a formal look at self fetish

featuring LMFAO and PSY

And now, for your enjoyment, a Formalist reading of Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO and DADDY by PSY.

LMFAO starts confident, swinging in the first verse with a positive affirmation of self confidence and then immediately setting the tone of the rest of the song; we are being told a story of someone who is not only obsessed with the sexual relationship he has with “girls,” but also himself. He assumes, immediately, that not only is he the object of attention by the vast majority of “girls” around, but also that they find him “fly.” He clarifies that this attention, this innate attraction, is not unwarranted but stems from easily recognised factors in his phenotype. The swagger in his walk (pimping to the beat), his trendy name brand clothing (LaFreak), animal print pants, his afro, and a “glowing” tan. His use of proper names here also lends him some credibility; Redfoo, we can assume is his name, jumps immediately into Bruce Leroy, creating an implied connection and alliance between him and Bruce, seducing readers into further believing that he, indeed, is worthy of being a sexual object beyond his own self imposed classification. It’s a subtle act of ethos even if, like me, you’re unsure of who Bruce Leroy is. He’s in the song so he must have some sway on public opinion.

The chorus, repetitive to a fault, swings in with the lack of subtlety that brings this song so much infectious charm. He goes from insisting that “girls” naturally engage with him to almost begging them to “look at that body.” It’s interesting to note how he separates himself from his body in his repeated calls for perception of it, almost like he wants to be with the “girls” staring at himself. We know, or can heavily assume at the very least, that he is referring to his own body in the chorus as he proclaims, twice, that “I work out.” Him separating his Freudian ego from his body, I think, creates two separate lyrical realities here: one where he is edging these “girls” on and enjoying the act of them looking upon him as if he were one of them, but he could also be feigning a type of bashful insecurity. A meekly confident wall he constructs after claiming so much self confidence. He is, indeed, begging “girls” to look at his body not as an empathetic act of self worship, but as a method of entrapment where he desires his requests to create a sense of desperation in his audience, one he intends to prey upon as the chorus climaxes and then resolves in the hook of the entire piece: I’m sexy and I know it.

All implied semblances of meekness and insecurity are gone as we discover that the latter interpretation is not only just as valid as the former, but also equally supportive of the ultimate payoff. But he doesn’t just jump into a self proclaimed state of sexiness straight from his insistence of perception, he warms us up first. He inhabits his body again and insists that, once again, everyone is looking at him, not just the “girls” he has been so obsessed with up until now. (It’s also important to note that there are interjectory parentheticals in the background supporting and maybe even questioning him in an attempt to derive proof from his claims, but these are ultimately nothing more than a method of hype for Redfoo). This is also the first time we see his obsession with sex made concrete as the “passion in his pants” acts as the setup, the teasing climax for a seemingly inevitable resolution: the titular sexy and I know it. Before, sex has been implied with the language and insistence that he is a desirable object, no mention of intercourse or genitalia has occurred, but the sudden decision to include a direct reference to sex, I think, is more than just his obsession being realised, but it’s also acting as a subliminal request for sex without having to pry attention away from the thing he is truly obsessed with: his own body. IN other words, the sex, while desired, is really only secondary to what the sex is proving: that he is desirable in a purely visual and carnal way. Intercourse happens only if he and his partner(s) can gaze upon his own beauty first.

He immediately dials the energy down coming off the first chorus while still ramping up the intensity. Verse two gives those who perceive him actionable verbs, with mall security allegedly unable to defend him from his suitors (gender unspecified). But then, surprisingly, he takes a two line break from insisting that he is desired and seemingly gives us evidence as to what makes him desirable and shows us the dedication to his own bodily form – he spends all his time while at the beach tanning. He mentions the tan in the first verse with a reference to Bruce Leroy, but this relies less on an ethos driven comparison and more on a common knowledge realisation of the dedication and work he puts into maintaining the colour of his skin. In other words, he is taking the credibility he put on someone else and laying it on him potentially reaffirming that his body is a product of him and only him and any comparisons, designer clothes, or outside influences beyond natural reactions are important only as long as they manage to gain him an immediate audience. Swinging from the imagery of him tanning on the beach, he gives the “ladies” an actionable request, stating that it is “time to go.” Go where? The bar and it appears that he either expects some of them to be nervous or is perceiving them as being nervous as he immediately, for the first time addressing the “girls” directly, assures them that there is nothing to be nervous about. Which we then realise isn’t a way of him attempting to guarantee their safety, but is instead guaranteeing that they will still get service regardless of his tendency to be without shoes and shirt. Which is interesting as it mirrors the way he ditches Bruce for his own effort. The first verse put a fair amount of importance on his brand name clothing, but now he is insisting that he doesn’t need it, which is a further indication that he uses objects to get people closer to him so he can show off what he truly loves and thinks is important to his desirability – his body.

