"Bad Things" by Machine Gun Kelly feat. Camila Cabello

Just my latest musical obsession, this time because it has a good strong beat to run to. And it also has rather explicit sexual undertones and I figured that's absolutely the mood I want to set for Lupercalia. No, I'm not calling it Valentine's Day - I much prefer Roman fertility rituals and feasts than greeting card holidays. That being said, I'm a hopeless romantic in the worst way and would absolutely fall for a Grand Romantic Gesture, like in the movies. I recently watched "When Harry Met Sally" in its entirety (because that's the kind of lame thing I do on a Saturday night). On the surface, it has to be the most boring romantic comedy ever. It is literally just two people being friends for like a decade before realizing they want to be together. What makes the movie is Nora Ephron's dialogue. Harry and Sally are both uniquely ridiculous people....but their ridiculousness complements each other in a way that is absolute magic. Their conversations - if overheard by a curious bystander - probably sound insane. Of course they do - that's what makes them entertaining. And that kind of chemistry is rare. In fact, I'm sure most people think that only exists in the movies, which is why the world is full of cynical people. But I believe in it. At the very least, it's an ideal to strive for. And I'm always being accused of being an idealist (accusations which aren't exactly unfounded but that's irrelevant).

Am I out of my head?

Am I out of my mind?

If you only knew the bad things I like

Don't think that I can explain it

What can I say, it's complicated

Don't matter what you say

Don't matter what you do

I only wanna do bad things to you

So good, that you can't explain it

What can I say, it's complicated

My favorite musical duet combination is perfected in this song - rap music combined with beautiful lyrical interludes sung by a female voice. And I love Camila Cabello's voice - she has such a pure soprano, but she has a special ability to make it sound soulful. If the melody sounds familiar, it's because it is - Machine Gun Kelly sampled the melody Fastball's "Out of My Head" and the lyrics of the original song feed into the chorus. As you may be able to extrapolate from the lyrics, but it's about being into BDSM-influenced sex. Rough sex, in general. There's very much a "there's pleasure in pain" undertone to the words. But the good kind of pain. Pain that sparks memories when you see a familiar bruise on your thigh. Or the enjoyable excitement of having your hands tied behind your back, not being able to control the movement. Before I take this too far, let's talk about the video. Not surprisingly, the director went with a Bonnie & Clyde motif. MGK and Cabello are running from the cops for some unknown crime. The video is interspersed with their love story, which has some rough moments but overall, it's played to emphasize how much they like each other. They are friends first, and that carries them through the hard stuff. Then, at the end of the video, it looks like they attempt to pull a Thelma & Louise. Because - frab nabbit- there's no such thing as a happy love story apparently. Especially not in the music industry.

"Bad Things" Video