The Singles Jukebox

It’s our last blurbin’ day of the year, and today it’s all women! First up, women who are fed up with men…

[Video][Website]
[6.18]

Hannah Jocelyn: I haven’t caught up, but I adore this goddamn show. “Let’s conflate all the guys/let’s generalize about men” is beautifully indicative of the style of the lyric writing – their use of repetition might be grating to some, but it’s also the writing team’s secret weapon (as the AV Club’s Allison Shoemaker pointed out just a couple of weeks before I did). There are a few layers to this song, aside from the obvious one (generalizing and stereotyping are sometimes inevitable) – while yes, fine, #notallmen do the things Rebecca Bunch and co list, masculinity/the patriarchy/etc all facilitate the behaviors of the song to exist. The “gay men are all really great, every single one” joke about positive stereotypes is also beautifully done, and strangely subtle for a show that’s dedicated a lengthy rap song to the burden of possessing a large chest. What isn’t subtle is the last line, but it’s a perfect ending. Not everything rings true – the “unlike women” line seems like they were trying to lessen the chance that some dude at Standards and Practices would accuse them of misandry. Though even that has an internal logic, where even within the satire, women still have to blame themselves for wanting to generalize about men.  
[8]

Katie Gill: Man, it is SO HARD to write about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend for a music site because CEG is a television show. Half of the fun of the song comes from the video itself. Songs like “(Tell Me I’m Okay) Patrick” lose so much of the humor when you listen to them on their own instead of watching a youtube video so you have the accompanying visuals. And its’ a bit of a shame for this review that the best joke of this song involves visuals as much as music (the last ten seconds of the song and the way Donna Lynne Champlin plays the scene). Still, as a song, “Let’s Generalize About Men” stands strong on it’s own. All of the ladies pour their hearts into this pseudo-Pointer Sisters, exceedingly 1980s ballad. You can tell they’re having so much fun which makes the song even more fun to begin with. The parody’s on point, the lyrics are cutting and sharp, the wordplay is downright witty and hilarious, and the musical style is so beautifully dated in all the right ways. The song takes the premise and runs with it, skillfully preempting any questions one might have about the song’s premise. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend always succeeds in its music, but “Let’s Generalize About Men” is going to go down as one of the show’s highlights.
[8]

Stephen Eisermann: In a year full of Cosby, Weinstein, Trump, etc., a song like this one is so welcome. There is something so empowering about being crass, mean, harsh, and negative about men when there is an onslaught of stories about their abuse constantly coming out; and when people have to maneuver their way through these stories and the #notallmen defenses, a song like this needs to exist. Sure, there are exaggerations and generalizations, but that’s QUITE LITERALLY the point of the song, and the hilarious lyrics are only emboldened by the committed and hilarious delivery of the Crazy Ex cast. Funny lyrics, catchy, 80s production, AND solid vocal stylings? This is what a [10] sounds like. Now, PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW!
[10]

Julian Baldsing: The existence of this song as an easily accessible, ’80s styled, low-effort response to all the #NotAllMen evangelists hiding in every corner of the internet is further proof that Rachel Bloom is a modern-day Mother Teresa, except not actually terrible.
[8]

Alex Clifton: “Let’s Generalize About Men” maybe isn’t my favourite Crazy Ex-Girlfriend song–that’s either “Settle for Me” or “Getting Bi“–but it does what the show does best, have a catchy tune with pretty good satirical lyrics. Something about this song gets to the joy of complaining, venting, and generalizing when you’re frustrated, and it’s a cathartic kind of tune that could only come out in 2017.
[7]

Katherine St Asaph: The Golden Age of Television, where musical episodes rise to the level of a regional production of a somewhat regrettable cut from The Full Monty.
[3]

Ryo Miyauchi: The breakdown itself reads somewhat predictable as much as the generalizations it sings about to the point I’m unsure who exactly I’m supposed to laugh about here: the pathetic men inspiring these conversations or the women who keep bringing the same argument enough to inspire a meta piece like this. The answer is probably both. The series of generalizations are rooted in truth or else it wouldn’t actually be funny. The other laugh comes from the women starting to see the slips in their logic. They’re faulty, too, and they’ll admit it, though it’s an infinitely more admirable gesture than men who try to use the “wait, I have kids” card like it’s a solid excuse that, no, they actually aren’t flawed as women say they are.
[6]

Nortey Dowuona: Bland, printed out drums barely hold aloft, barely inked in baselines and swooping, slightly swift synths that push up the swinging, goofy quartet. Plus YOUR SONS ARE GONNA BE RAPISTS.
[6]

Edward Okulicz: There’s 15 different specific songs this reminds me of. No need to say, because working it out is the best fun I had listening to it, and I don’t want to spoil it for you. Bad punchlines don’t become good punchlines by singing them, and what would be a funny 45 second cut-away joke drags on and on. Don’t worry, I’m not being mean, I’m just sassy.
[4]

Alfred Soto: “Hi-fiving each other” over Flashdance synths and echoes of “It’s Raining Men” is the limit of this track’s well-intentioned wit.
[4]

Will Adams: The concept of recreating 80s dancepop as faithfully as possible has been around for a while, but this year in particular has seen it become a novelty. It’s fun to see the pop stars of today remixed into an era they weren’t even alive for, so much so that a bootleg mix can become an official one within weeks. That alone makes “Let’s Generalize About Men” not feel fresh; nor does the sound, which shoots for one of the most obvious references. But most of all, it’s the topical, winking tone, which makes it come across as an SNL music video that would run towards the end of the episode when you’re half asleep on the couch.
[4]