He ends verse two with one words, “watch” which shows us he isn’t all talk about his ability to circumvent “no shoes, no shirt, no service” stereotypes he is in conversation with. But his proof isn’t another verse or bridge, but just the second instance of the chorus. His proof isn’t that he actually can get service, even if it is implied that he can, but that he is, indeed, sexy. We’ve reached a point in the song where he isn’t even interesting in providing evidence for his claims as he assumes (I assume) that his audience is entirely enraptured by him at this point. The self aggrandising chorus is all the proof he needs now as he implies that his own perception of how others perceive him is the only thing that matters. It feels, in a way, like reality is breaking apart and giving way to a new existence where all that matters is his body, his perception of his body, and his insistence that those are the two things that matter to everyone else.

Such a break from reality becomes immediately concrete as we are treated to a bridge that does nothing except repeat the word “wiggle” for eight lines before inviting everyone to do it along with him. We can assume, and I don’t think this to be much of an assumption in the first place, that he is wiggling his penis for all to see. But his invitation for everyone else to do it along with him is odd. It’s the first break from his egotistical look at himself as he admits that there are others who are “worthy” of doing the wiggle. We can imply that these people also have penises to wiggle, but I don’t see any real reason why folks without penises can’t also wiggle. It’s almost like, goal achieved, climax resolved, he wants to share his own experience with everyone else. Either that or he is now alone with a bunch of people with penises and he is making the best of a situation he would rather be reversed. But to our surprise there is still one more instance of the chorus and a final proclamation of “I’m sexy and I know it.” meaning, to him, there are still “girls” there to perceive him and the implied others wiggling and potentially join in with them.

Really I think the end is just, as I said before, the full realisation of an alternate artistic reality where all that matters is his own perception of himself and others’ perceptions of himself. The abstract wiggling bridge is the only way to effectively communicate to an audience that such a break has occurred as in a reality like that there would only be perceptions of “sexiness” and not much else, as evidence by the fact that calls to the bar and implications of intercourse are replaced with sexual dance moves. Each verse is a further break from tangible material worlds and a deeper insistence that all that matters is the body and the self’s relationship to the body. The final chorus is just a guarantee of the power that lens provides.

DADDY by PSY is in Korean, a language I don’t speak, so I’m relying on translations here. I say this because there could be some meaning lost in translation as no translation is perfect, but it’s the text I can engage with and engage with it I shall.

PSY immediately tells us the entire thesis of the song up front, that he got whatever makes him desirable from his daddy. But then he separates himself from his own desirability and describes how he feels about a specific person. His attention shifts to how beautiful this person is and how dedicated he is to them before proclaiming his name, almost like a signature on a contract, and expressing a further desire to be closer to this person’s beauty, specifically in their eyes. The singer then does something interesting here, referring to an “oppa” that is going to take off. In an explicit break with formalist theory, I did research what oppa means in Korean and found that it is typically used as a term of endearment towards an older brother-like figure specifically from women. I’m going to assume that the singer is using this in reference to himself and that he is implying, on behalf of the women he is with, romantic interest on her part.

As promised, he takes off into a pre-chorus of two lovers, who are now confirmed as being together in the narrative of the song, enjoying a loud night, one where the speaker is desperately seeking affection out of an implication that he wasn’t good enough before. The answer to this request? His partner asking where his body came from. Which he succinctly answers in the chorus.

He got it from his daddy. His dad. Which, I admit I lied a bit about the chorus being succinct, he repeats for twelve lines with no less than 36 instances of “dad” or “daddy” being repeated. There is absolutely no question of who the singer credits for his body: his dad.

