Music blog

Redfoo versus Taylor Swift: who is the real satirist?

Clem Bastow

---

You know how it goes. We’ve been waiting for months for a truly
satirical music video, then two turn up at once: Taylor Swift’s Blank
Space and Play-N-Skillz’s Literally I Can’t, featuring Redfoo, Lil Jon
and Enertia McFly.

---

for Literally I Can’t (dropping on YouTube just before Halloween
without much fanfare) suddenly screamed into the headlines courtesy of
its alleged “satire” of American college life.

IFRAME:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/PC52toizz8U?wmode=opaque&feature=oembed

I put satire in scare quotes because Redfoo, who provides the song’s
verse, seems to think that making a video for a song whose refrain
literally (sorry) tells women to “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!”, where sorority
girls (albeit fictional ones) are shamed and filmed without consent is
a satire of … well, it’s anyone’s guess.

Does Redfoo understand the concept? The LMFAO singer took to Twitter to

---

The video, directed by frequent Redfoo/LMFAO collaborator Mickey
Finnegan, only adds insult to injury. Following the fracas, it’s now
preceded by a title card that reads: “The following is a satirical
video based on Sororities/Fraternities and the cliche ‘Literally I
Can’t.’ This content is in no way to be interpreted as misogynistic or

---

By comparison, the video for Swift’s Blank Space (a song in which the
singer explores her “boy crazy” reputation) can rightly claim to be
satire, or at the very least impressive self-parody. Directed by Joseph
Kahn (who we have to thank for Britney Spears’ Toxic and Eminem’s
Without Me videos among many others), the half-winking thriller depicts