November 29, 2024

Calling other people stupid is a dangerous business.

What's going on here? Stupid people who don't realize the Madonna song "Like a Prayer" is about sex?


A video of a secular choir singing with gusto and sporting Santa hats has been misread among internet users and influencers as evangelical right-wing churchgoers unwittingly engaging in blasphemy, much to the bewilderment of the choirmaster. 
“Lord bless your heart, y’all are either really sheltered or really dumb,” commented the YouTuber Ethan Trace, his mouth open in disbelief as he shared the clip under the headline “Madonna really fooled the next generation of Gen Z Christians”. 
However, Jens Junker, who conducted the performance by a pop-up choir based in Munich before Christmas 2022, is baffled by how it has been mocked by millions of social media users in the United States over the past week. 
More than 1,500 reaction videos have been uploaded to TikTok in a section entitled “Red Hat Anthem”, an apparent reference to the red caps worn by supporters of Donald Trump. People are holding their heads in their hands in amused disbelief as the choir sings: “I’m down on my knees; I wanna take you there.” 
“We were taken completely out of context and used as supposed evidence that the reactionary conservative right are so stupid,” said Junker, the founder of the Go Sing Choir.... “It shows that the motivation to fight the other political camp can be so strong that it blinds you,” Junker added.... “I don’t think anyone was so naive to think this is a church song for Christmas, at least not the people who turned up to sing it,” he said. “At these events we generally talk a bit about the song’s background and stories about it. But the main reason I chose it was that it’s a great pop song to sing in a choir.”

Never assume you're the smart one and completely commit: You could end up looking like this: 

@r00keries hallelujah, take me to church, marry on a cross, LIKE A PRAYER!! the list goes on #fypツ ♬ Red Hat Anthem - DailyVines
That is just one of many examples of the idiotically exultant mockery.

50 comments:

Wince said...

Uh, remember when you first heard it, like in 6th grade, you used to giggle. "And the cock crowed three times," heh (laughter) the cock – three times. It’s in the Bible, cock in the Bible. (laughter).

- George Carlin, from his ‘Filthy Words’ routine that was broadcast on radio in the US in 1978 leading to his prosecution for obscenity.

Narr said...

The stupidest thing in the video is the song itself.

Mr Wibble said...

Wasn't this done originally for the Deadpool movie?

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

“We were taken completely out of context and used as supposed evidence that the reactionary conservative right are so stupid,” said Junker, the founder of the Go Sing Choir....

The Left deals in stereotypes of conservatives the way Mississippi Klansmen dealt in stereotypes of black people during the 1960's. This is why, I'm happy to say, it may take a long time to for them to recover from Trump's election and be a viable political force.

narciso said...

no that was the wham song, also Baba 0"riley at one point,

Virgil Hilts said...

One thing I think liberals miss (and I actually like about DT) is that Rs are no longer the party of the moral majority. As long as you agree with the important secular stuff (border, inflation, govt over-reach, fewer wars, no DEI and save the schools), the movement embraces gays, trans, promiscuous and irreligiuous. YMCA is the theme song for God's sake; most Rs love sex and are not uptight. We have RFK Jr, and Musk (12 kids w/ 3 different moms) and Scott Presler (God bless him!). Bottom Line - it is no longer cool to be a democrat.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"idiotically exultant mockery."

I prefer buffoonish performance art myself, as all virtue signaling ultimately is.

Dave Begley said...

That young woman with the nose ring is not credible. Why would any sane person do that? It reminds me of the line from the "No Country for Old Men" movie about "children walking the streets of Texas with green hair and bones in their noses. Signs and wonders."

I learned from this month's Vanity Fair magazine that Cormac McCarthy (allegedly) took an underage woman (16 or 17) to Mexico and consummated their relationship when he was 42. This woman was also his muse and expert on all things horses.

Big Mike said...

Words and phrases one needs to understand very well in order to understand 21st century liberals: petulant, ignorant and unashamed, biased past the point of bigotry, arrogance personified, …

Heartless Aztec said...

