A mug bearing lyrical "brilliance" from singer Jessie J.
Image Credit: Wade Paterson
November 29, 2018 - 6:30 PM
KELOWNA - Wade Paterson has a love-hate relationship with pop music.
When he's in his car, he enjoys flipping through radio stations. He's no music snob; he enjoys all genres. While his musical tastes depend on his mood, he spends a fair amount of his time listening to the big hit songs of the day.
"I am more guilty than anyone for listening to Top 40," he says.
While he likes the fun nature of pop music, he can't help but laugh at their often ridiculous lyrics. He documents these silly rhymes on his Instagram account, @lyricalbrilliance. Now he's turning his obsession with dreadful lyrics into a chance to do some good.
Paterson is selling custom mugs emblazoned with laughable lyrics in an attempt to raise money for a musical therapy program for seniors.
Paterson's focus on terrible lyrics started as a joke. He typed out famously dumb lyrics and accompanied them with appropriate images and snarky commentary on his Instagram page. For the Ed Sheeran line, "And I know you love Shrek, because we've watched it 12 times," Paterson wrote, "Maybe she'd love Shrek more if you stopped making her watch the same movie."
The account has over 80 posts at the time of this article. Paterson's enjoyed making himself and his followers laugh. He doesn't keep a strict schedue with his posts; often he'll be driving and hear a particular song that inspires him.
"It's pretty spur of the moment," he said.
After running the account for a year, Paterson thought he could do something positive with bad lyrics. He looked into charities and discovered Sing for your Life, a service in Kelowna that offers music sessions for seniors. The program focuses on improving seniors' health and wellbeing through music.
"I thought it was so cool," he said. "It's a form of music therapy."
He ordered 50 mugs for $400, each covered with lines from his account. Paterson picked the lyrics based on their popularity . Mugs covered with lyrical gems from Kanye West, the Black Eyed Peas, and Jessie J soon filled his home.
"My girlfriend was a little confused," Paterson joked.
Paterson is selling the mugs for $15 a piece. $8 from each sale will go to recouping his expenses, while the rest will go to Sing for your Life. He's not looking to make money for himself.
"I'm fine taking a [financial] hit," he said. "It was a lot of fun."
Paterson hopes the mugs find new homes. In the meantime, he's keeping ears open for more dreadful lyrics to mock.
Anyone who wants to order a mug can contact Paterson through his Instagram account @lyricalbrilliance.
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