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Loud And Clear: A lyric-review column for parents who care about their kids' music.
"I look the culture in the eye and it
always blinks first." -- Rick Beemer, Loud And Clear columnist, as told to Will Dicker, noted for his
notability
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"A bold, solid Catholic take on the filth that is daily flushed into
the culture by the music industry." -- The New York Times Sunday Magazine
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"If you read only one music-review column ever in your life, be sure
it's Loud And Clear. A masterpiece of terse, finely crafted wordsmithing." -- Mad Magazine
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"Loud And Clear is a column written by an insensitive, righteous
bigot for insensitive, righteous bigots." -- Rolling Stone
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NOTE: Editing of various punctuation marks will take place eventually. -- Dad Beem
The following are previously published Loud And Clear columns, which
I have posted to give you an example of where I'm coming from as a reviewer of modern-music lyrics. I'll be posting all
of them, eventually, but in no particular order. This first one is from 1998. They all appeared in Catholic Parent, a
bimonthly magazine published by Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. Visit Catholic publishing giant Our Sunday Visitor at www.osv.com, please.
The CD: "Chef Aid: The South Park Album"
Copyright Ó 1998, Comedy Central Well, the foul-mouthed little tykes from the TV-MA rated cartoon "South
Park," whose audience includes some 280,000 viewers between the ages of 2 and 11, now have a CD of raunchy rock, rap
and R&B for parents to be on the alert to. This collection of salacious songs runs the gamut of group sex and homosexual
love to oral sex and bestiality. Contributors to this medley of licentious sludge include the likes of Ozzy Osbourne of Black
Sabbath fame, DMX, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Master P, Elton John, Meat Loaf, Ween and Devo, among others. Selected lyrics from various songs: On "Nowhere To Run," kids are treated to "suckin my ****" and "m***********." Then
there's "Chocolate Salty Balls," sung by Chef (Isaac Hayes), which uses cooking metaphors to describe debauchery: "Say everybody
have you seen my balls / theyre big and salty and brown / If you ever need a quick pick-me-up /just stick my balls in your
mouth ooh suck on my chocolate salty balls." On "Simultaneous," the Chef pleads for a threesome: "You and me, and her, simultaneously.
The eruption of a volcano is the inspiration for Hot Lava: Every time we make love thats lava, hot lava, lava so hot it makes
me sweat; And after the eruption, we laid dormant for awhile." Hummingbird intercourse on "No Substitute" is the vehicle for
the Chefs come-on to Kathie Lee Gifford: "Just two hummingbirds moanin' and groanin', lettin' their bodies caress and touch
each other in ecstacy. Slowly the male hummingbird gets behind the female hummingbird and eases his way into her golden valley,
gliding gently, in and out, in and out, ooh, in and out, two hummingbirds doin it doggy-style all night long until finally
the male hummingbird screams with passion and lets his little hummin gravy fly all over the nest." Hey kids! The band Ween
celebrates homosexual love on "The Rainbow": "There's many colors in the homo rainbow / don't be afraid to let your color
shine." Poetry abounds on "Tonight Is Right For Love": "Expressing love so sweet / Ill keep you burnin like a dog in heat."
