Music Review // Vicki Lovelee "Retaliate"

Vicki Lovelee has created this dark and twisted pop song with soul called "Retaliate" and it's really about something we think about (or do) all the time.   There is such a seriousness to this song that it reminds me of calling the troops to battle and having them get ready to storm the castle.   There are also strings in this pop vibe, which can make it feel symphonic.  If there was such a genre as classical pop it could sound like this, but there is also something much more direct here.

Lyrically this song will make you do a double take when you hear lines like: "I don't give a fuck I wear my heart on my sleeve" and "Run my mouth talk shit disrespectfully".   When listening to the lyrics, you're either the type of person who does retaliate or who doesn't but wants to really badly.   This whole saying exists online- in social media- about not feeding the trolls and they'll go away, but I have to stop myself at least ten times a day from replying to some dumb comment on Twitter because I believe most of the time people post these things just for a reaction.

And in that, you have to think about the idea of this song and the word retaliation because it is a reaction and maybe the things people do to you are for that reaction.   Sometimes people just want you to react and it's the hardest thing to not react.   And I'm talking about people just writing nonsense like Michael Jordan not being the greatest, but when it comes to matters of a more personal nature, where someone directly insults you then that need to retaliate becomes even greater.

In some ways this song can be a great war cry where you can listen to it before you begin your battle.  For me, I'm going to keep it as a reminder that sometimes (most of the time) people say and do things because they want that reaction from us and I'm going to be the bigger person.  Next time I see something I think is trolling and I'd really like to respond, I'm going to listen to this song instead.