The radio used to be a form of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. Before television and computers, the family would crowd around and listen to music and radio thrillers. The very thought of vulgar language over the air was unknown. Needless to say, much has changed over the course of the century, making Top 40 music not for the faint of heart. It has now become very popular for music artists to place many sexual innuendos into their music. Recent songs that come to mind are “Rude Boy” by Rhianna, “Lollipop” by Lil’ Wayne, “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent, “Starstrukk” by 3OH!3 and “If You Seek Amy” by Britney Spears.
Many listeners have complained to the FCC about these innuendos, but it claims it is unable to edit the material unless there is a direct sexual or explicit reference located in the lyrics of the song. For instance in “Rude Boy”, Rhianna makes some very risqué comments, but doesn’t once use the word “sex” or any inappropriate word. According to FCC guidelines, censoring a song without swears or sexual terms is a violation of the artist’s rights under the First Amendment, which endorses freedom of speech. So the question arises: should the FCC, a government organization, make an amendment to their policy and attempt to censor clearly sexual innuendos over the airwaves?
Personally, I think that some songs should be pulled from radio broadcasting. The radio doesn’t have ratings like a movie or a video game; younger children can hear these songs in a restaurant, on the bus or any other public place. I’ll admit, I like to listen to rap and explicit music, but that is in the privacy of my own home. What does an artist have to sing that will put them over the line? It seems that they keep coming up with new ways to bend around the rules so their music gets played over the radio and enters the ears of those who shouldn’t hear it.
Nice post elliot.. yea even if they say to take that out of their songs, theyll just find another way to add sexual inuendos
ReplyDeleteI belive that since curse words are not used, its okay for songs to be played with sexual inuedos. There's no way a kid is going to sit down and break down the song word for word to understand what the artist is talking about. On the other hand if you take out the content (sexual inuedos)from the song, then it defeats the meaning of the song, that some people find amusing.The thing is that there's so many genres of songs or radios you can listen to, so its a matter of choice, to pick which type best suites you.
ReplyDeleteI have younger cousins, and they have sung some songs on the radio, and sometimes it is funny because they do not know what they are singing about. Also, when helping my firned babysit, the five year old girl starting to sing "My Humps" byt the Black Eyed Peas, which is a song referring to sex. Even though hearing a five year old sing this was funny, it was wrong for a five year old to be saying those words, even if she did not know what they meant. I do not think the radio will stop playing these songs, because these songs are the reason why radio stations are so popular. Instead, it is up to parents to monitor what stations they play in the car if they want to protect their children from hearing them.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I enjoy listening to rap music and top 40, and most of the songs have inappropriate references, this has always angered me, but I specifically remember listening to Starstrukk for the first time and being so offended that I simply could not listen to it. It's not only inappropriate, its disrespectful, more specifically towards women, and it makes people think its OK to disrespect people like this and not have values. It sets a bad example. If there is inappropriate music you enjoy listening to, the radio should not be the place to find it. You can download the song, put it on your iPod, anything really, just don't put it on the radio.
ReplyDeleteI think the radio is still a good form of entertainment for the whole family. However, we should know to select our choices. There are many kind of stations and different songs displayed on them. It is our decision to allow them to be part of our children's education especially. There are many songs that have many sexual innuendos that they sing and later on they repeat. Furthermore, these sexual words become part of their vocabulary. Even adults are exposed to this risky habit of repeating the lyrics of these songs. And adults sometimes are unable to fix their own lexis. What can we expect of the young people?
ReplyDeleteIn short, we should be responsible. If the radio does not change its policies or if there is not a legal restriction to these inappropriate songs it is our responsibility to make a choice. What is your choice? It’s up to you.