Woof! My Take: The aforementioned is but a sliver of the deep splinter that festers in this diseased disc. Parental Advisory: Lord have mercy. This stuff has gone south; don't let your kids jump aboard. The Artist: DMX The CD: "Flesh Of My Flesh Blood Of My Blood" Copyright Ó 1998 Rush Associated Labels Recording Theres not a whole lot one can say about DMX except that the n and f words abound on each and every rap that spews
out of this guys mouth. Selected lyrics from various songs: On Bring Your Whole Crew, DMX proclaims, I got blood on my **** cause I ******
a corpse. On Pac Man, described on the CD as a skit, a gunshot ends the skits dialogue and obviously a life. My Take: Without wasting anymore time reviewing lyrics that describe angry sex, angry relationships and an angry outlook
on life, heres some of the words youll encounter early on in listening to this trash: s***, c*********, t****, d***, m***********,
b****, faggot and f***. Parental Advisory: Parents beware. This stuff is extremely harmful to your children. The Band: Limp Bizkit The CD: Three Dollar Bill Yall$ Copyright Ó 1997 Interscope Records Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst stated in Rolling Stone magazine: My whole record is about my girlfriend who put me through the ringer for three years and my insecurity about it. It became this big thing. Pity the young lass. This boy needs professional help. Restrained even. Selected lyrics from various songs: Durst mocks all things sacred in the Intro: Use your vehicle of salvation, my brothers, go buy a gun, he howls. And go give that gun to Jesus and say Jesus you go kill the disciples of Satan and you kill the Nazis, Jesus. Gimme an amen. Amen. Gimme a hallelujah, brother. Hallelujah. Feel the pain of sweet Jesus. . . . Ad nauseum. On Pollution, Durst is told at the end of the song to Shut the **** up. On Stuck, Durst reminds the former unlucky object of his affection that, You take a dash for my cash, its your *** that Im blasting. Aint nutin like a greedy bitch, he advises, diggin so deep for that greed; you must be ****** up in that head, yeah. Mind you, now, this is not offered as kindly advice. Durst screams like a bloodthirsty hellhound bent on totally annihilating his unfortunate victims self-worth. On Nobody Loves Me, the poor baby fusses, My business, stay the **** out. Each ensuing track continues the raging vent of this emotionally crippled halfwit. My Take: Just another punk spoiled on the excesses of a culture devoid of moral discernment. Parental Advisory: Feed this to the trash. The Band: Nsync The CD: No CD Title Copyright Ó BMG Entertainment Much like Hanson and The Backstreet Boys, Nsync blends teenybopper love themes and intimacy into mostly harmless declarations of hormonal hankerings. And they thank God for the opportunity to make your adolescent girls swoon. Selected lyrics from various songs: On Tearin Up My Heart, the lads wonder, Baby I dont understand / just why we cant be lovers. On I Just Wanna Be With You, they promise, Girl youre turning me on / gonna love you day and night / yes Ill treat you right. On God Must Have Spent A Litle More Time On You, the boys thank God: How can it be that right here with me / theres an angel, its a miracle. On You Got It, theyre a little pushy: I need your lovin / girl give it to me. Finally, on I Drive Myself Crazy, their hormones flake out a bit: Lying in your arms / so close together / didnt know just what I had / now I toss and turn. My Take: Somewhat suggestive, yet far removed from the vast wasteland of brutal sex and language thats regularly disgorged onto the airwaves. However Parental Advisory: Id keep this away from adolescent girls just beginning their confusing journeys into young womanhood. For older, more mature teenagers. The Band: Collective Soul The CD: Dosage Copyright Ó 1999 Atlantic Records Unlike Disciplined Breakdown, which went nowhere, Collective Souls fourth release is bolstered with a solid hit (Heavy) to keep it chart-strong. Songwriter Ed Rolands lyrics throughout the entire CD are unmatched in their insightfulness and soul-searching honesty. Selected lyrics from various songs: On Slow: Clothed in new costumes / that weather your newfound storms / staring through reason / content with your newfound decor. From Dandy Life: Took a walk to a caution scene / guess I crossed the line somehow / and if I lost some of your hope / Im sorry for the folly was all mine. My favorite lyrics, from Run: Is there a cure among us / from this processed sanity / I weaken with each voice that sings / in this world of purchase / Im going to buy back memories / to awaken some old qualities. Rivaled only by the following, from She Said: Lifes river shall rise / she said / and only the strong shall survive / she said / but Im feeling quite weak / she said / will you comfort and forgive me / she said. My Take: Unlike anything out there in the popular-music market. This is poetry. Parental Advisory: For all age groups. Study closely.