Reminds me of the infamous "One Toke over the Line" rendition on the Lawrence Welk Show before the time of instant social commentary. Still funny for all that and a hummable little ditty while you were toking over whatever line was in 1971.
https://youtu.be/t8tdmaEhMHE?si=jYFkkdpRG3jLyXWy

TheDopeFromHope said...

Well, maybe not so fast. "Madonna has described 'Like a Prayer' as the song of a passionate young girl 'so in love with God that it is almost as though He were the male figure in her life.'"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like_a_Prayer_(song) Certainly some of the lyrics can be interpreted as having double meanings, but It's not as straightforward as the left wants to see things.

Beth B said...

Hans, are we the reactionaries?

William said...

The world is a curious place. I think the Village People were more popular among straights than gays and YMCA has become something of an anthem at Mar a Lago. On the other hand, Madonna was far more appreciated by the gay community than by straight men, even when she was younger and prettier and frequently naked.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Ultimately what “songs are about” is in the ears of the listeners.

The police song “Every Breath You Take” was meant as a cautionary tale about the danger of stalkers. People kept telling Sting they had used it as their wedding song. 😅

tim maguire said...

Political partisans so eager to call their opponents stupid that they make themselves stupid is just another day at the office.

Lazarus said...

If politics is your life and your identity, then you assume the same is true of everyone else and you assume that they all fit into the pigeonholes you have assigned to them.

Sometimes the music 'says' things that the words don't. Think of another song that mixes religion with human/carnal love, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," and how it's been used in the culture. I doubt it had anything to do with politics or with Hillary Clinton's lost election, but SNL chose it for its 2016 'cold open' because of the tune and a word or two in the lyrics. Maybe these lines do apply to Hillary, though:

Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew ya


I should probably add, just so there are no further misunderstandings, that Hozier's "Take Me to Church" is -- despite its title -- also not a church song.

Christopher B said...

There's plenty of "My boyfriend Jesus" Christian pop songs, and it ain't exactly a new phenomenon. Google the text of "In The Garden" and read it in a secular style.

Leland said...

Bill Clinton says it wasn't sex, but I'm pretty sure Monica was doing something like a prayer to Bill.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

I blame The View, Madow and the Joes and Mika for mentally disordering people with cries of a second coming of Hitler.

Aggie said...

Progressive Democrats project everything that they themselves are up to, onto their opposition, as some kind of accusation. 'They're all fascists ! They're all hypocrites ! They're all misogynists ! They're all haters ! It's a cult ! '

Why would this group song being 'stupid' be any different? Did Tim Walz call it 'weird', too?

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Same thing with U2's "One". People rarely listen to lyrics beyond enough to identify the song.

JK Brown said...

Last night I learned that a cover of a song can bring it a completely different meaning so there's that

In this video by a British voice coach reacting to Johnny Cash covering a song just a year before he died and how, well as a commenter put it:

"Reznor wrote this song as a fear of the future, Johnny did it as a regret for the past. Possibly the most powerful piece Johnny Cash ever sang."

Vocal Coach 1st Time Reaction to JOHNNY CASH - “HURT”
https://youtu.be/J_yZJTmGZxM

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

The outcome of the election, if anything has created more urgency to convince people of the impending doom that will befall us all. Check out r/MarkMyWords. People have been seriously harmed. IMO.

RCOCEAN II said...

From what i can tell, the Gosingchoir thing is German. Jens Junker is the head of it. I was wondering why all the women were thin, and pretty. Now I know.

Even after althouse wrote the blog post, I'm still confused. So, Leftists, stupidly and without evidence, thought Righwingers were attacking the video as blasphemy because it was a Christian choir?

Okay. So its libtards being Libtards. Anyway, it is strange that attacking Christians isn't "hate speech". I guess that because Christians are too dumb or too lazy to care.

wendybar said...

You know who is stupid?? The New York Times.

"'NYT- you stink. We are women, not NOT TRANSGENDER WOMEN. Just WOMEN will do in the future,'" - Martina Navratilova

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-14141065/martina-navratilova-NY-Times-non-transgender-women.html

Howard (not that Howard) said...

There is no group on earth more undeservedly self-congratulatory than American leftists.

Eva Marie said...

