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Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Stooshe ft. Travie McCoy – Love Me

Congratulations, Travie McCoy, on your highest Jukebox score to date…


[Video][Website]
[5.55]

Anthony Easton: “Fuck Me” is better than “Love Me,” in the same way that “Fuck You” is better than “Forget You.” I like this better than other attempts at girl group harmonics of late, maybe because it’s English, but they still haven’t quite figured out what they want to be, and how they want to acheive it. By extension, while some of the elements are there (the “baby, baby baby” choruses) the whole thing is still a bit of a mess.
[6]

Iain Mew: “Forget You” and “Dedication to My Ex” worked fine in their censored single forms and could easily be heard without realising what you were missing. Those originals were also well known and available. “Fuck Me” has now finally shown up on YouTube, but Stooshe themselves seem in no rush to promote it, so my score is for “Love Me”. Which is a song entirely based on sex jokes with those sex jokes removed and replaced with annoying ad-libs. It’s an utterly frustrating song which acts like it’s scandalising but doesn’t clue you in on how — it’s no exaggeration to say that without seeking out the other version, “Love Me” makes no sense at all. This is all a shame because they’re quite funny sex jokes and “Fuck Me” actually makes me understand Stooshe’s appeal more than their previous single did. Oh yeah, “Love Me” also throws in Travie McCoy as an additional reason not to listen.
[2]

Brad Shoup: I could probably listen to them ad-lib for hours at a stretch. Like, if there was a Having Fun with Stooshe on Stage, I’d already own it. But this is OK, too. Whoever’s coaching them in the booth has earned their pop medal — I can’t even imagine how you bring these three from that contralto scooping to mimicking a trebly guitar lick to quoting Bieber. Travie’s fine if you take your Craigslist casual encounters with a side of bullshit. How did all these R&B revivalists forget how raunchy that shit was? If there be justice, “Motivation” will jump in a hole out of shame.
[9]

Michaela Drapes: Even cleaned up and Travie-enhanced, the mainstream radio-ready version of this track is still probably the best thing I’ve heard in eons — a spicy and spliced and updated combo of “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and “Shoop” that’s charmingly juvenile and filthy and silly. Could there be anything more perfect? BTW, one jillion extra points for having the baby dyke do the safe sex verse.
[10]

Alex Ostroff: “Love Me” is inferior to the uncensored version in every way except one: “You can adore me on Sunday” is better than “explore me.” Why? Because the only thing better than sex-positive girl-groups that reference En Vogue and promote condom use are sex-positive girl-groups that reference En Vogue, promote condom use and actively troll the Vatican. Every other discrepancy is a Travie-sty. More than anything else, there’s something incredibly unpalatable and hypocritical about censoring the lyrics of women who like sex for pleasure while using the new video to debut a new “sexier” image for America. Still, the enthusiasm and charisma of StooShe can’t be denied. There’s nu-TLC potential here, and I’m not sure if I can give that less than a [7], even on ideological grounds.
[7]

John Seroff: There’s a lot of Amy writ small all over “Love Me” in the bubblegum Fauxtown production and the hip-hop-by-way-of-Etta-James attitude. There’s an equally healthy dose of Prince with the Lady Cab Driver bookends, the Vanity 6 attitude, the IV drip of wacky funk, the constant spoken asides and horny cackles. This much sass generally gives me a rash but the bubbly spontaneity of Stooshe’s effortlessly upbeat screeching and twittering is sweetly endearing enough that McCoy’s pointless guest spot smarts much less than it should.
[8]

Jonathan Bradley: I’d say that the sassiness doesn’t prevent “Love Me” from sounding like a Levi’s commercial, but I think the sassiness is part of why this sounds like a Levi’s commercial.
[2]

Jer Fairall: Tepid, flavourless UK pop that feels about fifteen years past its sell-by date: call them the Cilantro Girls.
[3]

Alfred Soto: The hybrid we always wanted: Christina Aguilera and UK pop.
[3]

Sabina Tang: I would warm to this more freely (good corny house-party bop potential) if it weren’t trying to be jokey. That and the bad rap have already worn thin after three listens. 
[5]

Katherine St Asaph: “You know what that bawdy, fun-drenched [9] of a pop song needed? Bowdlerization and Travie McCoy.” – nobody
[6]

28 Responses to “Stooshe ft. Travie McCoy – Love Me”

  1. john, on February 3rd, 2012 at 1:23 pm Said:

    So of course now that I’m aware “Fuck Me” exists, it’s clearly the better of the two options but while video and lyrics are much improved, the British McCoy isn’t much better than the real McCoy. I stand by and 8 and wanna hear more of these girls soon. What should I be listening to?