A column from July-August, 2001 issue: The Band:
Crazy Town The CD:
The Gift Of Game © 1999 Sony Music
Entertainment Inc. On a visit to one of the numerous web sites devoted to Crazy Town, one in particular contains
an interview with Bret (Epic) Mazur, one of seven members of this hip-hop-rock mess. Commenting on the concept behind the
haloed, pierced, tattoed, naked, bedeviled girl on the CD cover, he said: She came from a bunch of different girls that weve
known and a bunch of personalities that weve known. And shes really appealing and attractive and you want her really bad accept
(sic) that she might be the worst thing for you. Really! Selected lyrics from various songs: On Toxic, the rappers wail: I rock the main line / And party with fine bitches . . . More hos than vivid / Lyrics explicit / So **** the critics. On Black Cloud, our boys describe life at its most banal: Im getting high for a living / Not giving a ****. On Butterfly, the attraction is intense as the singer woos his prey with these coy words of flattery: Such a sexy, sexy pretty little thing / Fierce nipple pierce, you got me sprung / With your tongue ring. On Only When Im Drunk, rapper boy brags: I get drunk and stumble to the phone / And conjure up a bitch to bone. My take: Since these boys seemed to have grasped all that is wrong with the culture and join in willingly, they should go far. Parental advisory: Parents, dont let any of your children take a wrong turn into Crazy Town. The Band: Dream The CD: It Was All A Dream © 2001 Bad Boy Records Suffice to say I find it mind-boggling that these four sweet-looking teenage girls can thank the Lord profusely in the CD booklet (For example: To my beautiful Jesus Christ, Your love is deeper than love itself and I cannot ever repay you for showing me that love and dying on the cross for me. . . .), while at the same time singing lyrics such as, I cant sleep at night / Wishin you were here with me. Am I missing something here? Selected lyrics from various songs: The singer puts another in her place on He Loves U Not with: Say what you want girl, do what you do / Hes never gonna, gonna make it with you. On In My Dreams, the lyrics are subtly suggestive: Baby anyway youre moving / Uh, youve got me thinking / We should be together for days / And as the days go slower / Uh, you put me closer / Cant believe it feels this way. A little dirty dancing takes place on Do You Wanna Dance: Something about / the way you move it baby / Got me losing my mind over you / And I like the way / When youre doing / What youre doing / Dont stop it baby, just dance with me. Subtle, but suspiciously sexual. My take: Its called R & B with an edge, a dull one at that. Completely conceptualized and organized by a California-based manager, this band was formed solely to be milked for money. Parental advisory: Nothing overtly sexual about Dream, but, nudge-nudge, blink-blink, everybodys listening to them! Not my kids. The Artist: Ja Rule The CD: Rule 3:36 © 2000 The Island
Def Jam Music Group Ja Rule takes part of a popular biblical quote that occasionally
crops up on television behind home plate during baseball games: John 3:16-18. His reads, and on the CD cover, of course: He
who believes in Ja shall have everlasting love. He who does not shall not see life but the wrath of my vengeance (Rule 3:36). His habitual use of the f- and n-words throughout and his references to murder and
violent sex just about sum up this rappers intellectual range. Selected
lyrics from various songs: On Love Me, Hate Me, Ja Rule (Jeff Atkins) spews:
But I know that hell is callin / In the name of the Lord just let a nigga in / Cuz I aint done nothin wrong, but love thy
self / And harm other niggaz that wanna stop my health. On Die, Atkins use of polysyllabic words is impressive: Everybody
gonna die but nobody want dead / Die ************ die, its your life / Everybody wanna live, but they wanna live scared /
Die ************ die, thats your life. On the creatively titled tune, **** You, the declaration **** you puncuates this masterpiece
at intervals throughout. On Extasy, our poet exclaims: Take that shirt off take that skirt off / Cuz my **** is hard and your
