I am a blogging mom of three who sums up her chaotic days with humorous rants in between cleaning peanut butter off the ceiling fan and keeping my youngest occupied in the lazy Susan.
Put your feet up and laugh at me. My neighbors do!
So this morning I am enjoying my coffee at the kitchen table with my back to the TV when I find myself grinning and be-bopping to a familiar tune...
"All you people can't you see, can't you see How your love's affecting our reality Every time we're down You can make it right And that makes you larger than life..."
I thought I was reliving my 8th grade homecoming dance. I was not planning on turning around and seeing the 40+ year old boy bands combined on a stage... I grabbed my sunglasses to sheild my eyes from the boy band bald spots!
Part of me giggles b/c I recognize these "boys" I used to have ridiculous crushes on, but the other part of me is cringing because they sound AWFUL and I feel so embarrassed for them.
I will say, their lyrics have one version - CLEAN! Unlike the Rhianna's S&M performance the Today Show had last week that left me gagging. To watch a 23 year old sing about whips and chains crosses the line for me... so, if it's bald spots and clean lyrics - then more power to them... maybe they could just add a little AutoTune.
Now that's a question you don't expect while grilling up some black bean burgers...
But when your child forgets to have you to approve the iTunes list - THIS is what your conversations revolve around.
Needless to say, that song is GONE!
Just last week I sang Katy Perry's praises, today I ripped her song from one of the iPods in our home.
Ladies and Gentlemen, here is my new and improved LYRICS FROM THE SOAPBOX!
Katy Perry's LAST FRIDAY NIGHT
Rhianna's S & M (now from THAT title, you should KNOW, right?)
Enrique Iglesias TONIGHT (this version is OK, just know that the chorus in the original version does not say "tonight I'm loving you" - replace the L-word in that phrase with the F-word) Enrique? REALLY?
Cee-Lo Green's FORGET YOU (once again - this F-word ..."Forget" is not the same F-word in the original song. Yes, the original song is called F*** YOU!
How long do I spend looking at song lyrics? Hours.
How many times have I contacted the school, coaches, teachers about songs my children are hearing while in their care? Too many.
How often have I talked to my kids' friends about the awful messages today's music sends? Quite often.
My kids spirits, minds and bodies? Priceless.
Just an FYI, here are some other links to popular songs over the last year - be sure to take a look, you might be surprised what they are REALLY SAYING!
Now, please keep in mind...
These are songs that are played on the radio...there are songs EVEN WORSE than these that your kids can easily get on their iPods.
I have had people bash me in the comments section saying I am a crazed psychopath mom who hovers too closely to her children's business...
Here's my response...
Until the are 18 years old, their business IS MY BUSINESS! What is on their facebook, in their emails, getting pumped through iPods, notes in pockets...and so on and so on...
They are my responsibility.
Sure it would be WAY easier to say, "It's none of my business." Would save me a whole SNOT-load of time to NOT be so careful of what they are exposed to...
But they are my responsibility.
They are precious gifts entrusted to me to do my very best to raise them to be productive members of society. RESPECTED members of society.
I guarantee you this type of music is where SELF-RESPECT starts breaking down.
What goes in, comes out.
Think about it.
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.
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!
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"
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.
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.
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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!
.(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.
