Lady Gaga - P!NK - Katy Perry - speak the TRUTH

*UPDATED*

I am supposed to be setting up my FED UP FRIDAY rant - but instead I am praising some of the top POP STARS of today. Odd for me I know...

Well, if you have read my blog for any length of time you know my SOAP BOX is pulled out quite often for lyrics to today's music. Numerous times I have ranted and raved about the under-the-radar content of the songs we allow our kids to listen to. I have mentioned (and then been brutally bashed) that my teens MAY NOT buy a song for their iPods WITHOUT my approval first.

Soulja Boy RANT
Lady Gaga RANT
Fed Up with Song Lyrics

Well, today I am actually singing the praises of three artists that I would probably just chalk up to inappropriate music. So, those of you who came to bash - you will be disappointed because I am actually thrilled with Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, P!NK and their latest songs and here is why...

Even though I have had issues with their songs on the past, I feel these three women have stepped up, recognized an issue and used their fame to get the message to the population of teens that NEED this message more than anyone. In my past rants, my issues were based in the ages of my children and my complaints were about friends THEIR age listening to music that was NOT aimed at 10 yr olds. My complaint was more toward the parents who don't monitor the music more than directed at the artists themselves.

My 3rd runner-up is the latest song by Lady Gaga, BORN THIS WAY.
(this video link is simply to the audio - not the actual video of this song)
CHECK OUT THIS VERSION though, these kids are AMAZING!

Lyrics

Now, let me preface this review-of-sorts with the disclaimer that there are lyrics in this song that many may find questionable but I am simply basing my opinion of her attempt to have a positive message.

What I like about this song is the underlying message: God made me this way and he doesn't make mistakes. Too many teens feel the need to judge and criticize when someone is different and this is where bullying begins. The message that no one has the right to judge is a good message... still not sure I love ALL of the song but I give Gaga props on her good try at positively influencing youth.

"Whether life's disabilities
left you outcast, bullied or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby, you were born this way"


2nd runner up is (UPDATE) OK...one of my readers (thank you Patti) just shared THIS video with me from P!NK, I like it even better! It's the CLEAN version and is just the words with her singing - LESS THAN PERFECT



P!NK's RAISE YOUR GLASS
(disclaimer: this video is quite strange, has some sexual content and bad language which is a shame because it overshadows the lyrics which is where the GOOD message lies.)
Lyrics

Once again, I need to forewarn you, there are profanities in the un-cut version of this song. I do not enjoy hearing the F-word when I am listening to music so, I would suggest you listen to the CLEAN version of this song.

What I like about this song is the overall message: Celebrate who you are ESPECIALLY of you don't follow the crowd. Be true to you, first! Don't sell out to be what someone ELSE thinks is cool.

P!NK is the first person to act like a goof - just check out the video, she loves being a dork! This is something that needs to be embraced by teens today...just have fun, be you, "cool and popular" is SO overrated and steals who you were really meant to be right out from under you.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong, in all the right ways,all my underdogs,
We will never be never be anything but loud
and nitty gritty dirty little freaks"



\Now, my NUMBER 1 pick is Katy Perry's FIREWORK




Do you ever feel like a plastic bag

Drifting throught the wind
Wanting to start again


Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in


Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing


Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you


You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July


Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y


Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own


You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow


Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know


You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July


Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y


Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe"


Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through


Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

So, that's that.
I won't say that there aren't things that bother me or that I feel are questionable but sending the message that YOU WERE BORN TO SURVIVE, BORN TO BE BRAVE, BORN THIS WAY is SO important for teens who are struggling to fit in.
As parents we have to be careful not to just give them free reign, but at the same time we need to also remember they are NOT living in the world WE lived in. It's not safe, it's mean, it's filled with HATE.
Taking the good with a little (off color words/themes/humor) may be the only way to get to some kids. They are a dying breed, teens.... literally.

Looking forward to your comments!

Peace out, Mamas!

Kanye West + Lady Gaga = This is Why My 'Tweens DON'T watch the VMAs!

Last night, our guests left from my oldest's 12th Birthday Bash. I came down stairs from getting all three kiddos in bed and 1/2 way to dreamland to find my husband asleep and the TV on. I pryed the remote from his death-grip and flipped through the channels.

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. . WHAT THE....?! . 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? . So, I promptly switched the channels to watch something LESS ICK! . 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.) . 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!" . 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! . 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!" . 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! . Please invest your time into finding out WHAT your children are listening to and watching. Be proactive in their lives. Be present! . I would love to see your comments! . (DON'T FORGET to check out the contest, still going on, for the LeapFrog TagReader! 10 ways to win one for your little bookworm!) . Peace.

Michael Phelps...Yay or Nay?

First of all, thank you all so much for your comments and emails about the latest MOM SHOW episode!! Those of you who haven't registered yet...go...go...go!

Now...onto the major news of the day... MICHAEL PHELPS and his BONG!

I have to say, the first thing I thought when I saw the picture was, "Oh, his poor mom!" Then I thought of all the kids (like my own) who look up to him and think he is the most amazing human on the planet (besides their mom, of course...and well, maybe dad, too).

But, my kids are not allowed to watch the news. I don't want them to open their little heads up and have all the CRAP that goes on around the world dumped into it. I want to keep their little "slates" clean for as long as I can so they can develop their OWN thoughts and feelings toward right and wrong without the help of Britney Spears, OJ Simpson, Anna Nicole Smith and other derelicts of our society. Of course, a couple days in school and I am sure they will hear it from a friend and come running to ask me, "Is it true? Is it true?"

Here's my take on Michael Phelps and his choices. Quite honestly, what the guys does in his own time is HIS business and I couldn't care less. BUT, he dropped the ball when making a choice to do something illegal and harmful to his body IN FRONT OF PEOPLE WITH CELL PHONE CAMERAS. I do believe he has probably missed out on much of his childhood and young adult years b/c of swimming. I get that. (and NO, I am NOT saying that smoking a bong is something we all need to do to say that we have "lived" a true young adult life...I am NOT SAYING THAT AT ALL!) But the pressure he is feeling b/c of the responsibility he now has to the WHOLE world (Imagine that! The WHOLE WORLD!) must be hitting him hard and he caved.

His choices of HOW to deal with that pressure were poor.

But I don't think we don't need to knock him down, trample him and make him suffer, though, do we? Some of his sponsored have pulled their contracts. He's been punished to the tune of a couple million dollars. I bet we can all think of ONE THING we have done in the last 10 years that if it was splashed across the news we would want to crawl into a hole and die?

Maybe it was a Mommy-tantrum @ WalMart or in your own home.

Maybe you have been unfaithful in your marriage.

Maybe you have taken prescription drugs just a couple times too many without an actual ailment.

Maybe you have bounced a couple checks.

Lied to a friend.

Faked it!

You finish the list....

Wouldn't we want our friends, family, and the strangers that witnessed our BIG PUBLIC OOPS to show some grace? Have a heart? Give you a chance to start fresh? A public do-over?

Yes, what Michael did was a poor choice. Yes, many children will see that choice. But, we as parents, need to stand up and turn this into a HUGE TEACHING MOMENT. A lesson in poor judgement, how it affects others and a BIGGER lesson in showing grace. Michael's mistake could be a blessing in disguise for your family. Have a chat with your kids about it tonight.

I wanna hear your MOM PERSPECTIVE on this.