Note: This post contains song lyrics that some readers might find offensive. I also find them offensive, but they are included as examples.
I’ve spent the last few years relying on CDs and mp3s to fill my need for music, but when I started my new job a few months ago, I decided to pull out the old boombox and listen to some Top 40 radio while going about my day. I’ve heard some truly beautiful music over the airwaves - like Leona Lewis and Colbie Caillat - but most of it is just absolutely atrocious. Even if I like the beat, the lyrics are usually a huge turnoff. I’m all for music with innuendo or allusion, but much of the music that’s popular today is so explicit that it’s simply unfit for young ears.
Here are some lyrics from two songs that I heard on the radio today:
“Sexy Can I” by Ray J
Sexy can I, hit it from the front,
Then I hit it from the back.
Know you like it like that.
Sexy can I, visit you at work
When you sliding down the pole,
No panties, no shirt.
Then you climb back up the pole,
Then you drop and do the splits.
How you make that p*ssy talk,
Baby damn, u is da sh*t.
And another…
“Love In This Club” by Usher
I’m what you want, I’m what you need
He got you trapped, I’ll set you free
Sexually, mentally, physically, emotionally
I’ll be like your medicine, you’ll take every dose of me
It’s going down on aisle 3, I’ll bag you like some groceries
And every time you think about it you gon’ want some more of me
About to hit the club, make a movie yeah rated R
Pulled up like a trap star,
That’s if you have yo regular car
You wanna make love to a thug in the club with his ice on
87 jeans and a fresh pair of Nikes on
On the couch, on the table, on the bar, or on the floor
You can meet me in the bathroom yeah you know I’m trying go
Classy stuff there. Those are exactly the kinds of things that young, impressionable kids need to be pumping directly into their heads through earbuds. With songs like this in heavy rotation on public radio, it’s no wonder we have young girls running around acting like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.
But then, maybe this is just part of getting older. I tend to listen to music and watch television through some type of “Hypothetical Kid” filter - always imagining if I’d want this or that on if I had a child in the room.
While these particular lyrics might seem completely over the top, I’m all for freedom of speech and against most forms of censorship. I guess my only option is to do what the anti-censorship people recommended… turn the freaking crap off.
8 Comments
it’s been that crappy for years. remember the lovely “ride it, my pony” song? classic, 90s fare. crap, now it’s in my head.
but i agree that it’s just nasty now. and usher and ray j? no thanks.
No, thanks. I’ll pass on the nasty radio hits. I never listen to the radio anymore.
It’s terrible. I recently wrote about a song I heard at work that was in my head all day, and it’s awful. (I call it the, “where you from n-word song”)
Even country music sometimes pushes the envelope for me regarding the hypothetical (or in my case, not so hypothetical) kid scenario. All that drinking and screwing….
Dang I sound old.
I don’t think about hypothetical children (no maternal instincts here) but I pretty much abhore most radio rap and hip hop. It’s so degrading, and it’s not artistic in any way. There are a few artists who rise above the norm, but the average rap/hip hop/r&b radio song is pure filth. Rock stations are slightly better - they embrace angst instead of violence and sex. But for the most part, if you need to listen to the radio, I’d recommend NPR. Good stuff, that.
@ ohchicken: I DO remember that song! I shouldn’t even be surprised at Ray J since he was the one that made the sex tape with Kim Kardashian.
@ fightingwindmills: I feel like I’m out of the loop if I don’t listen to the radio every once in a while, but it’s gotten to the point that I might not care anymore.
@ Alyson: Thankfully, I haven’t heard the song that you mentioned. This entire post made me feel old.
@ Lena B: You’re right about NPR, but I haven’t given them a listen lately. I enjoy music more than talk radio, so I might have to stick with CDs.
I am so out of the loop. People get tired of a song because of it’s overplayed on the radio, and I’ve yet to even hear it once! It’s fine to decide not to care.
I went to my first dance a few weeks ago. It was MY children’s ELEMENTARY end-of-school dance. The first hour was suppose to be for 6 grade only, but a variety of grades where there because before the dance was a little ceremony for the 6th grade. Anyway, I was shocked that they played such songs as “Low”, “Lollypop”, “Cyclone” & etc. And in my opinion, there was several kids “dancing dirty” (as we called it in my days, you know the ninety’s! LOL) Anyway, I couldn’t believe it. My ex was very upset about it & I think other parents were too. After that first hour they did start playing more kid friendly songs. At first I was upset too, but then I realized that I allowed my kids to listen to this same music in the car & @ home, why did I think it was improper @ school? I do, however, feel that some of the dancing was very improper, but isn’t it what the kids are seeing in the video’s & on TV?
@ fightingwindmills: I know what you mean! Liz is always complaining about radio fatigue from hearing the same songs over and over. When I think I’m going to play her a new song, she’s already heard it.
@ Liz: That sounds really inappropriate for 6th graders, but I guess you make a good point about that being the music that most of them listen to anyway. That’s what I was trying to address in this post… it’s a shame that kids are bombarded with this crap all the time.
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