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A ruling on the use of 'sticks and stones'

  • June 14, 2019
  • Peter Robinson

Two songs, both out today, use a very familiar lyrical idea. On Matoma's Bruised Not Broken, Kiana Ledé sings that "sticks and stones might break my bones"; in Taylor Swift's You Need To Calm Down she notes that "snakes and stones never broke my bones".

The Taylor Swift one's just better, isn't it? It takes the phrase and chucks in 'snakes' to bring it into Taylor's world, then puts the whole thing into the past tense. In general terms I'd happily live the rest of my life never hearing any sticks and stones reference in another song*, but pop law clearly states that if you're going to use a cliché**, you have to put a twist on it. No twist, no list(en). Rules are rules.

* This abso­lutely also applies to any deploy­ment of the "love is a drug" metaphor
** Particularly a cliché that's based on total nonsense — the "words will never hurt me" part of the whole sticks and stones idea is, clearly, absolute bullshit

  • Matoma
  • taylor swift
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The Taylor Swift video is As Expected

  • June 17, 2019
  • Peter Robinson
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Pop as in popular
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    New Music Friday: Let's kick off 2021 with some KLF
  • 2
    The Top 45 Singles Of 2020
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Greatest hits
  • Sandi Thom's Real Tooting
  • Patrick Wolf interview: "Bring a cushion"
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Further reading
  • 1
    New Music Friday: Let's kick off 2021 with some KLF
  • 2
    The Top 45 Singles Of 2020
  • 3
    New Music Friday: Mae Muller doesn't want to be dependent
  • 4
    New Music Friday: There's a big one from Royal & The Serpent
  • 5
    New Music Friday: Baby Queen takes the throne
  • 6
    Twenty Quid 2020: Dua Lipa is the winner
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