a peek inside the fishbowl

25 Oct, 2005

Music, and language that may offend

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life

I have little sympathy for parents who complain about their children’s music.

They complain that it drives them crazy. They’ve listened to “A Chipmunk’ Christmas” twenty times in a row on a hot July afternoon. Well whose fault is that? :)

I’ve been there too. I admit, it’s a tough situation, especially since the CD shuffle often occurs when the parent is behind the wheel of a vehicle. Should a parent (a) give in and play the damn song for the 21st time (b) not give in, and become partially responsible for WWIII erupting in the backseat or (c) just drive off a cliff and end it once and for all?

If you, the parent, is sick and tired of your kid’s music, there’s no one to blame but yourself. You are the one who probably bought it in the first place. You are the one controlling the CD player. You’re the one giving in! I believe driver’s rights trump everyone else’s. I refuse to listen to the stuff that annoys me.

But be forewarned, this can totally backfire. Take for example, our darling daughter Sarah’s most frequent request is (in her words) “the Tick Tock song.” Translation: “What You Waiting For?” by Gwen Stefani. Here’s the Wikipedia entry about it. And in case you don’t know the song, these are the lyrics.

Both Emma and Sarah don’t quite understand it yet. They were talking to me about the chorus the other day. It’s my favourite part of the song. It goes like this: “Look at your watch now/ you’re still a super-hot female/ you’ve got your million-dollar contract/ and they’re all waiting for your hot track”.

“It reminds me of turkeys,” said Emma thoughtfully. I’m still not quite sure what she meant by that.

My worry is that the girls are going to repeat the more offensive parts of the song. Specifically the part at the very end where Gwen says “Take a chance you stupid ho.”

[Aside: I am puzzled that on the lyrics site linked above it is spelled “hoe” – when it’s clearly supposed to be HO and I can reliably assume that is NOT calling herself a gardening tool.]

The singer is actually talking to herself. According to the Wiki entry: “The lyrics capture how Stefani has conflicting feelings in the form of an inner dialogue with herself, with the more confident Stefani (who sings in a tough, strident tone) giving the nervous one (squeakier and higher) some tough love: “Take a chance ‘cuz you might grow/ take a chance, you stupid ho”. The nervous Stefani sings in the first person, while the confident one responds in the second person: “Naturally, I’m worried if I do it alone…” while the other responds, “Who really cares, ‘cuz it’s your life, you never know, it could be great”.”

Anyway, all this aside, what if my sweet daughters start calling people a stupid ho? Or worse, their teacher, principal, or their grandmothers! I just keep hoping they won’t repeat what they don’t understand. I refuse to go back to Farmer in the Dell, but perhaps it’s time to cull the music selection a bit? ;)

What are your favourite tunes for the car? I know of at least one little boy out there who likes Green Day. The girls really like the Minority Song by GD. In fact, I expect them to yell “down with the moral majority” from atop the playground slide any day now.

 

[comments lost]


No Responses to "Music, and language that may offend"

comment form:

Archives

Me and my pet projects

Ottawa Bucket list

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


  • Gretchen Humphrey: I had a beautiful bee& birdbath filled with a solar fountain and dozens of antique marbles that were suddenly disappearing. At first I thought my
  • Jinjer: I am sobbing reading this post. And you're right, companion is not enough. Little furry treasured gifts that they are. Thanks for sharing cutie-pi
  • Karen: Dear Andrea, Mark and your daughters I am so very sad for your family xxx Piper was/is my favourite Instagram post. You shared with us so intimately
  • Christina Banuelos: Thank you for sharing Pipers life with us. Your posts of Piper brought me joy. Every time I see your post and see what kind of mischief Piper was gett
  • Carla Slocum: I am sitting here yet again crying at your loss. We have known that loss with Asta the WFT our first pup but now have the enormous gift of Stryker the
  • Janelle Brown: Dear Andrea Thank you for sharing Piper’s story with her followers. I empathise with your grief and emptiness as I lost my 14 year old Westie last
  • Natasha McReynolds-Nicholl: My god reading this is heartbreaking. December 1st was the as you describe longest day of my life, we lost out beautiful WFT hazel. Pipers final momen

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you'd like to contact me, please use this form. If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

 


Connect with me at these places too!

Still calling it Twitter