I can’t seem to track it down, but I remember reading an interview where Grimes said she tried to make the song California as “sonically obnoxious” as possible. I freely admit to enjoying a distastefully peppy pop single on occasion (samples from my “obnoxious” playlist: Pop It, The Magic Position) and It’s Lit fits the genre. It’s kind of stupid, but also very energetic and fun!
I get a specific joy from making kind of stupid things. One of my favourite creative feelings comes when I’m making something so ridiculous that it feels almost illicit. Like, why did no one stop me from being a sexy Long Furby for halloween? Because they couldn’t, hahaha! I was making that costume myself!
The joy of the stupid seems to be what animates the Stupid Shit That No One Needs and Terrible Ideas Hackathon, which has featured projects like Wienchimes (windchimes made out of hot dogs) and Shakie (a camera app that only takes pictures when the phone is vigorously shaken). I’ve been to a genuinely productive hackathon, but more often watched a confusing parade of students deliver rotely inspiring pitches about the growth potential of a shoddy app they built in a weekend. Why couldn’t we admit to ourselves that we’d just wanted to spend a few sleep-deprived days messing around with technology?
Well, in my experience, if something can be claimed by the parts of me that care about productivity and proper taste, it will be. Doing stupid things is a way to deny that claim. It’s very freeing to make something that couldn’t possibly be interpreted as an effort to earn respect or be productive. (Perhaps something like… a high-effort annual newsletter about Christmas music.)
It’s lit!
- Tessa