Male Manipulator Music

About

Male Manipulator Music refers to a tweet that prompted people to name musical artists that would be "red flags" if a romantic interest liked them. The tweet provided the examples Radiohead, The Smiths and Slowdive, dubbing them "male manipulator music." It's possible the prompt was a troll, as the original poster appears to be a major Slowdive fan. Nevertheless, it generated angry responses and parodies on Twitter.

Origin

On November 16th, 2020, Twitter user @shortc1rcuit tweeted, "ladies and lads, what are some music 'red flags'? for example: radiohead, slowdive, the smiths. male manipulator music, if you will." The tweet was later deleted.

Spread

The tweet began spreading as people expressed their anger at the groups listed being labeled "male manipulator music." User @listenupnerds^[1] tweeted, "'slowdive is male manipulator music' is the take that will finally get me to log off of this website," gaining over 440 likes (shown below, left). User @returnoftheheth^[2] wrote, "calling Slowdive 'male manipulator music' is the dumbest thing I’ve seen on here in a minute ,, we desperately need a vaccine people’s brains are disintegrating !!", gaining over 170 likes (shown below, right).

Other users made jokes using the post's premise. For example, user @nrlachance^[3] used the tweet as a snowclone, gaining over 140 likes (shown below, left). User mechapoetic^[4] joked that Weird Al Yankovic and the Numa Numa Dance would qualify as male manipulator music, gaining over 190 likes (shown below, right).

YouTube music critic Todd In The Shadows^[5] pointed out how @shortc1cuit's account seemed to be a Slowdive fan account and surmised that she was trolling (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References