Photo courtesy: Epic Records
Written by Steven Bielefield
I’ll be up front here: I didn’t like this song at first. I don’t know why, maybe I was in the wrong mood, or jaded from pop music, or what. And to be completely honest, it’s still not a great song in my mind. But, I have warmed to it, and after being subjected to “Anaconda” and other over-produced, stupid songs, “All About That Bass” is a very welcome break.
It’s quite appropriate that I initially thought of Christina Aguilera’s 2002 song, “Beautiful,” since both that and “All About That Bass” are about feeling better about yourself, and boosting your self-image. I gotta say, though, I like the latter more than the former, because “Beautiful,” while not a bad song, sounds a bit too heavy handed, slow, and almost sad. Trainor’s hit is much more upbeat and happy, which I think is a better way to go with this sort of message. It’s a serious message, but I like the bubbly, “cheer up!” tone of “Bass.”
The beat is cheerful and fun, and (fittingly) features a groovy bass line, with people clapping throughout. It matches quite well with the lyrical content, which is also nice. Trainor talks about how her size doesn’t make her less beautiful or sexy than the more thin and fit Kate Upton types you see on magazine covers. She sings, “It’s pretty clear I ain’t no size two, but I can shake it, shake it, like I’m supposed to do,” and, “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top.”
Funnily enough, though, I also found comparisons to the song, “Baby Got Back,” by Sir Mix-a-Lot. I swear, I’m not doing this on purpose (since I talked about it in my last song review as well), but some of the lyrics are very evocative of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s masterpiece. Trainor sings “I see the magazine workin’ that Photoshop; We know that **** ain’t real, c’mon now make it stop.” I hear that, and I remember the line, “Cosmo says you’re fat! Well I ain’t down with that!” from “Baby Got Back.” This is a pretty good thing; it’s nice to have an actually good song that’s reminiscent of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s greatest hit, rather than… that Nicki Minaj song that shall remain nameless here.
I’d also like to comment on one of the criticisms of the song: that it is “skinny shaming.” There is a line in the song that goes, “I’m bringing booty back, Go ahead and tell them skinny *****es that; No I’m just playing, I know you think you’re fat,” and some have accused that of dissing skinny girls. I honestly don’t get why. She immediately follows it up with the “Every inch of you is perfect,” line. It seems like people are reaching for criticism. Speaking of which…
I’ll be the first to admit, this first issue is incredibly petty, but I personally didn’t like her voice through the chorus. I don’t know why, but it just didn’t seem 100% genuine, and it almost reminded me of Iggy Azalea’s annoying fake accent she puts on in all her songs. And the fact that the “You know I’m all about that bass, ‘bout that bass, no treble,” line is repeated ad nauseam doesn’t help, since it starts to get a bit annoying. Also, to speak of the video, I’d say it’s a tiny bit hypocritical that she’s bashing the heavy Photoshopping of magazine models when her face is caked with makeup to make her look prettier.
All that said, “All About That Bass” is a good, fun, and cheerful song, and I look forward to more of Trainor’s singles. The message is a good one to the general public, and I admire that it breaks from the typical over-produced pop songs that are still all over the radio these days. It’s just a shame that this sort of stuff is probably not gonna see much commercial success, and probably won’t chart very high as compared to the likes of Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, and—
Wait, what? She’s currently at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100?
