It’s funny, I never thought that as I got older, I would still have heroes. As I try to make a name for myself as a writer, I admire a few wordsmiths, including Shea Serrano.
Shea is a New York Times best-selling author and has written about hip-hop and pop culture for years. He has written for the Houston Press, Grantland, and The Ringer and has hosted a number of podcasts. Since leaving The Ringer, he created his own show, ‘Primo’, based on his life. He now has a Substack called ‘Good Movie’ (which I still need to subscribe to).
When I’m a fan of a writer, I will go back and read some of their old articles. I recently read some of Shea’s articles from his days at the Houston Press. One, in particular, caught my attention for its honesty and hilarity.
The article in question, ‘Pitbull’s ‘Timber’ Is Just The Worst.’ Here are a few highlights from the article:
- The song was at number 2 on the Billboard chart and number 1 on Shea’s GTFOH chart.
- He points out that nine people wrote the song, with Kesha’s mum also one of the writers.
- It only takes Pitbull one second to rap a cliché.
- Also, originally Rihanna was meant to be on the track instead of Kesha.
- I’ll finish with a positive critique; he notices that Pitbull always looks like he is having a good time.
As much as I enjoyed the article, I am one of the few thousand people who like the song, and I’ll tell you why. It’s a catchy earworm. The club I worked at in Canberra had a jukebox in its function room. Every time I cleaned that room, I would put on a playlist, and ‘Timber’ was one of the first songs I would pick (it only had songs from 2010 onwards).
Not only is it catchy, but it’s also just the kind of song that instantly puts a smile on your face. Whenever I hear this song, no matter where I am (usually at home), it gets me up and moving. Like Pitbull, I’m always having a good time when ‘Timber’ comes on.
For a while, the only thing that kind of annoyed me was the music video, not the actual song. Timber obviously has a bit of a country vibe. We get about 30 seconds, or less, at the beginning of Pitbull in a saloon, and wearing what could be a cowboy hat (though it looks more like a hat Crocodile Dundee would wear).
Before we know it, ‘Mr Worldwide’ is back in his trademark suit. I would have liked to have seen him in a better cowboy hat, some spurs and a flannel shirt, shooting some pool, maybe getting in a bar fight. Ok, I might be taking it a bit far with the bar fight, but you get what I mean.
I’m not sure I defended the song too well; I only said it was catchy. Now and then, you want a song that you can put on and relax and enjoy. But Timber is also a song that when the DJ plays it at 1 am, you better believe I, and no doubt other people, are hitting that sticky arse dance floor.
Anyway, Shea, please don’t hate me if you read this.