*** is soft. Finally, on One Of Us, Atkins wonders what God would be like if He were one of us: If God were one of us / Would
He sin and love to lie? I wanna know / If God were one of us / Would He freakin live His life? I wanna know / If God were
one of us / Would He use His name in vain? I wanna know . My
take: The above falls short of conveying the filth that discharges from this
mans mouth. Parental
advisory: Keep away from all family members. The Artist: Dido The CD No
Angel © 1999 Arista Records,
Inc . Its taken some time for Didos two-year-old debut CD to catch
on, finally going gold this year after a renewed effort to promote it on MTV, VH1 and Saturday Night live. Selected
lyrics from various songs: Dido gets even with a former lover on Dont Think Of
Me: When she lays in your warm arms, dont think of me / So youre with her and not me, I know she spreads sweet honey / In
fact your best friend, I heard he spent last night with her. . . . Does it bother you now all the mess I made. Dido bemoans
the loss of her live-in on My Lovers Gone: My lovers gone, his boots no longer by my door, he left at dawn, and as I slept
I felt him go. On Slide, Dido cops the Im-only-human plea: Its all right to make mistakes youre only human / Inside everybodys
hiding something / Take time to catch your breath and choose your moment. . . . Lie here and rest your head and dream of something
instead. Mt
take: Innocuous, Lilith Fair-like poems for the free-thinker. Parental advisory: Not for the younger crowd, but I would allow a mature, older teenage to listen, even though Didos no angel, indeed. A column from Nov.-Dec., 2001 The Band: Train The CD: Drops Of Jupiter © 2001 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Amazingly, in this day and age of unbridled, pornographic free speech, Train manages to avoid instances of foul-mouthed outbursts. However, the very first line of the very first song begins: Well this is just between us but between us lets get high. Selected lyrics from various songs: In addition to the drug reference above, two vague lyric phrases from Hopeless and a direct reference to sex on Let It Roll are all that offends on this CD: On Hopeless, the vocalist asks: Is anybody waiting at home for you, and later: But I need your hands on me now. On Let It Roll, the offensive lyric is: And all those late night lovers / Dont make things better to me. At least he realized the futility of his sexual dalliances. My Take: Were it not for the lyrics mentioned above, this would have been a stellar CD for all ages, but. . . Parental Advisory: . . .For mature, older teenagers only. The Artist: Aaliyah © 2001 Blackground Records, LLC Aaliyah (Swahili for highest, most exalted one) Haughton has been performing professionally since the age of nine. This is the Brooklyn-born Aaliyahs third R&B album since 1994, when she recorded her first album at age 15. Selected lyrics from various songs: On Rock The Boat, Aaliyah makes use of figurative language to describe sex, such as: Oooooh baby I love your stroke / Cause you, cause you get me to where Im going, and Lets do it in a hurry / thats too slow /go ahead and put that thing in overdrive. Aaliyah pours out more passion on More Than A Woman: Midnight grindin / my heart rates climbin / You go, I go / Cause we share pillows / Taste me, feed me. . . . The enticement continues on Its Whatever: Now its getting late / its after three / So quit your stallin / my bodys callin. The following lyrics to I Can Be attest to Aaliyahs exaltedness, lyrics that bless fooling around on ones loved one: I can be another woman in your life / I can be the other reason youre out at night / I can be all the things you thought she might / I can be on the side / That would be alright, alright, alright. My Take: No, that would not be all right. Rather racy lyrics for one so exalted. Parental Advisory: Aaliyah sends the wrong message to kids of all ages. The Band: Blink-182 The CD: Take Off Your Pants And Jacket © 2001 MCA Records To get the subtle message of the CDs title, repeat it several times. Clever, eh? Potty-mouthed guitarist Tom DeLonge piously told Rolling Stone magazine: I really feel that were blessed. Im so lucky God let us be here. Who