It’s a tale as old as time: a boy, a girl, and another woman named Champagne. At least, this is the story at the center of Jackson Penn’s new song, “My Girl.” This enchanting pop song tells about a man staring temptation in the face. “Green rain fallin’ down from the ceiling / Big ol’ hoops in your earrings / No one shakes it like you, like you do / You got glitter all on your body / Now it’s all on my body,” sings Jackson. While his friends are “making friends with all your friends,” he decides now is the time to bail before it gets out of hand.
“But I’m just a mortal man / So I gotta get outta here while I can / ‘Cause a good thing shouldn’t be left to chance / And back home / My girl’s got high expectations,” he sings. This tale of staying strong and staying loyal is also emphasized in the accompanying music video. A trio of dancers walks into a dingy pizza parlor one night. While Jackson’s coworkers get to live out their sexual fantasies (while committing about a dozen health code violations.) Yet, that ring on Jackson’s finger keeps him from indulging, but he doesn’t seem to upset about that.
Jackson (aka Freddy Wexler) chatted with HollywoodLife over email about the video, if it’s based on a true story, and the possible coincidence this song has with that other “My Girl” song.
The lyrics of “My Girl” appears to tell the story of a man who wound up in a strip club, be it unintentionally or not, and he changes his mind to “take Mulholland to the one I love.” So, we have to ask – is this based on a true story?
Jackson Penn: Haha, it’s not. But temptation strikes when you least expect it, and I wanted to write a fun story about that. I did live on Mulholland at one point, so that part is true. But in general, the song is based on life. Everyone experiences temptation, but people deal with it differently.
The video seems like it’s the fantasy of every underpaid, undersexed pizza worker ever. How did you come up with the idea of this video?
The throwback quality of the song gave me this vision of a barbershop quartet. And because the lyric of the song is edgier than the sound of the record, I always wanted to do something around a stark juxtaposition. The idea of chefs in the kitchen of a strip club or strippers ordering pizza just felt fun. In the treatment, me and the pizza guys are “The Four Seasonings.”
Did you ever work in a pizza joint and have these types of idle thoughts?
I washed cars and had a lot of time to think.
It’s funny that your video for “My Girl” is full of temptation since The Temptations recorded the song, “My Girl.” Was that intentional or just a happy music coincidence?
Maybe I should start saying it was intentional, but honestly, it was a happy coincidence.
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Jackson Penn is the moniker for super-producer Freddy Wexler, whose songs have been released by artists like Selena Gomez, Kanye West, Pink, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Martin Garrix, and Celine Dion, and Lil Wayne. Now, he’s got his own music for you to enjoy. Give in to temptation: “My Girl” is out on all digital streaming platforms now.
