Now, I am 39, I know I am not as "with-it" or "hip" as some moms are but I stay involved in the media/music/news of Teens & Tweens so that some arrogant freak doesn't feed my children lines that will distance them from the morals and values I have spent 12 years instilling.
So, I get to MTV and find the VMAs in the middle of Lady Gaga's performance. Now, I am "hip" enough to know who Lady Gaga is. My kids have asked if they can have "Poker Face" on their iPods. Most of you probably know the song...it's the kind that if you hear it once you will be humming it for the next, oh I don't know, the REST OF YOUR GOD-GIVEN LIFE!
When my 'tweens approached me for permission to download Poker Face I said my usual answer to that song, "Let me find the lyrics and I will let you know." I have to be honest, I was thinking, how bad can a song about poker be? But I am glad I checked because The Lady, Ms. Gaga, sings of how she is "bluffin' with her muffin'!" K! NO POKER FACE ON THEIR iPODS!
So, back to the VMAs and my censored-from-THIS-house Lady Gaga. While singing her hit PAPARAZZI, THIS is how she greeted me from the VMA stage:
Photo courtesy of Popeater
Now, this was FAKE blood, I assure you she was not hemorrhaging. By the end of her garish performance, she was hanging by one arm 10 feet above the stage with a red bloody "x" on her chest and blood in her eye. The rope spun as she pretended to be dead and then the stage went black.
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WHAT THE....?!
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Now, this morning I read that some people are likening this insanity to Madonna's LIKE A VIRGIN surprise at the VMAs way back when (you know, in MY day). Let me get this right, a woman singing that the word virgin means, "being touched for the very first time" is just as horrifying as someone giving the illusion that she KILLED herself because of what the paparazzi did to her?
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So, I promptly switched the channels to watch something LESS ICK!
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This morning as I packed lunches I was listening to the EARLY SHOW and they mentioned something about KANYE WEST and TAYLOR SWIFT. My ears perked up because Taylor Swift is my daughter's favorite person on the planet! (Besides me. Um. I think.)
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I walked over just in time to see the replay of what all the hubbub was about.
Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone
This sweet young lady (let me reiterate, YOUNG LADY) was in mid sentence of her acceptance speech for Best Female Video (for You Belong to Me...the song that is played on REPEAT in our house on a daily basis) when Kanye West grabbed the mic from her and started yelling from the stage that Beyonce's video was the "best of all times!"
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Let me break this down for you...GROWN MAN, YOUNG GIRL...SEASONED PROFESSIONAL, NEWBIE....COMPLETE IDIOT, COMPLETELY EMBARRASSED!
Kanye West: A role model I want for my children? An artist whose music will EVER be purchased by someone in MY home? I don't even need to answer! You know what I am thinking!
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And these are the people (Lady Gaga, Kanye West) whose messages and voices are being PUMPED into our kids brains hour after hour, day after day? And I repeat, "NOT IN THIS HOUSE!"
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But, there was a portion of the VMAs that I WILL let my children see and it is THIS:
(even though the BIRD'S NEST on Lady Gaga's head is a bit distracting!)
BEYONCE won my vote for TRULY A CLASS ACT!
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Please invest your time into finding out WHAT your children are listening to and watching. Be proactive in their lives. Be present!
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I would love to see your comments!
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(DON'T FORGET to check out the contest, still going on, for the LeapFrog TagReader! 10 ways to win one for your little bookworm!)
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Peace.
15 comments:
This is a great post Michelle.
It unnerves me to no end what our children are subjected too. I say 'no' to something in our house, then I find that the neighbor is much less stringent and my child saw/heard what I said 'no' too at her friends house.
The VMA's weren't right for my 'Tween. We're going to stick with the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards. (Oh wait... Miley's Pole Dancing... hmmm... ARGH!)
Why the hell would ur children need approval to download songs to there ipod? that is very sad.
Um...because they are 11 and 12 and I am a good mom!
??
I don't know whether I'm more gobsmacked at the comment "anonymous" left behind or the awful clusterjumble that was the VMA's.
I can't stand Lady Gaga, or Kanye West but I will tell you this...after last night I'd be willing to download a few Beyonce songs into my iTunes list. She is the epitome of CLASS ACT!
And for the record, I was in the radio and music industry for a long time and had the privilege of being on the air at top rated stations nationwide...I used to think NOTHING could shock me after some of the stuff I saw and lived through back then. Well, when you have little kids in the house and you hear one of them repeat the line, "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick...", (courtesy of Lady Gaga and my 19 year old who knows she'd better not ever play that crap around her 3 year old sister ever again!), you realize how you STILL CAN be shocked.
