June 2006 WUGGIE'S MUSIC, MEDIA AND MORE!
My Review System:
++ Patently Christian
+ Conforms to Christian morals and value
M Mature content
X Mild objectionable content
XX Objectionable content
XXX Offensive content
Red Hot Chili Peppers / Stadium Arcadium / X
As I'm writing this, the CD hasn't been released yet, only the single: Dani California. Of course, as you are reading this, the CD has been out for 3 weeks.) Unless of course you are so smart that you check the website: www.RedeemerBirmingham.org and read my column, which is usually posted about a month before it arrives in your mailbox in The Lamp. RHCP is their usual edgy self on the single. Although there are no bad words in the single, it would be out of character for the CD to be without them. The single still has it's problems though, as it worships the seedy rebel side of California that attracts loners and restless souls from all 50 states. The band's image is about as edgy as it comes as well, so this is probably only for more mature kids.
Ashley Parker Angel / Ashley Parker Angel / M
Former boy band (O-Town) member Ashley Parker is creating a big buzz with the first single from his first solo disc: Let You Go. It is heavily Emo inspired melodic pop rock. Parker sings about a bad relationship full of his mistakes. For most kids this means no problem. I worry, however about the whole 'Emo' trend. 'Emo' is short for 'emotional', which is really code for depressed and moody. If you're from my generation, see: Morrissey. (Kids today think they invented this stuff. Ha!) Of course, the debate is the chicken and the egg - does emo music cause kids to feel depressed, or do depressed kids gravitate towards emo music? My take is that the situation is complex, and both phenomenon exist. Bottom line: If your kid's iPod is full of Ashley Parker Angel and bands like Taking Back Sunday, Senses Fail, and Hawthorne Heights, it could be a red flag. On the other hand, if some of these bands are mixed in with Kelly Clarkston, Dixie Chicks and Natasha Bedingfield, then no problem.
T.I. King / T.I. King / XXX
Just another rapper with his own slang and only enough creativity to assemble the same dirty words in a different order than the last guy. The single, "What You Know" is a top iTunes download.
Dem Franchize Boys / On Top Of Our Game / XXX
Sorry to sound like I'm a one trick pony this month, but these are the songs kids are listening to. This band's beats are so catchy, they had no problem crossing over right into rich suburban kid's iPods. Last week I asked a girl in our youth group why she would listen to a band that berates women so strongly. She couldn't answer. Is the music so good that you are willing to compromise everything you believe in? Hmmmm. . . .
Pearl Jam / Pearl Jam ft. World Wide Suicide / M
Sorry, I never really liked Pearl Jam personally. Mostly just a musical taste thing. The band has always been known for singing about more mature subjects than just being in love (or losing it). In this latest release, Pearl Jam threatens to grow up for real. I have to say I like it. The disc comes out May 2, so all I can do is review the single, World Wide Suicide. Political activism is their new bag. On WWS, the band rails against war and selfish politics. I might not agree with everything they have to say, but I'd rather hear them denounce war then women.
Rob Thomas / Ever The Same / M
Not content with being frontman of the band, Matchbox 20, Rob Thomas is hitting the charts under his solo name, but sounding every bit of his old band. That, of course, isn't bad. Matchbox made great music that touched the heart without being objectionable, and that's a welcome holdover to Thomas. Good stuff.
Gavin DeGraw / Follow Through / M
Gavin is a musician's musician, plying his craft as if he would do it exactly this way in his room at night even if nobody even knew he was a musician - just to do it. The opposite of the flash-in-the-pan, get-rich-quick, just-to-make-a-buck, junk put out by TI King or Dem Boys, DeGraw (get this) actually turned down record deals for years, playing clubs in New York City, perfecting his craft until he thought he was ready. If you saw that in a movie you wouldn't believe it. His lyrics are so simple and yet define human emotions so perfectly, you wonder why you didn't put it that way. They are also clean, with nothing objectionable at all.
Good Sports Gone Bad / X
This isn't the title of a band or a song. I'm talking about the way our community approaches high school sports. Read this story -
On a dreary, rainy day, I woke up coughing. Oh Great! I thought, Today is the day of the conference championship, and I'm sick!
Our golf team was one of the best in the state and favored to win. After the first few holes, I was playing well, although my energy was beginning to sputter. By the ninth hole, my physical and mental edge had disappeared. As I reported my score at the turn, I broke down and cried.
The rival team's coach knew I was upset. He hugged me cracked some jokes and comforted me. He encouraged me to persevere, to keep going. Two and a half hours rolled by. I had stuck it out and finished the tournament. It definitely wasn't my best performance, but my team had managed to win.
The rival team's coach had knowingly given up his team's chance to pull an upset by deciding to help me. He forfeited an early advantage in order to be a coach - even to a player on the opposing team. Through his actions, this unexpected mentor taught me what is really important - not winning or losing a game, but showing Christ's love on earth. - Katie Taylor, 18, Talbott, Tennessee
Quite often I hear parents complain that the coaches their kids spend hours with every day (more than they sometimes spend with their parents!) are poor role models and sometimes not even decent human beings. I have to wonder if the purpose of high school sports should really be winning. Should it even be 'to have a good time'? Shouldn't it be first and foremost an opportunity for us to rightly raise the next generation?