Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 2011
Middle Finger (song)
Buy Middle Finger (song) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Middle Finger'" is a song by American synthpop band Cobra Starship. The track was written and produced by Norwegian production team Stargate and features Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller. It was released as the third promotional single from their fourth studio album, "Night Shades" and later as the second official single.
Background
After the success of the single "You Make Me Feel...", which was their most successful single on the charts, the band released three promotional singles, which were available exclusively through iTunes. The first was "1Nite" on July 26, the second was "Fool Like Me" on August 9 and the last one was "Middle Finger" on August 23. It later, became the second official single of the album on January 3, 2012, with a single containing two remixes, being released on the iTunes Store.
Composition
"Middle Finger" was written by Cobra Starship, Nate Walka, Mac Miller and co-written and produced by Stargate. "It's just like a fun song," Cobra Starship lead singer Gabe Saporta tells The BoomBox. Despite having the opportunity to add a more popular rapper to the track, produced by Norwegian production duo Stargate, Saporta chose to go with Miller because he was lesser known.
Saporta told to "BoomBox" about Miller collaboration:
"We worked on the track with Stargate and they're totally hooked up". "They had a big name rapper that they wanted to get on the track. My vibe was like, 'I feel like everyone has used the same big name rappers all the time,' and I just wanted to get someone who was fresh. I was already a Mac Miller fan. I heard 'Let 'Em In,' 'Knock, Knock.' I love [those] song[s], so thats why I wanted him on the record."
In another interview, Gabe told to MTV News about the collaboration:
"That's actually the first time I met him, when he was he came to do his rap for 'Middle Finger.' He was super chill, super laid-back, he wrote his stuff there in the studio. It was good vibes, man. It gives the song a totally different flavor," he added, "and we definitely did that consciously. Most pop songs right now are like straight-up bangers, so we wanted to do something that might stand out a little bit and be a little more down-tempo."
Lyrically, the song finds the boy trying to forget his former beau in a club and getting himself drunk. According to Gary Saporta, "the song is kind of like, fun, cheeky, screw-you-haters vibe." But as the lyrics describe, you really dont need to be irritated to point upward. In fact, in this song, its an expression of happiness, perhaps after you've had a few drinks.
Critical reception
The song received mixed reviews from most contemporary music critics. Megan Rozell from Blogcritics wrote that the song "surprise everyone by incorporating Mac Miller, a current rap sensation, but, makes it difficult to decipher the difference between the voices of Gabe Saporta and Miller." Becky Bain wrote for Idolator that "The songs otherwise happy-go-lucky verses and friendly club beats dont really gel with the act of angrily flipping the bird."
Music video
The song's music video finds Cobra Starship helping old folks across the street and other assorted good deeds, only to end getting the finger themselves. Mac Miller couldn't make the shoot, and filmed his parts whilst on tour.
Saporta explained the clip's concept to MTV News:
"We definitely didn't want the video to be angsty; a lot of people hear the title 'Middle Finger' and they think it's a mean or angry song, it's not about that, it's about letting go and having fun... and I think that's the vibe we wanted to have with the video, so, we thought it would be funny if old ladies gave us the finger."
Storyline
Miller kicks off the kiss-off video, setting the tone for whats in store. He raps: "Got my middle finger up and its pointed to the clouds / Rollin in with my whole entourage, too many of us to count." The clip features each Cobra Starship member in various situations where their I dont care attitude causes store clerks, kids, an old lady and even a homeless guy to give them the bird. The band takes it all in stride, though, just as the songs chorus denotes: "Throw your cups in the air / We so fly / Middle finger up to the sky"Track listing
Chart performance
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!scope="col"|Chart (201112)
!scope="col"|Peak
position
|-
|-
|Japan (Japan Hot 100)
| style="text-align:center;"|80
|-
|-
|-
|}
References
Category:2011 songs
Category:2012 singles
Category:Cobra Starship songs
Category:Mac Miller songs
Category:Fueled by Ramen singles
Category:Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen
Category:Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen
Category:Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers)
Category:Songs written by Nate Walka
Category:Songs written by Mac Miller
Buy Middle Finger (song) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 2011