Brightest Young Things

In this occasional feature Nina (a real live breathing 17 year old-ed) will examine whatever song is currently at the top end of the charts and defend its “musical merits” to the best of her ability talk about it.

"She Wolf" by Shakira

So I have not posted one of these in over a month!  My apologies.  Being a 17-year-old has its drawbacks (school, applying to college, you know).  But anyway, now I'm back!

So.  Another drawback of being 17 is that I have experienced Twilight Fever full force.  It's not like all you cool adults who just see things on the news about vampires being "in" and then you get together with friends to watch the movie (ironically, of course).  People at school have read every book in the series and there was a six-month period last year when every freshman girl who was carrying at least one of the massive tomes as if it were Edward Cullen himself.  When the movie came out, not one but THREE of my close friends went to see it at midnight (I need new friends.  JK guys luv ya!).  Whenever new clips or previews of Movie #2, New Moon, are released, my Facebook feed becomes inundated with links.  Especially if these clips involve Taylor Lautner.  You see, the Twilight Masterminds were not satisfied just with creating a Vampire Frenzy.  They wanted there to be a Werewolf Frenzy too.  So they created another love interest for Kristen Stewart and he is a werewolf.

So far, I'd say vampires still have the market cornered.  They've got movies (Transylmania, The Vampire's Assistant) and TV shows (The Vampire Diaries) and Robert Pattinson.  But now werewolves are gaining speed with Taylor Lautner and this amazing but sort of mind-boggling new Shakira song, "She Wolf."

"She Wolf" is a very weird song.  Very, very weird.  You can tell from the music video that the producers were hoping for this to be Shakira's "Thriller" but instead it's kinda funny and just bizarre.  And rather than starting a new dance craze a la "Hips Don't Lie," the dance moves in the video are disjointed and scary for all the wrong reasons (like, is anyone's body really supposed to move like that?!).

I have to admit, though, that I like the Police sample and howling along to the chorus is super fun.  I'll put it this way:  A song called "She Wolf" could be way worse.

Best (worst) line: "I'm starting to feel a little abused like a coffee machine in an office."