Believe me, I'm not a prude...I'm close friends with Rob Zombie, Sharon Osbourne and others that I met whilst doing my time in radio. But I know where to draw the line in regards to what my CHILDREN are allowed to listen to and the potential influence it may have on them.
Kanye's mama is probably rolling over in her grave over his actions last night!
Um... Anonymous... If you don't get it, you won't get it... But because I can't resist, you are exactly why our kids need need to be protected - permission is not an infrigement on their rights... it is a protection on their eyes, ears and hearts.
Thanks for posting this! I have seen the buzz on Twitter and was wondering exactly what happened. It is all very Shameful.
Sadly, I have enjoyed a few songs of each - Kanye and Lady. I'm a runner... been good running songs...
But, gollygoshgoodnessohmyheck. My kids are too young to listen to pieces of My music.... But thinkin' I may be doing some deleting. That Lady Gaga scene - made my stomach turn. The picture bothers me, but I am glad you posted it. Nothing like a little information to help us see what is going on.
Our poor kids. You better bet my kids don't get free downloading privileges. And I agree - yay Beyonce. Though I wish her skirt was a bit longer :)
I'm sorry to say I'm not all that informed on the music scene, but hubby is so I feel better about that. My daughter is 13 and she is still required to ask permission before she downloads anything to her iPod. You are not alone and as long as my kids live under my house I will censor where I see fit. Thankfully my kids don't really watch a lot of current music. I've got them stuck on old musicals. **snicker**
Thanks for this post. I realize now I need to be a little more on top of things.
I was shocked when I saw/heard about the VMAs last night. I read an article earlier today and the writer insisted that if that had been some general fan that swarmed the stage unwelcomed as Kayne West did, that person would have been tossed out on their a##. Why wasn't he? I am in total agreement. I think Taylor Swift and Beyonce both were very gracious and generous, and yes, class acts. As for Lady Gaga, I can't say that I'm familiar with any of her songs, and well, now I know why.
Anonymous: You're an idiot that just doesn't get it.
I think Kanye should be banned from future awards shows. He's a time bomb waiting to go off. Who knows what next. I don't really want to see him anymore. If they don't ban him, he needs to be fined $1 million for each blowout. Lady Gaga looked like a guy in drag to me. I can't believe the kind of talent that is put on pedestals these days.
I didn't watch the awards lastnight, but was soo shocked by what Kanye did to Taylor Swift - my daughter and I are huge fans of her as well, she is such a great roll model for young ladies everywhere!
I like Matt Lowerys summary of that scene, including what Beyonce did during her acceptance speech - one clip - showed Class and NO CLASS
I didn't watch the VMAS last night...I used to live for them as a kid and was never allowed to stay up late to watch them. So I always recorded them to check 'em out the next day. (I'm now 32 and "can do what I want" but they're still on pretty dang late!) Anyway, after hearing all the hoopla I decided to check out MTV.com. Let's sum up, shall we? Oh. My. God!!!! Lady Gaga's performance was, simply put, AWFUL!! Creepy as hell. Kanye West needs a couple slaps, and Beyonce truly is a class act. I also liked the Michael Jackson tribute in the beginning, and thought it was really great for Janet Jackson to be dancing in tribute to her brother.
Anyway, you've pretty much said everything I was thinking!
That's okay my husband just told me that Obama called him a jacka** on tv today. Beyonce is a very classy lady.
I firmly agree with you! My son is turning 11 and is just getting into listening to music more. He will not be allowed to download anything he wants. I'm always surprised when I find out that he knows a lot of songs I'm not sure about, mostly through school and friends. They are already exposed to so much, there should be some place where they can be protected and that's at home. You are doing a great job!
Michelle,
You are so right - moms need to monitor what kids listen to and/or watch. You go girl!
And that was a class act Beyonce did ... now if she could just find some pants for some of her outfits.
I've found it interesting and sad to see some of the stuff that has been said about Kanye since then. This blog caught my attention with this opening line ... "Kanye West deserves less grace and forgiveness than I got."
Read it here ... http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/
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Personally being a straight a student and 17 I think I'm old enough to say that my mom raised me perfectly and I didn't need permission for everything. When I read this, the whole looking over lyrics before a song was on thier iPod was a little wierd. Kids hear the music with their friends or at school anyways, so there's really no point in "protecting" them from something they'll do anyways, whether it's whithin the next week or when they're grown, they'll just have to find out about real life the hard way if you shelter your kids. And I wont be back on this website because I just ran by it, so it doesn't matter if you comment back, I just wanted to say I agree with the other person who said it was weird you said that.
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