Should music be edited at school dances?

That's a tough one. I personally find the rampant pornography in music a turn off, but hey, I can turn it off. It might work better to not play the song at all instead of playing a sanitized version that is ripe for ridicule.

I never understood why we censor music in the first place. I guess parents deny the inevitable and think they can protect their childrens ears forever. I don't think kids can avoid hearing bad words so i don;t think its a problem for them to hear it at school dances. They may come home with some questions but as long as you embrace those questions and don't punish them for asking i don't think its such a big deal

If it were only bad words, I would agree with that. But having heard the songs mentioned, I think it's a bit more than that. I agree that we can't keep them from hearing it, but what does it say if we play it at school functions? Isn't that a sort of endorsement? What if some kids find it offensive -- and I'd bet that at least a couple might. I don't even think the radio is allowed to play them unedited.

Yes, your are right freeduck, the radio can only play them edited. The one arguement that I have for playing them is that then you are endorsing these lyrics. Not only are the lyrics very graphic regarding sex, but many of them degrade women. I think that bothers at least as much as the sexual descriptions.

Granted these high schoolers are listening to the unedited versions somewhere - downloaded over the internet - even if parents are not allowing their kids to purchase these unedited CDs or their friends have them. However, by allowing them to be played where you may have authority (i.e. school sponsored events) are you then saying, yeah these lyrics are o-k. Go ahead my sweet 16 daughter and give your high school boyfriend a BJ.

Here are the lyrics if anyone cares to see them.....

[50 Cent]
I take you to the candy shop
I'll let you lick the lollypop
Go 'head girl, don't you stop
Keep goin 'til you hit the spot (whoa)
[Olivia]
I'll take you to the candy shop
Boy one taste of what I got
I'll have you spending all you got
Keep going 'til you hit the spot (whoa)

[Verse 1: 50 Cent]
You can have it your way, how do you want it
You gon' back that thing up or should i push up on it
Temperature rising, okay lets go to the next level
Dance floor jam packed, hot as a teakettle
I'll break it down for you now, baby it's simple
If you be a nympho, I'll be a nympho
In the hotel or in the back of the rental
On the beach or in the park, it's whatever you into
Got the magic stick, I'm the love doctor
Have your friends teasin you 'bout how sprung I gotcha
Wanna show me how you work it baby, no problem
Get on top then get to bouncing round like a low rider
I'm a seasoned vet when it come to this ****
After you work up a sweat you can play with the stick
I'm tryin to explain baby the best way I can
I melt in your mouth girl, not in your hands (ha ha)

[Chorus]

[Bridge: 50 Cent & Olivia]
Girl what we do (what we do)
And where we do (and where we do)
The things we do (things we do)
Are just between me and you (oh yeah)

[Verse 2: 50 Cent]
Give it to me baby, nice and slow
Climb on top, ride like you in the rodeo
You ain't never heard a sound like this before
Cause I ain't never put it down like this
Soon as I come through the door she get to pullin on my zipper
It's like it's a race who can get undressed quicker
Isn't it ironic how erotic it is to watch em in thongs
Had me thinking 'bout that ass after I'm gone
I touch the right spot at the right time
Lights on or lights off, she like it from behind
So seductive, you should see the way she winds
Her hips in slow-mo on the floor when we grind
As Long as she ain't stoppin, homie I aint stoppin
Drippin wet with sweat man its on and popping
All my champagne campaign, bottle after bottle its on
And we gon' sip til every bubble in the bottle is gone

[Chorus 2x]
[Chorus: 50 Cent & Olivia]
[50 Cent]
I take you to the candy shop
I'll let you lick the lollypop
Go 'head girl, don't you stop
Keep goin 'til you hit the spot (whoa)
[Olivia]
I'll take you to the candy shop
Boy one taste of what I got
I'll have you spending all you got
Keep going 'til you hit the spot (whoa)

I think they should just play the edited version. That way the parents are happy that there aren't any bad words being played by the DJ, and the kids are happy that they get to shout profanities. Seems like a good compromise. Besides, the more that parents censor music, the more kids will want to listen to it.

Yes, I think it should. I attended a football homecoming game last fall and all that was played before the start of the game was R Kelly. That's the singer/performer who videotaped himself having lewd nasty sex with a fourteen year old girl. Playing his CD, from start to finish it seemed, turned me off completely and it doesn't matter, IMO, how popular he is. Why promote a foul ass man like that at a college homecoming game? Disgusting.

So you are saying ban all music from anyone who has commited a wrong doing.

I.E.Michael Jackson

Just because the person does something wrong doesn't mean we should edit muscial talent.

Don't hate on R. Kelly. Yes what he did was terrible but you know you love his Worlds greatest song

I am a giant.
I am a egale.
Oh I am a lion down in the jungle
I am a marching band
I am the people
I am heavin' head
I am a hero
If any one asks you who I am just stand up tall look them in the face and say..

I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that moutain deep up high.
Hey you made it
I'm the worlds greatest
I'm that little bit of hope in my backs against the rope I can feel it.
I'm the worlds greatest.


Sing it with me now.

Somehow I don't think that's the song they played at the homecoming game.

Did you read the lyrics I posted? It is about the lyrics, not the person.

That does sound good fred. You know the kids are listening to it - singing it, etc. You just don't want to say you approve of such behavior. By playing the edited version you are voicing your disapproval without taking away the kids fun.

I was referring to this statement

Oops...sorry discreet.....

Es no problemo

This is stupid.

The children know the word. The children use the word. What do the censorers hope to accomplish?

What the puck are you talking about?

I assume that you are talking to me.

My point is that the censoring of songs for containing lewd or suggestive language is pointless. The children should by that age be familiar with both the language and the concepts of which the bands are singing about. Thus there is little point to censoring the music.

Perhaps you might disagree.

Or you're just trying to be funny.

Either way, that's my opinion. Understand it now?

Kids can listen to anything they want, anytime, but somebody has to take care
of the poor parents and make sure their minds aren't damaged by such music.

Older folks just aren't used to it. They have a hard time adapting to life, and it can
really stunt their development if they hear something that makes them worry.

When an album says "Parental Discretion" just be a little discrete when
a vulnerable parent is in the area. That's all.
Why not be kind, and help the older folks get along?



People over 30 get especially lonely and scared a lot, so why not take
them to a school dance with you? You can call them chaperones at first,
reassure them that there will be other people there, and keep a good
eye on them. You know how nervous they get without you.

After one or two dances they'll calm down and feel a lot more secure
about staying at home all by themselves. It takes a little time, but well-trained
parents eventually get used to it, with practice! They don't have the exposure
to new things or the quickness that kids do, so give them the protection they need to adjust.

The music might take a little extra time, but in 10 or 20 years they'll understand.

I think parents should have a choice to edit what thier children listen too until they believe they are old enough to edit thier own choices. I think that for the most parts children are not raised to make thier own decisions (but that is not the topic at hand).

So in short - yes it should be edited if the parent base says it should be. Not to takes away what the parent thinks is best for thier child and is not the right of the D.J. (and I used to be a club D.J. for three years) or the school (who should act in the best interests of the kids as designed by the parents).

But if the parents say to play the edited version because that is what the radio station plays then fine.

AND - if the parents want to legislate the music AFTER it has been played and did not want to be a part of the decision. They can, in the words of my brother 'Go pound sand."

Be a part of the system or not - but don't bitch once you find out you SHOULD have made a decision.

TTF