That being said, I was riding to work this morning listening to a repeat of local talk radio program "Bob and the Showgram", in between replays of clips from last weeks show they play some music. I don't care for today's pop music for one thing, and the other I am working outside this week so to beat the heat I left the house an hour and half early so maybe that contributed to why this song rubbed me the wrong way. I came home and gave it a listen again and came to the realization that I was right to be angry, or as Mr. Jim Munden likes to say, I had some righteous indignation.
The song in question is Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.). If you haven't heard this song go google the lyrics, I'll wait here while you check that out. Got it? Not yet? Okay, I'll hold.
Alrighty then, shocked? I was. If this song was intended for an adult audience it would still be bad, but adults can make their own decisions. The problem with this song is it's targeted to middle and high school girls. I have two daughters in middle school and it burns me up that a song that is marketed to their age group is talking about waking up to a stranger in your bed, reeking of alcohol, drinking yourself so stupid you black out, not knowing if you have a hickey or a bruise, running and swimming naked, and having ménage a trios, or since I put the rest of the lyrics in my words why hold back on that, having sex with two people at the same time. Just what our young women need right?
I'm a Christian so I believe sex should be reserved for a man and woman who are married, but let's even throw that out and let those who believe in "free love" try to defend the fact that Katy Perry is not just singing about pre material sex, she's more than likely singing about unprotected sex, and with the teen pregnancy rate and disease rate what it is, who can defend that? True she never said go and have unprotected sex, but if you "blacked out" and have "a stranger in your bed", I'm guessing you didn't make a run to the seven eleven rest room's family planning center either.
Living with a wife and two middle school aged girls I often have the experience of the car sing along. If you don't know what I'm talking about you should experience it at least once in your life. It's where the females of the species find the lamest possible song, which they call "catchy" and sing it at the top of their lungs. I may be saying this in a sarcastic manner, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Except when you have this young girls sing about having a ménage a trios not even knowing what it means. These kids are so dulled to this type of language they will sing about be so drunk that they black out not even realizing the gravity of what they just sung. Before the Lord delivered me I have been so drunk I blacked out, and trust me, it's not something I want to have a sing along about.
Maybe I should cut Katy some slack, but I see her as a role model and some one who markets themselves to kids. Don't agree? Why does she sing about being a teenage dream? Why does she make her cds come out with scratch and sniff cotton candy scents? Has she not seen teen and pre teen girls singing along with every lyric on her "Good Morning America" appearances (to "I Kissed a Girl" no less, and I will save talking about that now so you can call me a homophobic bigot later.) Finlay did she not go to Sesame Street to try to temp Elmo by showing way to much cleavage? Yea when you go on Sesame Street you can't say you're not trying to get kids to buy your music. Charles Barkley once made a great argument for celebs not being role models, but still he was wrong, when you're in the public eye like it or not you're a role model.
I'm not going to call for a boycott of the radio stations playing this song, that's just not my style, but I will ask if any radio exec. sees this will you please thing about what you're playing, or think about next week's episode of Sesame Street.
This week show is brought to you by the letters S, T, and D. Prairie Dawn wakes up with one of the unnamed (stranger?) puppets in her bed. Bert and Ernie try move off the street to some where that they can form a civil union, and Big Bird drops in Mr. Hooper's store to try to buy some condoms.
Don't laugh, our kids may not be getting that message on Sesame Street, but their radios and tvs are sending it, loud and clear. It's our job to help them rise above what is now the norm.
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