February 2005 WUGGIE'S MUSIC, MEDIA AND MORE!
WUGGIE'S MUSIC, MEDIA AND MORE!
Ratings System:
++ Christian - made specifically by Christians for Christians
+ Secular - but contains nothing offensive to most Christians, probably made by Christians trying to exert influence in secular media.
M Mature content. Not necessarily offensive, but parents should be careful before allowing exposure to children and pre-teens.
X Mature content. For mature teens, firm in their convictions and morals, who have received much parental guidance.
XX Contains very mature, problematic content. Parents should seriously consider restricting exposure to teens.
XXX Completely offensive. Not only should teens be restricted, but adults may want to question their own exposure.
Remember, my reviews are strictly my opinion, and no substitute for your good judgment
Please send me an Email (Mwuggazer@RedeemerBirmingham.org) or call me (248-644-4010) with requests for reviews!!
Cake / Pressure Chief / X
Cake has been given the 'consummate college band' banner to carry for the early 2000's. Like REM and Dave Matthews before them, they are blessed musicians and songwriters whose appeal grabs the creative college types and is lost on the pop radio set. Like their predecessors, pop radio will eventually find them, and maybe even with this, their latest, disc. They sing about life, sometimes with a cynical vantage, sometimes from a 'devil may care' vantage, but always out to expose hypocrisy and materialism and the other enemies of idealism. Parents should love songs like End of the Movie which exposes suicide as a terrible waste. They don't push the envelope, they don't have a violent word to say, and they don't even promote casual sex (rare for a college band). I was tempted to use the M rating, but ultimately decided on a single X, because they use the 'F word' once on the song Carbon Monoxide in attempt to emphasize how upset they are about air pollution.
Green Day / American Idiot / XX
I have a problem. The title track from Green Day's latest CD is about the manipulation of society by the media, a favorite theme of mine. The problem is that they use raw and abusive language to do it. They claim that television is responsible for the 'dumbing down' of America, and yet they can't intelligently discuss the topic without four letter words. I guess they've proven themselves right. Here's the only clean and intelligent verses I could find in the song: "Don't want to be an American idiot. / Don't want a nation that's under the new media. / Everything isn't meant to be okay. / Television dreams of tomorrow." I have to agree with them that television encourages us to pursue a life that is free from pain, error, grief and struggle: a happy life. A life in which everything is ok. To that end, TV creates an unrealistic dream of tomorrow, and unrealistic expectations for us. How much grief exists in this world simply because of our unfulfilled expectations that we wouldn't have if it weren't for television? So, I agree with Green Day in theory, but not in the their implementation! The rest of the disc lives by the same motto: thoughtful themes spoken in dark and edgy language. All too often I would assume Green Day listeners are missing the point completely and basking only in the anger and hate. Here's the test if your teen is into Green Day: Sit down with a copy of the lyrics to "Jesus of Suburbia" and ask, "what is this song about?" If your teen is smart and mature enough to handle this conversation, then he or she is smart and mature enough to listen to the music. It might be a great conversation starter in which you and your teen find things you both agree on and can relate to.
Ciara / Goodies / M
I can't believe it. A disc full of hot hip hop, including guest vocals from Missy Elloitt (One of the raunchiest artists I know) and yet it is amazingly clean. Ciara gets close to the line, but never really goes there. She sings about all the favorite themes of women in hip hop - female empowerment, dancing, etc., and she does it without using any four letter words or sexual innuendo. Congrats Ciara. Now the bad news. Don't watch the video. It seems that Ciara's record company, LaFace, didn't get the memo about her intentions when they put out a video that goes where Ciara's lyrics don't. Moral of the story: If you're a record company, don't bother MTV with videos that aren't highly sexual.
Kelly Clarkson / Breakaway / X
I know some people are going to give me grief for giving Kelly Clarkson an X. After all, how much more squeaky clean can you get? True, Kelly's never heard a bad word, much less said one, and she never sings about sex, much less encourages casual sex. SO what's the big deal? Let's look at some lines from her latest hit, Breakaway, featured on her latest CD, "Breakaway", and on the "Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack".
I just stared out my window Dreaming of a could-be And if I'd end up happy I would pray (I would pray)
But something felt so wrong here So I pray (I would pray) I could breakaway
C'mon Mark! She's talking about prayer! And you gave her an X! Let's look at exactly what she is praying for. In these verses we see that she is not happy, and she wants happiness and happy endings. In the following verses she sings about the chance to love, to wish, and to do wonderful things. While there is nothing wrong with these things, God's Word teaches us that they aren't the right use of prayer. Let's look at some Bible verses:
"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," Matthew 5:44.
'Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matthew 26:41
"We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you," 2 Thessalonians 1:12
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." James 5:16
What I fear from Kelly Clarkson is that she perpetuates a false sense of spirituality in young girls. Kelly's spirituality has to do with rainbows and palm trees and fast trains, and her idea of God is a grandfather figure who is going to make all her dreams come true. Of course, when the reality of life catches up to these false ideas and expectations, God becomes a let down and not real. In God's Word, we see people praying for others, showing concern for the oppressed and marginalized, confessing and repenting, and praising God for who He is even in the midst of suffering and sin. There is no hint in 'Breakaway' that Kelly is eager to praise God for who He is even when things are going well, much less when things might not work out the way she dreams.
According to Reuter's News Service, the percentage of people who will get a sexually transmitted disease (STD) by age 25 is now at an astounding 50%!! (So much for 'safe-sex'!) That means that there is a 50% chance that your teen will have an STD by age 25. Sociologists tell us that one of the main reasons is that the overwhelming majority of parents hear a statistic like that and shrug it off thinking, "Yea, but not my kid." I would propose the opposite response: Panic! Ok, not crazy emotional panic that inhibits clear thinking and right action. I'm talking about an attitude that says, "This is as serious of a problem as it gets, right up there with drinking and driving, and I have to do everything I can to protect and educate my teen." The solution is seizing every opportunity to talk with them about the subject. Use TV shows, ads, Friday nights, school dances, and new boyfriends as excuses to talk about it. It's important to take their mental temperature often, to see what their opinion and attitude is currently on the issue of premarital sex. Passing on of values is something that is done over a period of 18 years through repetition and consistency.
American media cultivates a false reality in our society that there are no appreciable consequences to pre-marital sexual activity. Casual sex is associated with fun, pleasure, self-esteem, and good times. Unfortunately, the reality for half the population is that casual sex is associated with pain, frustration, doctor's visits, humiliation, and quite often: Lying to sexual partners about their history. Don't blame the American media for cultivating this false reality. By watching the shows, and paying for the movies and listening to the music, we are asking them to cultivate this false reality for us. Now who is to blame?