What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
A reference to the popular kids' show Sesame Street which features humans and fuzzy monsters living together in the same neighborhood.
“Gordon” refers to the character of Gordon Robinson, who has been played by four different actors over the course of the show. The identity of Garrett Saunders, the actor who played Gordon in the unaired pilot, was actually unknown until December 2011 when the Sesame Workshop launched a search for him.
Roscoe Orman, who has played Gordon since season 6, is pictured below.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Tim Tebow is a openly-Christian NFL quarterback who gained fame and a little bit of ridicule for his habit of praying before and after every game, as well as after scoring a touchdown. After a whirlwind season with the Broncos in which he originally started as a replacement QB, Tebow signed with the New York Jets.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
He like, "Man, we can't even make it to 50?!" Childish Gambino – We Ain't Them
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Whitney Houston was only 48 years old when she died, and Michael Jackson barely made 50 before his tragic end. Admittedly both deaths were artificially instigated, but it just goes to show that life is fleeting and, as Questlove says, there are no guarantees we get to live to enjoy ourselves at a ripe old age.
Just look at all the young musicians (Black or not) in the Forever 27 club. Life really is that fragile.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Alligators and rattlesnakes both make loud hissing noises when the feel threatened (the gators use their vocal cords, while the snakes use the dead, hollow skin rattle on their tales). Regardless, it’s a rather clever metaphor for all of Monáe’s haters, who make all this noise because they’re intimidated by her talent and poise.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Homophonic pun between “poll,” which are used by people to gauge the interest of a population in a particular item or issue, and “pole” as in a stripper pole. This line could also be a possible triple entendre, to check the North Pole as Sarah Palin is from Alaska.
Former Alaska governor Palin ran for U.S. Vice President in 2008, alongside John McCain as U.S. President. When she joined the McCain ticket, she had ~80% approval rating in Alaska, and polls displayed that her support faded in the state during the candidacy race.
Could also be a reference to an often repeated line from Palin that “polls are only good for strippers and cross-country skiers” – first delivered at a September 3, 2011 Tea Party rally in Indianola, Iowa where she was initially expected to announce a Presidential run before ultimately deciding against doing so.
Sources: