Beyonce – Blow
- Album:
- BEYONCE
- Year :
- 2013
- RIYL :
- Rihanna / Diana Ross / Aaliyah
[NSFW] Watch the full video for Blow.
“Holy cow. New Beyonce is… not subtle.”
“Meaning?”
“Borderline soft-core, apparently. The song is porny but the video is mostly roller skating. People are probably offended because she’s a mom now. That doesn’t really make things any different…although maybe it does. I don’t know. BEYONCE FOREVER.”
A predictable knee-jerk reaction to Beyonce’s new “surprise” single “Blow” would be to consider it next to the 2013 output of Miley Cyrus. There is a convenient, declinist argument begging to be made that has something to say about how the once mighty Beyonce has entered the fray of increasingly explicit pop-media to keep pace with Miley… or about the overall coarsening of society and the continually shifting place of sex in popular culture… or about over-sexed teenagers… or the war on Christmas… or something.
These arguments are all wrong. “Blow” is exclusively about Beyonce. It’s always just about BEYONCE.
Let’s look at the evidence at here. The workplace inappropriate video for “Blow” has been handed down from on high by B and company without prior warning because none is needed. Beyonce’s mere presence starts conversation. And the conversation Beyonce has determined that we will have in December 2013 about disco balls and roller girls. And oral sex, apparently. But really, as long as we’re talking about Beyonce (which we are) she has won. It’s her world, we just live in it.
With all the 70s nostalgia floating around in the video for “Blow,” it’s pretty obvious how little interest Beyonce has in “keeping pace” with the likes of Miley. If that were the case, the obvious move would be for “Blow” to be some kind of homage to nose candy. But Beyonce keeps pace with no one.
“Blow” is a pure and simple nod to Donna Summer amped up to maximum levels. The woman-in-control theme of “Blow” fits in perfectly well with Beyonce’s I-Rule-the-World brand. In that sense, the song is not even that interesting. It’s almost predictable.
Still, releasing a song like “Blow” out of the blue does a nice job of making us forget that Life Is But A Dream is a thing that she did once. In which case, mission accomplished.
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