Dialing back on offensive lyrics

[CrazyCatLady]

I might come across as a bit of a prude here, but I don't like it when women are referred to as bitches or slags (or whatever terminology is in vogue) in songs.
I don't like the term Mother Fucker, and I dont like to hear that women are getting slapped around or otherwise abused, no matter how arty farty, expressive, or down with the black kids the author may think he is....and it is mostly in black rap, though Eminem did hold his end up for the white abusers.

I also think it's awful to hear young kids singing along with the lyrics, most of which they don't even understand as yet.
The only saving grace for oldies like me is....I can't understand most of the gangsta crap anyway...it's one instance where I'm glad the singers are not enunciating more clearly.

Lol, you are no prude and to be fair, what is typically thought of as grime and rap is not for the more 'musically' inclined ear. However, while I won't attempt to convince anyone (because taste is not a challenge), I have to defend its genre because I often think it's overlooked as an expressive art, due to the majority of it being misogynistic, ostentatious and violent. I tend to like songs more so than specific rappers, so if I was to actually recommend any of it as examples of the art form, it wouldn't be Eminem- it would be Manchild by Nenah Cherry, Black by Dave or Stormzy's Blinded by your Grace. Stories, not insults.
And yes, I agree- it is awful and sad to see young children copying the lyrics and emulating gangster rappers. However, I don't hold the music as responsible- it does come with a warning, so we have to look at why their parents are letting them listen to it and/or letting them access it and not monitoring or controlling influences on their behaviour. Porn is out there, but it doesn't mean children should be allowed to access it.

 

[Saphire]

Lol, you are no prude and to be fair, what is typically thought of as grime and rap is not for the more 'musically' inclined ear. However, while I won't attempt to convince anyone (because taste is not a challenge), I have to defend its genre because I often think it's overlooked as an expressive art, due to the majority of it being misogynistic, ostentatious and violent. I tend to like songs more so than specific rappers, so if I was to actually recommend any of it as examples of the art form, it wouldn't be Eminem- it would be Manchild by Nenah Cherry, Black by Dave or Stormzy's Blinded by your Grace. Stories, not insults.
And yes, I agree- it is awful and sad to see young children copying the lyrics and emulating gangster rappers. However, I don't hold the music as responsible- it does come with a warning, so we have to look at why their parents are letting them listen to it and/or letting them access it and not monitoring or controlling influences on their behaviour. Porn is out there, but it doesn't mean children should be allowed to access it.

Oh, if only all parents monitored their young kids viewing/ listening material.....I bet nowadays the majority of 11 year olds have seen porn in some form, it's a pity....I was still reading comics like Bunty and Judy till I was a teen.

I also love story telling in song, Billy Joel, George Micheal, Bowie, more recently Jack Savaretti, human drama in song without the mysoginy and disrespect.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Oh, if only all parents monitored their young kids viewing/ listening material.....I bet nowadays the majority of 11 year olds have seen porn in some form, it's a pity....I was still reading comics like Bunty and Judy till I was a teen.

I also love story telling in song, Billy Joel, George Micheal, Bowie, more recently Jack Savaretti, human drama in song without the mysoginy and disrespect.

Yeah, I agree and also, yeah- very sad about the amount of kids exposed to porn, more often than not because their parents are ignorant to the internet. Lack of parental controls or actual monitoring. Silly and dangerous.
I love all kinds of music and was (still am in a way) a big fan of George! He was a celebrity death that hit the heart. Amongst my prize possessions are my Wham! records I currently have a thing for Leon Bridges (blues; soul; a bit disco- no rap, swearing or controversial lyrics! Lol) and Lisa Hannigan (Irish folk).

Music of Irish origin, I find, have a way with 'controversial, but not offensive lyrics'. I used to listen to a lot of my grandmother's rebel songs- The Pogues and Dubliners especially. All those years of slating the English while retaining a sense of humour!

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

Give me fucking strength. I'm sure the world's going mad. I can even see Snow White and her seven kids from different fathers being made into a movie of diversity.

It's ok for Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B to flash their tripes while belting out WAP, or the delightful Sophia Urista to urinate on a fan on stage, yet a song 30 years old with the lyric "one less white nigger" gets everyone reaching for the smelling salts.

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

Now that Delilah by Tom Jones is being 'cancelled' because it incites violence towards women, I was wondering what harmless old pop song will be next on the hit list? One that springs to mind is that jokey Beatles song which goes something like "Bang bang Maxwell's silver hammer came down on her head, bang bang Maxwell's hammer made sure that she was dead"...

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

This one is threatening mass-murder!

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

They're threatening to kill the king! .. . . . . . . . . Treason!

 

[LadyOnArooftop]

I'm reminded that 'Fairytale of New York' is on the banned list.
On BBC radio, “you cheap, lousy f****t” is replaced with “you’re cheap and you’re haggard”, which was taken from a live MacColl performance.

 

[WickedPerdition]

Or, how about Napoleon XIVth's.. They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Ha?
The rantings of a schizophrenic romantic with great insight into his mental breakdown.
Surely a bit OTT in this day and age.