Well, it seems that Queen B has gotten herself in a bit of hot water for a sample that appears on her new album. In the video for her new song, "XO", the untouchable superstar chose to include a sample of dialogue - "Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction." - taken from the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986.
Beyoncé, in a statement (that, much like her songs, she did not write), said:
"My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song 'XO' was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you."
Uh, what? Wait, there's more:
"The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten."
Now, we at The Shit speak fluent Bullshit and are more than happy to interpret Beyoncé's actual statement before her PR hack tweaked it:
"Yo, yo, yo, back it up, I'm just the singer. As ya'll can imagine, my beautiful life keeps me quite busy so it's redonkulous to expect me to be in the studio for the entire recording process. The truth is, I can barely be bothered to stick around long enough to cut my vocals before jetting off to Dubai or Cuba or some other beautiful place.
As for the use of the sample from the Challenger tragedy, I have no idea who chose to use the sample, nor do I really care. Again, I am beautiful, my life is beautiful, and everything about the song in question is beautiful so the folks who died in the Challenger tragedy should be honored to be associated with something so beautiful."
While we are certainly open to having a little fun at Queen B's expense, the underlying truth is that the use of such a sample was done with willful intent and ignorance of how tragic that event remains. Just because it happened 27 years ago, when Beyoncé was 5 years old, doesn't make it any less of a national tragedy and should be treated with a modicum of respect.
Ultimately, this falls on Beyoncé's shoulders because her name is on the album. She dropped the ball by either a) not knowing the source of the sample, or b) not caring. Whatever blowback she receives as a result is fully deserved.
Of course, if it's attention she is after..."Mission accomplished."
Still, we at The Shit can't help wonder...was the sample properly cleared with NASA in advance of the song's release?
While we are certainly open to having a little fun at Queen B's expense, the underlying truth is that the use of such a sample was done with willful intent and ignorance of how tragic that event remains. Just because it happened 27 years ago, when Beyoncé was 5 years old, doesn't make it any less of a national tragedy and should be treated with a modicum of respect.
Ultimately, this falls on Beyoncé's shoulders because her name is on the album. She dropped the ball by either a) not knowing the source of the sample, or b) not caring. Whatever blowback she receives as a result is fully deserved.
Of course, if it's attention she is after..."Mission accomplished."
Still, we at The Shit can't help wonder...was the sample properly cleared with NASA in advance of the song's release?