Monday, August 13, 2007
Parental Advisory : Explicit Lyrics
As you all know, I’m a music freak and we play a lot of music around here.
I hadn’t really thought about the effect of this on the chids, except lately Magnus’s favourite song is “When the sun goes down” by the Arctic Monkeys.
(I know these are the boys’ favourite songs, because they are the songs which when they come onto the stereo, they race in to the room, turn up the volume and jump around like mad badgers. When the guitars/drums come in on that ‘Monkeys song - little Magnus goes NUTSO.)
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It’s a song about ...erm...prostitutes, sample lyric:
“And I’ve seen him with girls of the night
And he told Roxanne to put on her red light
They’re all infected but he’ll be alright
Cause he’s a scumbag, don’t you know
I said he’s a scumbag, don’t you know!”
Not quite The Wiggles, is it?
And Willoughby’s favourite record is ‘Alright, Still!’ by Lily Allen. He especially loves ‘LDN’ - sample lyric:
“Everything seems to look as it should
But I wonder what goes on behind doors
A fella looking dapper, but he’s sitting with a slapper
Then I see it’s a pimp and his crack whore”
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and ‘Alfie’ - sample lyric:
“My little brother’s in his bedroom smoking weed,
I tell him he should get up cos it’s nearly half past three
He can’t be bothered cos he’s high on THC.
I ask him very nicely if he’d like a cup of tea,
I can’t even see him cos the room is so smoky.”
Anyway - I figure it’s sort of OK while they’re too little to be interested in the lyrics - but now that Willo is seven, I’ve started thinking I might have to have some cds which only come out after kid bedtime. Because what do you say when your kid asks you what a ‘crack whore’ is?
How do you other parentals handle this sort of thing?
Of course, the other option is that I grow up a bit and stop being so interested in pop culture and teenagey music - but let’s face it - it’s just not going to happen. Some part of me is forever fourteen.
