the reader to look inward…to evaluate ones own contribution.

    I see a great deal of irony in a prefab response almost entirely unrelated to the topic of the blog itself. It is as if the response to Norman was…”F…You. I’m gonna say what I wanna say.” Just one person’s humble opinion.

    I am challenged to say goodbye to old grudges, to let go of past hurts and move forward… hoping to inject something positive into the world around me.

    Thanks Norman