Monday, February 14, 2011

One of These Things is Not Like the Others...

Warning: I'm disgusted and the following may sound like a Soap Box post.

While watching the Today Show last week I saw an interview with Cee-Lo Green. It was during this interview that I learned who he is and that he has a song that as of today sits at #16 on the Billboard Top 100. Maybe you know of this song, I did not. Tyring to articulate my feelings about this song and its title is difficult. I'm appalled by it. Cee-Lo said his ten year old son is not allowed to listen to the song, and yet it pollutes the airways in which our kids listen. (Does he really think his 10 year old hasn't listened to the song? That his friends at school haven't talked about it?)

My thirteen year old daughter had heard this song on the radio and had heard the lyrics as "Forget You" but knew what the real lyrics were. When I asked her how she knew, she said kids at school have talked about it.

At the Grammy's on Sunday evening, Cee-Lo Green gave a performance of this song - with the MUPPETS. As in the Muppets that we associate with Sesame Street! We all trust that the Muppets would never teach our kids swear words, right? Except in addition to the implied F word, another swear word was also used during the performance.

This just makes me mad. Mad that we seem to have no standards, no boundaries, nothing is off limits. In fact we bring the guy who sings these words onto a network news show and gush over him. And now, we can associate the Muppets with singing lyrics and words we would punish our kids for using.

I have no idea why we struggle with so much disrespect in our culture. No idea at all.

I am aware there are many, many awful songs out there with horrific lyrics. I don't listen to that music and can avoid it fairly easily. The difference is that this song came at me through the network morning news and through a prime time network TV.

Yesterday I posted Love is Patient here.

2 comments:

  1. I did not watch the Grammys, have never heard of this "bozo" guy nor do I think I know the song...but guess what.... I bet if I heard the song I would know immediately which one it was!!! I could not agree more with you Sheri on this topic.....disgusts me! But truly does not surprise me in the world we live in today. Just think a mere 40 (?) years ago Elvis as banned from the Ed Sullivan Show because of his "risky" dance moves...hard to believe is it not??

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  2. Barb,
    So I kind of feel like my parents and grandparents saying things about today's music...and I also feel I need to say something because the language is so foul today. Cee-Lo Green is not the only one with the F word in a title of a song on the top 20 of the Billboard. Pink does as well.

    As a parent, I feel like there is so much out there that my kids are up against that I am completely unaware of - so I try to keep current so my kids dont feel like I just don't get it, that I would never understand how it is today.

    I think there are many wonderful and hopeful things about growing up today. I also think it is really hard to know and keep almost any boundaries today due to culture constantly invading every boundary that is out there.

    Soap box today.....

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