Blogger adds Bob’s Burgers’ Linda Belcher to “Shake It Off”
If television has a patron saint of un-self-conscious enthusiasm, it is surely Linda Belcher. Since 2011, this animated mother of three and wife of a beleaguered would-be burger baron has brought her special brand of sweet yet terminally uncool motherly optimism to every episode of Fox’s quirky Bob’s Burgers. It’s not surprising to learn that actor-comedian John Roberts based the character on his own mother. Given Linda’s well-documented love of music, dance, and all things cheerful and life-affirming, it seems probable that she would gravitate to a pop song like Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” It’s not difficult to imagine her crooning the hit tune while preparing breakfast for her beloved family as they cringe in low-key disapproval. That is the underpinning of an incredibly quick yet satisfying mashup by Tumblr user THISPVSSIE, who has taken Linda’s trademark catchphrase (“Alriiiiiiiight!”) and added it to Swift’s “Footloose”-esque anthem. Less charitable readers might point out that, by augmenting a Taylor Swift song in a humorous Internet mashup, Linda is essentially filling the same function as a bleating goat. Considering the character’s prodigious self-esteem, however, it seems likely that Linda Belcher would respond to such an unkind comparison by shaking it off.