The second verse breaks a bit with the trend of creating a beautiful portrait of the singer’s partner and obtusely objectifies her as being a masterpiece that he can just purchase. It’s not a sentiment that lasts very long and it doesn’t appear again, but it’s still revealing to the perspective of the singer. It may not be a primary or even secondary view, but on some level the singer does see his partner as an object of sorts. A beautiful one, but one that he is free to purchase. It’s one of the few times that the singer explicitly puts himself above his partner and it’s quickly forgotten as he makes his second food metaphor describing his everlasting desire for her. It’s an interesting breakaway that I probably put more emphasis on than it admittedly deserves as it is unlike the motifs set in the rest of the song, but I can’t help but fixate on the instance as an example of the internal hierarchy that we witness the singer construct. One where his dad is on top, he is beholden to his daddy and an object of desire for his partner, and then his partner, cherished as she is, is still on the bottom of the ladder. We don’t have much time to think about this though as we are immediately introduced to the idea of when and where the singer is a “real man.” Which is only at night, the only time he is awake. Which is immediately contrasted by his admission that when he’s having fun he is a kid. This tension, the idea of being a “real men” but also being a kid, creates a dual image of our singer. One where he is both a stereotypical male figure, but also a carefree and charming child. It serves to bring us further into the entire “daddy” thesis as while he is, indeed, a real man, he will always be beholden to the identity of being nothing more than his father’s son. In love or otherwise.

Before the second pre-chorus and chorus we get another instance of “oppa” as he describes himself heading headlong into love without warning. The chorus and the pre-chorus are unchanged, but there is a small bridge between the penultimate and the ultimate chorus.

The singer describes his father as being “Superman” and puts forth the tautology that he got his body from him, implying that he is also a Superman. It’s a clever way to utilise the repetitious nature of the song to both flatter and give credit to his father while also building his own standing as a man and lover. It ends with him trying to relieve tension between being a gentleman who is ungentlemanly by evoking imagery of psychopaths, probably by referencing the often stereotyped dual personality nature of the mental condition.

We are then treated with the final chorus.

I like these two songs as a pair as they play off of each other while still ultimately communicating the same thing: their body is great and you should think so two. The difference in how they arrive at this conclusion is fascinating though. PSY wants readers to give the credit to his father even as he is ensuring that the object of our desire is himself. He claims no credit for the body he has and never makes an attempt at justifying how his body is great; the implication that it is great is never to be questioned and is introduced immediately. LMFAO, however, wants us to believe that his body is the result of his own effort. Effort put into styling his clothes and hair, effort put into tanning himself, effort put into working out. His body isn’t a result of the genetic lottery, but his passion towards it.

He also see women treated very differently between the two songs. PSY, despite a small excursion into objectification, goes far in glorifying his partner and ensure that we know she is worthy of desire even if his body (and daddy) is more worthy. LMFAO makes no such attempt, never mentioning the beauty or any traits of any of the “girls” he is attracting. They are nothing but objects to be acted upon and even disappear towards the end of the song before being briefly reintroduced in the final chorus. It’s also important to note the number of partners here – PSY has one person he is dedicated to while LMFAO is attracted countless and seemingly settles with none of them.

Both are snappy tunes ultimately geared at making the listener feel good about themselves, but PSY is implying, through his avoidance of mentioning any form of bodily phenotype, that anyone can be desirable provided they admit to the genetics they received said desirability from. LMFAO gives us traits to ascribe to, fit, tanned, brand names, and gives us examples of how to achieve them, implying that anyone can, with work, achieve that particular expression of desirability.

There’s also the difference in how self-sexualisation is operating. PSY finds himself to be sexy, yes, but on some level also has to find his father sexy and openly admit to it. It’s an odd relationship to have, using your father as the source of your own self-reflection and the confidence PSY has when telling his partner tells me that PSY is more or less comfortable that his partner won’t leave him for his dad or that he doesn’t mind if she does. LMFAO see no one else as being sexy until the end where there is an implied crowd of sexy people, potentially everyone around him, meaning that everyone is sexy. This creates an implied tension in his own pathos, wherein he claims that his own hard work and traits are sexy, but that everyone else could also be sexy. More likely though he is just invigorated on the high of his own self-love and is sharing that with everyone in his call to “wiggle” with him, meaning he has so much confidence that public displays of someone else’s body bears little consequence on his own goals. Which are just requests to perceive his body as he does regardless of who the audience is, unlike PSY who has a love interest he is engaging with.

Which concludes a formalist reading of “Sexy and I Know it” and “DADDY.”

Image credits Mifuni Takashi