Who cares either way. People take religious material and interpret it irreligiously. So turnaround would be fair play. As for lefties laughing at everyone else - that’s their stock in trade.

Dixcus said...

We're stupid. Keep thinking that.

We are garbage people. Keep saying that.

We are deplorables. Keep believing that.

We are in charge now. Just remember that.

Peachy said...

I never thought that song was about sex. Not that Madonna is shy about sex songs.

Abdul Abulbul Amir said...

The Left (Democrats) deals in stereotypes of conservatives the way Mississippi Klansmen (Democrats) dealt in stereotypes of black people

Dr Weevil said...

Lem Vibe Bandit:
Actors at the Blackfriars Playhouse (one of the best Shakespeare theaters in the world) sing appropriate pop sings during the pre-show and interlude. Anyone in the audience of Othello who hadn't realized that "Every Breath You Take" was (or at least could be) a stalker song, figured it out when Iago sang it at the interlude.

john mosby said...

Then there's St Teresa of Avila and her "ecstatic union" with Jesus. Ms Ciccone probably learned about her as a Catholic schoolgirl.

JSM

john mosby said...

Lem, and I thought "Every Breath You Take" was about billiards. ("I'm a pool hall ace....")

JSM

paminwi said...

Republicans embraces “trans”?
What freaking world do you live in?

Joe Bar said...

Wow, you're right! No fatties among them!

Disparity of Cult said...

The song and the video had mishmash elements. Madonna sang her lines similar to how the "Our Father" or psalm verses are often sung in Catholic Mass, the chorus was full-on Black Gospel. The exterior of the church building was Protestant, the interior was old-school Catholic.

Disparity of Cult said...

U2's "Until the End of the World" was written from the perspective of Judas Iscariot.

Lawcruiter said...

The choir is clearly having a great time... Joy!

Readering said...

Saying people are in danger for calling other people stupid does not seem smart.

Elliott A said...

There is a clear distinction between stupid and unintelligent. Stupid is about a propensity to make decisions with negative (often largely negative) outcomes. Anyone can be stupid. It shouldn't get someone overly insulted especially when the negative outcomes are factual.

Clyde said...

Wait until the Progs learn that "Papa Don't Preach" is about a teen girl who gets pregnant and doesn't want to get an abortion.

Mikey NTH said...

There are far too many people who reduce everything in life to politics. Those sour pusses suck the joy out of everything.

sean said...

You can interpret most love songs or poems as being about a human beloved or about God, as you please. Maybe the lover's breasts in Song of Solomon 4:5 "really" represent the two tablets of the law and their beauty. (I believe this is a rabbinical interpretation.) Maybe all Mariah Carey "really" wants for Christmas is Jesus. It is, however, foolishly arrogant to assume that the singer or writer doesn't see both interpretations just as much as you do.

sean said...

And Bruce Springsteen's fans wave American flags during "Born in the U.S.A.," as if the song was a panegyric to the United States, which it isn't. (Or maybe it is, in some subtle and ambiguous way.)

sean said...

When the song first came out, one or two of my more lefty friends expressed some discomfort on that basis.

Jamie said...

Saying people are in danger for calling other people stupid does not seem smart.

If I were to tell my beautiful daughter that it's not the best idea to dress in a way that... shall we say, "excites the male gaze" and wandering around dark streets in a sketchy part of town, does that also not seem smart?

Insulting people, especially insulting people with great derision and repeatedly, can be dangerous. Surely you can see that. I'm not trying to excuse violence - but root causes, hmm?

Craig Mc said...

Helter Skelter was about a fairground ride until it became a serial killer's theme song.

You should hear what live audiences did to The Angels' When Will I Ever See Your Face Again?

loudogblog said...

There will always be people who feel that the only way to make themselves big people is to make other people small. They tear others down instead of building up themselves.

loudogblog said...

Paminwi, the Republicans embrace trans people having equal rights. What they object to is the trans people demanding superior rights. (Which is what the trans activists are screaming for.)

Wilbur said...

Girls come and kiss me
Say that you'll miss me
But get me to the church on time
(Not particularly relevant ... I just like the song)