  2. Michaela, on February 3rd, 2012 at 2:07 pm Said:

    I’m really, really shocked. I mean, I know I’m usually off on Planet Michaela, alone with my opinions (and Spice Girl fashion doll collection), but I seriously didn’t think that y’all weren’t going to like this that much. I listened to it literally, like 10 times in a row while reviewing, and got lost down the Stooche rabbit hole. I wish the mixtape were longer; I can’t wait for the full album.

  3. Michaela, on February 3rd, 2012 at 2:07 pm Said:

    *Girls

  4. katherine, on February 3rd, 2012 at 3:13 pm Said:

    If these are the Spice Girls, Travie’s presence transforms them into Fast-Fashion Spice, Toddler Spice, Junior Varsity Spice, Unsettling Spice and Mrs. Dash Spice.

    (Apologies to Harvilla.)

  5. john, on February 3rd, 2012 at 3:33 pm Said:

    Who’s the fourth Shooshe?

  6. Michaela, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:10 pm Said:

    More accurately, they’re what the Spice Girls would have been if the Spice Girls had just been the Mels and Gerri, minus Posh and Baby.

  7. edwardo, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:13 pm Said:

    Mel C really is the worst.

  8. Michaela, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:21 pm Said:

    !!!

  9. edwardo, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:25 pm Said:

    Reflex reaction :( I liked this though, stupid work kept me from saying it was quite good.

  10. Scott M, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:47 pm Said:

    Mel C > the rest of the Spice Girls

  11. edwardo, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:48 pm Said:

    Emma Bunton’s second album > Everything Mel C, Mel C’s children and Mel C’s children’s children will ever accomplish.

  12. katherine, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:49 pm Said:

    Geri’s solo album wasn’t so bad.

  13. edwardo, on February 3rd, 2012 at 4:55 pm Said:

    Which one? She had three! I hope Stooshe make it to at least _one_.

  14. Alex, on February 3rd, 2012 at 5:41 pm Said:

    UK girl groups are not having a good time of it these days.

    RIP RD, etc.

  15. Michaela, on February 3rd, 2012 at 5:42 pm Said:

    ::gleeful clapping:: SPICE GIRLS ALLEGIANCE INFIGHTING!

    This makes me so happy! <– not sarcasm.

  16. Liam Walds, on February 3rd, 2012 at 6:30 pm Said:

    The chorus in this is a total non-event, for me. Also, the way they choke out the title in the original version makes it sound like the most unappealing thing ever.

  17. Brad, on February 3rd, 2012 at 6:55 pm Said:

    Apparently Planet Michaela has some sort of a resort adjunct moon. This might be my highest-scoring day across the board.

  18. Alex, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:11 pm Said:

    I did really like this! I just like the sweary version more.

  19. katherine, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:15 pm Said:

    I love the original track. This one has Travie.

  20. Brad, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:19 pm Said:

    I didn’t even try to find “Fuck Me”. Am interested now, would like to hear the differences that turned so many of y’all off.

  21. Michaela, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:19 pm Said:

    Brad, I’m overtaken with the overwhelming impression that your adjunct resort moon’s decor scheme resembles Fhloston Paradise in The Fifth Element. Confirm/deny?

  22. Scott M, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:20 pm Said:

    When I said I preferred Mel C I was mainly talking personality wise. Come to think, although I haven’t heard all of ‘Free Me’, the singles were mainly very very good. So maybe Emma can win on the music score. Then again, she didn’t do ‘I Turn To You’ (Hex Hector Mix, obviously), or Geri’s ‘Love Never Loved Me’. And she’s rather entertaining too, for (quite literal) car crash purposes. At the end of the day music is the winner.

  23. Brad, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:28 pm Said:

    I’d buy that. And I’d throw in a full-wall aquarium.

  24. Alex, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:39 pm Said:

    It’s linked in two or three blurbs!

  25. Brad, on February 3rd, 2012 at 7:52 pm Said:

    Yeah. Got it… both versions were lovely.

  26. Sabina, on February 3rd, 2012 at 8:46 pm Said:

    I do suspect that on another day in a different mood I would have enjoyed the joke and rated this a lot higher (bad rap aside). But it still doesn’t feel like that right now.

  27. Tom Lawrence, on February 3rd, 2012 at 9:33 pm Said:

    Can;t WAIT to review this when it comes up for my TOp 40 chart project, because FUCK ME is amazing.

    Female pleasure is paramount! Videos set in public toilets! “Pussy-holes”! “OH MY DAYS!”. A verse about safe sex sung by a lesbian! Knowingly terrible skinny rapper dude talking about forgetting to remove his manky socks before sex in the bridge! “Geek chic” white dudes described as the Milky Bar Kid! “FREE YOUR MIND AND THE REST I’LL SWALLOW”!!!

    yes yes yes

  28. Andy Hutchins, on February 4th, 2012 at 3:40 pm Said:

    “What we gon’ call the guys who don’t like it raw? PUSSYOLES!” made me laugh pretty hard.

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