is this God of theirs who would approve of throwing around the f-word so carefree-like. Selected lyrics from various songs: Blink blame adults for their troubles on Anthem Part 2: If were ****** up youre to blame. They ask for guidance yet reject it as well: We need guidance. . . . but, Drown our youth with useless warnings / teenage rules theyre ****** and boring. Toilet humor, homosexual sodomy and masturbation are the soiled subjects of Happy Holidays You Bastard: Ill never talk to you again / ********* into a sock. Heres the bands real anthem, from Reckless Abandon: Sick of drinking the alcohol, / in a million bathroom stalls / Eyes are red and my movements slow, / too high get her to go / He took a **** in the bathroom tub, / infect the dog with brownie drugs / Tried hard to not get caught, / he ****** a chick in a parking lot. My Take: Self-destructive snots. Parental Advisory: Keep this degrading outhouse bile far away from all family members. The Band: D12 The CD: Devils Night © 2001 Innerscope Records This misogynistic rap covers all bases, including date-rape drugs, drugs and violence, fellatio, sodomy, anal sex, taking turns with the same girl, picking up transvestites, pimping prostitutes, gunplay, murder and school violence. Formed by world-famous rapper Eminem, this group of six twisted minds managed to record a CD that made it to No. 1. The sad thing is that our children got them there. Selected lyrics from various raps: On Shit Can Happen, rapper Kuniva spits: My skills are deeply embedded / Even your hoe said it / She was knock-kneed / I ****** her now she bow-legged. On Pistol Pistol, gun-lover Swifty announces: I slap niggaz and punch bitches. On Thats How, lessons on how people get **** up, were taught: Invite a ho to your house / while your bitch is out / Now you got this **** / all up in her ******* mouth / Pull it out / And then you **** *** on her favorite blouse. On the title song, Devils Night, Eminem spews: I make music to make you sick of fake music / Hate music / Like devil worshiping Satan music / So say your prayers, your Hail Marys, and Jesuses / Take two sticks and tape em together to make a crucifix, and later, from Rapper Bizarre: Taking drugs is cool / Thats why I buy em / Shoot em in my *** / Let your little brother try em. My Take: Mild stuff compared to the CD as a whole. Devils Night is the foulest CD Ive listened to in my six years as a reviewer. Parental Advisory: Absolute trash, unfit for human consumption at any age. A column from Nov.-Dec., 2002 The
Artist: Bruce Springsteen The CD: "The Rising" © 2002 Bruce Springsteen On what is Bruce Springsteen's first studio release with the "E Street Band" since 1984's
"Born In The U.S.A.," this memorial to 9/11 would have been maudlin in the hands of an artist of lesser talent. Think Trick
Daddy. Springsteen's everyman lyrics drive home the horror, the pain, the loss and man's ability to rise up from the ashes.
Thus the title, "The Rising." Selected lyrics from various songs: On "Into The Fire," Springsteen immortalizes the brave
men and women who responded to the tragedy: "May your strength give us strength / May your faith give us faith / May your
hope give us hope / May your love bring us love." On "Empty Sky," he sings of the horrible loss of loved ones experienced
that day: "I woke up this morning, I could hardly breathe / Just an empty impression / In the bed where you used to be / I
want a kiss from your lips / I want an eye for an eye / I woke up this morning to an empty sky." On "World's Apart," Springteen
brings aboard the sounds of qawwali, a life-affirming traditional form of Islamic song linked to the Sufi tradition, a "mystical
school of Islamic thought that strives to attain truth and divine love by direct personal experience," according to the website
http://chandrakantha.com. The Sufi sect of Islam is detested by the fundamentalist imam. Above the wailing qawwali, Springsteen
sings: "May the living let us in / before the dead tear us apart." My Take: The song "The Fuse" has a reference to love-making, but tastefully in context. Parental Advisory: A classic, but for mature teenagers only. The Artist: Avril Lavigne The CD: "Let Go" © 2002 Arista Records, Inc. One Alanis Morisette is enough, which is who this 17-year-old Canadian has been compared
