APPRECIATION #73: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND NEIL YOUNG SING “WHIP MY HAIR”

or SOMETHING YOU DON’T PARTICULARLY LIKE BEING THE CATALYST FOR SOMETHING YOU REALLY DO LIKE

Indirectly you have to appreciate it.

If you’re happy that you exist, you have to appreciate your parents. I love my parents. That’s not what I am thinking about. I am thinking about Willow Smith’s song “Whip My Hair.” It’s quick and catchy and I can see how people could get into it, but I can’t see myself being one of those people. It’s not really my thing. BUT! Jimmy Fallon playing a version of it as Neil Young with Bruce Springsteen? That is my thing.

And my point here is this: Sometimes the thing you love can’t exist without the thing you don’t care for that much. Think through that.

Here’s why I like the Fallon/Young/Springsteen/Parody song:

1. I like the recipe. I’m a fan of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Fallon, and song parodies in general.
2. My wife loves this song, and I love seeing her happy.
3. It’s catchy. If I hear it played, I get it in my head all day, and I enjoy hearing myself sing it.
4. It’s surprising. It’s an odd choice of a song for Neil Young to cover, and the tone shift seems dramatic.
5. It’s funny. Bruce (I don’t think) isn’t known for being silly in this way.
6. The specific lyrics have a strange resonance. Ex: … “haters off my grind … all my ladies if you feel me… And Bruce going full Bruce singscreaming “WHIP YOUR HAIR!”

To hear the Willow Smith version you can go here.

To hear the Fallon/Young/Springsteen/Parody version you can go here.