A woman is determined to see love last (“Love Story”). Written for Carey’s deceased dad, “Bye Bye” mourns him and notes that he’s in a better place. It also puts an arm around fans coping with similar pain (“This is for my people who just lost somebody”). “I Wish You Well,” a boldly biblical attempt to exercise forgiveness, shares a handful of relevant verses. A woman jettisons a reportedly abusive husband on “Side Effects,” but …
With conditions of the divorce unclear, it’s hard to know if her departure was entirely justified. Love songs such as “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time” and “O.O.C.” treat love as an addiction requiring a physical fix. After some superficial self-promotion on “I’m That Chick,” a woman offers herself to a man for a night of passion. The hit “Touch My Body” is an even more explicit proposition (“Let me wrap my thighs all around your waist”) that includes Carey warning her lover not to make a YouTube video of their romp. She also can’t resist a guy she knows has fathered children with six women (“Cruise Control”). A night of clubbing finds a couple sipping tequila and pinot grigio as they “Migrate” from one hot spot to the next (a crass term for breasts is muted, but fairly obvious). A CD poster reveals side nudity of the artist wearing only a feather boa.
Naming this disc after Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is apropos, since moral relativity is the known quantity of E=MC2, especially in the sexual arena.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
