My reviews are not meant to replace your good judgment!! Please be an active parent, not a robot!! If you disagree with me, I'd love to hear your opinion. Send comments, questions and suggestions for material to be reviewed to: Mwuggazer@redeemerbirmingham.org.

My Ratings System:

Although I normally review individual songs, in honor of the mad rush to buy stuff in celebration of Christ’s birth, this month, the titles listed are for CD, not the single. 

STOCKING STUFFERS

Various Artists / Wow 2008 / ++

This disc is at the top of the list because if you are looking for ONE Christian CD to buy for a teen or pre-teen that you know they’ll like EVEN IF they aren’t into Christian music, this is the one. 

Various Artists / Songs for Worship: Country / ++

See above, for kids who like country music. 

Flyleaf / Flyleaf / ++

This is a brand new band that vaulted to the top of my favorite list.  Perfect for kids who like something a little edgier, more alternative. 

Relient K / Let it Snow Baby / ++

Relient K is probably the premier Christian rock band for teens.  This is their new CD, out just in time for Christmas!  Yeah!

Steven Curtis Chapman / This Moment / ++

Chapman is one of Christian Music’s perennial favorites.  That’s because he makes good music.  His latest disc just came out in time for Christmas!  Yeah!

Casting Crowns / The Altar and the Door / ++

One of the best Christian discs of the year.  They are musicians’ musicians.  Phenomenal.

Timbaland / Apologize / M

This is the only secular artist on the Stocking Stuffer list.  What does that say?  Good stuff.  Clean lyrics.  Even the video is tasteful and clean.  I’m a fan. 

LUMP OF COAL LIST

Britney Spears / Gimme More / XX

I don’t know the legal description of what an unfit mother is, but when they take your kids and give them to Kevin Federline, that’s low.   Britney put an exclamation point on that by releasing her latest single and video, ‘Gimme more’ in which she plays a stripper in a strip club.  Maybe that’s included in ‘unfit mother’.  She’s also unfit to be a role model, and her music is unfit for human consumption. 

Kid Rock / Rock and Roll Jesus / XXX

Don’t mess with the name of my God, man.  Make your contribution to the vileness of a fallen creation if you have to, pal, but don’t mess with the name of my God. 

Chris Brown / Kiss Kiss / M

The single, Kiss Kiss is pretty tame lyrically.  The music is pretty god hip-hop.  The video is definitely for mature audiences only, although it doesn’t push the envelope.  The problem is that Brown’s other material is far worse, and I wouldn’t want someone to become a Chris Brown fan over this song. 

Shot at Love With Tila Tequila / MTV Show / XXX

If you still have MTV available in your house for your kids to watch without parental controls . . . I beg you to seriously reconsider your strategy.  MTV has a hot new reality show called Shot at Love with Tila Tequila.  The show is red hot.  They play it constantly.  It’s on 3-4 times a day.  The star, Tila Tequila, got her fame as the My Space poster girl.  She gained notoriety by amassing more ‘friends’ on MySpace than anyone else.  It’s in the millions.  She did it by shrewd marketing.  By that I mean she used her body.  By posting highly sexual content, she attracted attention and got famous on MySpace.  She has no talent.  She does not sing, act or dance.  She simply sells her sexuality.  So of course, who is going to hire her?  MTV. 

The premise of the show is that a group of people are staying with Tila at a resort for a week.  They each get a Shot at Love, meaning they are all trying to be the one that she will choose as her next lover.  The kicker is that half the people are men and half are women.  Tila is bisexual.  The show features Tila going on dates with and kissing both men and woman.  Participants talk openly about homosexuality. 

Parents beware, this is not something MTV runs at midnight, or over night.  It runs 3-4 times a day.  The prime position is at 2:30 in the afternoon.  What time do your teenagers get out of high school?  About 2:00?  Do you think it’s just random that Shot at Love is coming on just as they get home?  Or are they making money hand over fist at the expense of the moral degradation of our teens?