California Girls

This song is a satire in its entirety with a completely sarcastic, mocking tone; the Narrator does NOT literally want to chop the "california girls" to pieces. come on people. Plus, when sung by a woman, it becomes much easier to see the very obvious feminist tone of the song: the california girls are complete and total frauds, and by using hyperbole (the image of the cali girl being chopped up on a sidewalk) and irony (the cali girls "ain't broke so they put on airs, faux folks sans derrieres"), the narrator provides his reason and means to eliminate the illusion presented about these girls in the media. Again, no one is literally going to take a battle axe to the cali girls; this image represents his feeling that this cultural idea of "beauty" needs to be killed. in addition, the cali girls have plenty of money, but want to appear as though they are just like everyone else, just "gifted" with natural talent and beauty. "faux folks sans derrieres." they are skinny supermodel frauds that the media portrays as being just like everyone else ("square"), when in reality they "breath coke for air" and bang every rapper that walks on by. its quite hilarious actually.

I love this song. Attacking the women who follow the behavior pattern that our wonderful western society has influenced through pop culture upon the United States. In the first stanza, I'm pretty sure it's be "Tan and blond and seventeen." I can't wait for the new Magnetic Fields' album. I also hate these California girls.

"realistic representation": exactly! such as Stephin Merritt's battle-ax, which I'd imagine he carries concealed at all times. plus it's a "brand-new" one, suggesting it's not the first one he's owned. the song is almost certain to incite homicides, directly. we all know how consistently and shamelessly the songwriter engages in objectification of women. and the subject of whether or not women find stephin attractive: I'm absolutely positive this is never far from his thoughts.

You're absolutely positive that an openly gay man is constantly thinking about whether or not women find him attractive?

So does anyone have any thoughts about the concept for this album? I mean, the obvious overt theme is the distortion; but I want to know if there's a hidden one on this one, like Vampires on Charm of the Highway Strip or Introspection on I. Any ideas?

i think each song is ranking on different types of people. calironia girls. old fools. so on and so forth.

mopo: The concept for the album is 3 minute songs. See how every single one of them is virtually the same length?

Disturbing? Well, yeah, it's Stephin Merritt.

hahaha i'm a california girl :D

positive, yes! in the context of laying on the irony about two inches thicker than the icing on a birthday cake in a '50s sitcom. which was in response to "Cerebella" who sincerely believes stephin's lyrics indicate a dangerous tendency to feel "threatened" by women not attracted to him. i couldn't have made it up.