Aftermath of abuse: 5 reasons why Rihanna's new song is really freaking us out
The highly-anticipated new Rihanna song, "Russian Roulette" was released this week, and, man, is it ever creepy. To wit:
1. The image that sells the single is of Rihanna wrapped in (and perhaps hung up by) barbed wire. At the very least, this looks awfully masochistic. At worst, it's scary and violent. In either case, it's a space we'd really rather not see a domestic abuse victim occupying.
2. If you didn't gather this from the title, the song is about a woman willingly playing a game of Russian Roulette and wanting to pass a frightening, violent (and potentially fatal) test so some dude will love her. Hmm.
3. Then, there are the lyrics, which Rihanna didn't write, but she did approve. They include:
"And you can see my heart beating
You can see it through my chest
And I'm terrified but I'm not leaving
Know that I must pass this test
So just pull the trigger."
The song ends with a gunshot.
4. Maybe this is wrong, but we'd hoped Rihanna's first comeback single after the Chris Brown nightmare (let's remember the man punched, choked, and BIT the singer) would be something, oh, we don't know...empowering...even uplifting. We'd wanted lyrics that at least nodded to the fact that this young woman was victimized and that totally sucked and was not OK. Perhaps a song about triumph, about overcoming pain and being better and stronger than twisted men, about survival. You know, something Rihanna's impressionable fans could look up to and admire. Instead, we get: "So many won't get the chance to say goodbye. But it's too late to pick up the value of my life." Really? Is it too late to appreciate your life and consider that you have great worth? Oh, no, no, NO.
5. Last, and this is just a taste thing, but the song kind of sucks. It's boring, it's flabby, it sounds like it was made entirely on a computer by computer musicians playing computer instruments. You know it's a strange day when we agree with Perez Hilton, but, yes, as much as we love RiRi, we are awfully disappointed. Rihanna, you're better than every part of this! Meh.
Source: Perez
