Okay. Miley Cyrus did not have the best summer in most people's eyes. After making "
We Can't Stop", the song with little substance and lots of controversy, and then performing at the
VMAs, Miley is not the teen role model she used to be. Of course, she is not a Disney Channel star anymore (although "
The Climb" was and still is awesome) and her image is growing up with her. Even though she may be going in a "bad" direction to some, I'm not here to judge her life decisions. But I am going to judge her music. Miley recently released a new single "Wrecking Ball" and it has been a hit on the charts. Hit the jump for my thoughts on Miley and that large ball of steel.
Let's begin with the fact that I've sang more Miley in the past week than I have in the past 3 years. I really really really like this song. It has so much feeling and emotion. It has a cathartic theme that people can relate to. Granted, the lyrics are mildly repetitive but the point gets across in her economic use of words. "Wrecking Ball" shows off the vocal chops that we all knew Miley had back in the day. "We Can't Stop" made me wonder if she still had it in her to sing, but my skepticism has been put to rest.
There is of course the controversy of the music video for this song and I do think that should be addressed. She's mostly naked, yes. She's continuing with her "wild child" image, yes. She licks a sledgehammer, yes. But I do like it for the most part.Disregarding all of the overt sexual stuff, there is some artistic value to the video. Her crying particularly shows her vulnerability as a person, demonstrating a different side of Miley than what we've seen lately. Also, the wrecking ball bursting through the walls fits the song but mostly it gives us a break from the sledgehammer licking. On a more analytic note, when she's not naked, Miley is dressed in white and I think that may signify her purity. Over the course of the video, she's fighting with the fact that her walls have been broken down and that she can't take back the damage that has been done. This may be an odd interpretation, but this is how I see it - a loss of purity and because of it, blatant vulnerability.
I hope everyone is as anxious for Miley's comeback as I am (because it's going to be AWESOME). You stay classy, Princeton.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8]
