It's A Bleepin' Shame

So, I was driving my son to the hockey rink the other day and we decided to listen to some music. Turn on the radio – the “#1 Hit Music Station” – and we are barraged by music with content and lyrics inappropriate for even a 15-year-old hanging with the guys at summer camp.

Now, call me crazy, but what ever happened to songs that we could feel comfortable letting our kids listen to without keeping out fingers hovering over the volume control? How did we get from, “Take my hand; Take my whole life, too; For I can’t help falling in love with you,” to “You PMS like a b@#$* I would know,” because I didn’t buy a ticket for this Amtrak wreck of a ride, thank you very much. Are these lyrics really indicative of the sentiments of the majority of “hip” Americans or are these songwriters more out of touch than our politicians? Seriously, do our radio stations have no other tracks coming in to spin or do the local DJs get to feel a little Howard Stern-y, playing content that would shock and disgust the Penthouse Magazine execs? Hey, I’ve got news for you: Stern ain’t on the public airwaves any more.

What is our recourse as parents? Because, let’s face it, even Radio Disney has no problem letting Timberlake profess his desire to “have you naked by the end of this song.” Now, what age group is their demographic again? Which of the kids that, according to Disney rules, has to be 14-years-old or younger to win a prize in a station contest, does Timberlake want to have naked? Don’t tell me that we are to be reduced to nothing by Wiggles tunes. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the colorfully clad Aussies but let’s be honest, after a while, those CDs start getting cutesier than Mr. Rogers would have even allowed in his Neighborhood of Make Believe. Do we need to get a litle V-Chip-y on the radio? How would the radio-ratings look, “R-G,” “R-PG,” and, “R-Don’t Even Bother Because We’ve Got More ‘Bleeped Out’ Content Than Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’.” A staggering 38 “bleeps” at my count. Now THAT is bananas. Because that’s another problem: The songs whose lyrics violate enough FCC regulations for content that their catchy hooks actually have to be covered up. Those radio-edit swearword covers-ups conceal about as much as Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl.

So, what do we do? Do we write letters? Do we stop listening to the radio until they clean up their act and their airwaves? Do we start downloading as much Laurie Berkner and Dan Zanes as we can click on and forget about exposing our kids to sounds that they can carry with them on their iPods anytime past the fifth grade? We can always huddle up with our spouse under the cover of dark, after the kids are in bed, and listen to the forbidden tunes of Ryan Seacrest and his AT-40. Because, it’s not that this music hasn’t always been out there. It has and, in my opinion, it should be – everybody has a right to express his or her feelings. But, for goodness sake, can we at least have a teaspoon full of safe public space? It’s not like I’m asking for something crazy like, maybe, something that we can actually SHARE with our children? Something that transcends the kid stuff that we enjoy through their eyes?

Maybe it’s just me…

written by Hubby

Hubby wrote this and published this here back in the beginning of the year - sometimes around January I believe. And he is now working on some kid music of his own. He has begun performing some kid concerts at a few daycare centers (as a matter of fact he has a concert today). He is really enjoying it and the kids love him - and be sure to stop by next week for a little video clip of his answer to the radio nonsense. :)