Janelle Monae Is Workin' That Tightrope (As We All Are)

James Brown would approve of this batch of mashed potatoes. And Michael Jackson would love the highwater tuxedoes and the disappearing into the walls. I love the everything and the message of the song. It's inventive and inspired while being both a throwback and something wholly new at the same time. The moment when she jumps off the table to mash on with her fellow dancers was so primal in my memory of R&B that all I could do was smile. (Even when lately I haven't felt that way.)

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From You're So Vain to Obsessed: A Brief History of Songs Not About You

So Mariah "Sparkle Pony" Carey's "Obsessed" is about Eminem, right? Right? What prize do I win for the sheer obviousness of Mariah's summer pop ode to her ego? A bootleg copy of The Real Slim Shady? A DVD collectors edition of Wild'n Out?

There's nothing like a pop song that's about someone you don't like any more. A diss track. Rappers do it so much it's pointless, but they normally don't try to hide who the object of their ire is. I mean, we all know of the great Kool Moe Dee/LL Cool J wars. Those were awesome. But I'm specifically talking about songs that "aren't about you." The greatest diss jams are the kind that are thinly vieled hate Valentines to assholes. Like one of the greatest songs ever written, the original who is she singing about jam, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."

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Blame It On the E-e-e-e-e-economy!

The woman playing Michelle Obama is freakishly similar to her in the cheekbone area. Nice choice. The dancing Sarah Palin, hilarious. Joe Biden double fisting his drinks at the end, priceless.

Jamie Foxx Blames It On the Alcohol W/ T-Pain, Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker and Opie??? (WTF)

So very confused. And disturbed. And the dude in the giant Panda head? Why?

Also, can you name and spot all the celebrity cameos in this video? And also, doesn't this remind you of something ...?

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