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Strollerderby
Kidz Bop: Do You Censor Your Kid’s Music?
Lots of kids, my own included, get their first introduction to popular music via Kidz Bop. Each Kidz Bop CD is a compilation of current hit songs sung by children instead of the original artist. The first one, which was released in 2000 and went gold in the U.S., included renditions of Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did it Again” and Christina Aguilera’s “What A Girl Wants.”
About a week ago, Kidz Bop #18 was released and, because the lineup includes songs by some of pop’s reigning bad girls, the Kidz Bop song editors had to work overtime to sanitize the lyrics to make them appropriate for little ears. Lady Gaga had to lose her cigarettes and drinks in “Telephone” and Madonna becomes a pop star instead of a virgin in Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister.” Snoop Dog’s entire contribution to Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” was dropped and Cascada’s “Evacuate The Dancefloor” feels really close instead of like an overdose.
That’s all well and good as Kidz Bop songs aren’t just being recorded for children, they are being sung by children. But it still makes me laugh a little bit to see the lengths we go to in order to protect our kids from hearing lyrics that might be too adult for them. Back in the late 1970′s when I was singing my heart out to Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight,” I don’t think it ever occurred to my mother that perhaps I shouldn’t be going on about such things.
Today’s music may seem a lot more risque than what was popular back then, but is it really? The top songs on the radio when I was ten-years-old included Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” ZZ Top’s “Tush” and Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You.”
And correct me if I’m wrong, but I am pretty sure Devo isn’t singing about making meringue pie in their 1980 hit “Whip It,” which regularly plays on Music Choice’s Kidz Only radio.
I don’t worry too much about censoring the music my tween listens to as she’s pretty good at censoring herself. She either doesn’t understand the iffy lyrics or, if she does, won’t listen to it. After hearing Katy Perry sing “B” word in “Hot and Cold,” her face turned bright red and she asked me to delete it from her iPod. Of course, I did.
Do you worry about the lyrics in popular songs? Do you censor your kid’s music?
Image: frotzed2/Flickr
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[...] Kidz Bop: Do You Censor Your Kid’s Music [...]
Parenting Products You Probably Don't Need | Strollerderby commented on Jul 28 10 at 2:22 pm[...] about the myriad of radio hits sung in praise of straight-up makin’ love? As SD blogger Sandy recently suggested, there’s really nothing new under the sun when it comes to today’s provocative pop. [...]
Is Music by Lady Gaga Bad for Kids? | Strollerderby commented on Aug 04 10 at 4:27 pmJZ commented on Jul 28 10 at 12:07 pmI remember being maybe 12 and buying NWA’s cassette tape! It was about as vulger as you can get.
Its really not an issue with my kids yet, they listen to what I listen to and if its not appropriate I just change the channel. After a certin age you cant really control it but belive me they would not be buying NWA at age 12! LOL
Jessica commented on Jul 28 10 at 1:42 pmThanks to Guitar Hero my son has been singing “Talk Dirty to me” since he was 2…i thought it was so cute to hear him sing it at first but 2 years later i dont know… and thanks to the Kidz Bop commericals he always wants the newest cd…but we are a rock and roll family he is bound to hear something in the music we listen to we try to censor his music to an extent but we aren’t crazy about it. If we don’t make a big deal about it he won’t. Though sometimes he picks up on “bad words” You know that new song i want to be a millionaire so freaking bad… he likes to point out to me that they say a bad word “freaking” haha …. as he gets older we may have to watch more but for now he listens to what we listen to…
Donna commented on Jul 28 10 at 2:50 pmMy analytical, almost 3 year old boy spends the entire car ride asking me to explain all the song lyrics. “What’s this song called?” “What are they singing about?” “Why are they saying _____?” To help my taxed tired brain continue to concentrate on driving, I’ve started listening exclusively to a set play list of Dan Zane, Milkshake, and They Might Be Giants. It makes the questions a bit easier to respond to :-)
Ri-chan commented on Jul 28 10 at 5:27 pmI don’t censor my son’s music or book choices.
JBoogie commented on Jul 28 10 at 7:22 pmMy husband learned all the lyrics to Warren G’s “Regulators” CD when he was in elementary school. It’s still one of his favorite CD’s. No censoring in this house! :-)
Lucky commented on Jul 29 10 at 12:44 pmI listened to some crazy stuff when I was a kid, TLC, Alanis Morrisette, and 311 were among my favorites, and I had NO idea what was going on those lyrics… I just realized the other day what DMB’s Crash into Me was about! So maybe it doesn’t matter… but I have such a different perspective now… Oy!
baconsmom commented on Jul 29 10 at 12:51 pmI censor my daughter’s music: I won’t let her listen to the vomitous dreck that is “Kidz Bop” and its ilk. She gets real music, from Bach to U2 to Catholic chant, but she doesn’t get anything that doesn’t have musical merit. Maybe I’m a snob, but I really feel that the dumbed-down, off-key screaming of children is nothing that anyone should call “music”.
Beth BC commented on Jul 29 10 at 1:19 pmSandy,I used to turn off the radio when an inappopriate song came on. With the range of great family music (or “kindie rock” as the case may be) out there, you can find a lot of great tunes that won’t have you cringing. Please contact me if you want to learn more.
Huh? commented on Jul 29 10 at 1:47 pmAll KISS all the time. There’s nothing offensive or suggestive about any of those lyrics!
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