I'm Good
I’m good. Yeah. I’m feeling alright.
You may have heard this song blasted at an indoor basketball arena or overcrowded fitness class near you. I don’t need to supply a link. You know exactly what I’m talking about. “I’m Good (Blue)” by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha, the most annoying pop song of 2022.
The lyrics are simple. I’m good yeah I’m feeling alright, yeah I’m gonna have the best fucking night of my life, don’t you know I’m good yeah I’m feeling alright.
Listen up. Here’s a story.
I understand and agree with the critical disgust for “I’m Good (Blue)”. Noted YouTube critic Todd in the Shadows ranked it as his worst song of 2022. The brain geniuses at Rate Your Music gave it a 1.32/5.00, one of the worst scores of the year. That’s not to forget the three remixes and the goddamn two-minute Acoustic Version, which compresses the song even further.
Of course, meme-able blue-obsessed popular art is something of a trend in the modern aesthetic experience. We have Picasso’s “Blue Period”, Andy Warhol’s $195 million painting “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn”, “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, the Blue Man Group, Avatar: The Way of Water, the French national soccer team, the Duke Blue Devils etc.
I’m not sure Bebe Rexha or David Guetta were considering this when they recorded and released “I’m Good (Blue”, an idea that came off of one improv riff they did a festival in 2017. The song’s lyrics are an incredibly pointless description of a night out on the town. Are they even truthful? Is Bebe Rexha really good? Is this a case of a mediocrity telling themselves they are “good, yeah I’m feeling alright”? Is it all of the above?
Blue are the feelings that live inside me.
From a musical perspective, “I’m Blue” is not considered high art. There is a musical term called “ostinato” that refers to a riff or short melody that recurs throughout a piece of music. Think of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D'' or the guitar lick from “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash. As styles like jazz, rock, and blues took over the world, ostinato went from well-used musical technique to the heart of popular music. Every song is practically required to have a “hook” or a “riff”; it’s what most people would recognize as popular art today.
As a results, musicians have been playing with/parodying ostinato for over a century. French composer Maurice Ravel’s famous “Bolero”, a piece known for its one distinctive melody played over 14 minutes, is revered and reviled amongst the populace as annoying or genius. At the very least, “Bolero” is most definitely prescient on where music was headed. If anything, the gauntlet set by “Bolero” is completed by “I’m Blue”, and then extirpated by the Guetta/Rexha remix. I’m not sure Guetta knows of the tribute to his fellow French composer, but the through line is clear. I don’t think Bebe Rexha cares either – haven’t you heard? She’s good, and she’s feeling alright.
The “I’m Blue” ostinato (da ba dee da ba da) is not intended to be a great musical statement. It’s supposed to be catchy and entertain listeners over the worst EuroBeat rapping you’ve ever heard. But there is an inherent beauty in its stupidity, an unnecessary glitch in the vortex of human creation, an unmistakable and unforgettable tune that will remain in the brain forever. You cannot escape.
Da ba dee da ba da.