to. Just a wisp of a girl, she belts them out as forcefully as a seasoned veteran of the rock-'n'-roll genre. Selected lyrics from various songs: On "Too
Much To Ask," Lavigne berates a guy for choosing marijuana over here: "It's funny when you think it's gonna work out / Till
you choose weed over me, you're so lame." On "Sk8er Boi," a once punk loser makes it big as a guitar player and ups his worth
now that he's s superstar: "Now he's a superstar / Slamming on his guitar / Does your pretty face see what he's worth?" There
are profanities on "My World" ("Got fired by fried chicken ass"; "Though it may take all friggen day."), "Nobody's Fool" ("But
do you give a damn.") and "I'm With You" ("It's a damn cold night."). She sets a bad example for teenage drivers on "Anything
but Ordinary": Sometimes I drive so fast / Just to feel the danger." My Take: At least she doesn't compromise her personal dignity. Parental Advisory: For mature teenagers only. The CD "The Fix" © 2002 The Island Def Jam Music Group Rolling Stone magazine praised Scarface's gangsta rap as "poignant, personal work, performed
with clarity and conviction and imbued with the muscular spirituality that marks all of Face's music." That's like writing
a metaphysical poem on passing gas. It stinks nonetheless. Selected lyrics from various raps: Face preaches a full-of-baloney gospel on "Heaven":
"I know the feeling, firsthand I witnessed the sights / When I allowed the Lord to come in my life . . . but I'm a man, I
ain't perfect / that's a poor excuse that ain't working." The expletive **** and its compound cousin, ************, abound
throughout the CD. References to drug use, violence, premarital and oral sex get their share of attention, too. He writes
about ghetto issues in ghetto language, such as, on "Keepin' Me Down": "You can't continue to pimp me and y'all eat from it
/ So *** every soul who ever felt like I owed / Them a g****** dime, or a ******* rhyme or a ******* chance. . . . **** you,
you and you / Her, him and him / Tom, Dick and Kim." My Take: Black kids are fortunate to have such a role model, a role model to avoid. Parental Advisory: No way to fix "The Fix"; keep away from your children. The Artist: Trick Daddy The CD: "Thug Holiday" © 2002 Slip-N-Slide Records Inc. Trick Daddy's another rapper Rolling Stone is enamored with, to the point of exclaiming
that the thug is "sounding more on the ball than Bruce Springsteen" for the following lyrics: "If it wasn't for all these
killers / And all these conflicts of religion / Then the Muslims, Jews and Christians would know that they're all God's children."
The man's a genius. Other lyrics from various raps: On the other hand, the variety of lyrics that follow are
more telling of what's on Trick Daddy's mind. On "Play No Games," Daddy brags: Suck her, **** her better than the average
nigga / I need a girl that's into trying thangs / I'm getting acquainted with the ******** / I eats it up before I beats it
up / The first quarter, slow motion, second half, speed it up / Plus she owe me one she like / Never mind but this time we
69ing / I need my **** sucked C.O.D. My Take: See "My Take" of Scarface. Parental Advisory: Keep "Thug Holiday" off your kids' calendars. Loud and Clear by Richard G. Beemer Nov/Dec 05 Catholic Parent
LOUD AND CLEAR by Rick Beemer The
Band: Collective Soul The
CD: “Youth” ©
2004 El Music Group As
the CD title implies, the old rockers (in their 30s!) are rejuvenated after a four-year hiatus. Together since 1994, this
is their sixth album, and their first since 2000’s “Blender.” Singer/songwriter Ed Roland collaborated with
a co-producer on several songs, and a new guitarist replaces Ross Childress. You may remember the hits “Shine”
and “The World I Knew” from the ‘90s. A plethora of other minor hits scratched at the charts. Selected lyrics from various songs: “Home” is a song that hints of Roland’s spiritual proclivity: “Love only burns / When fueled
by belief . . . Climb up the mountains / Then slide to the seas / Beauty adores us / On this we agree / God is a witness /
and god is a tease / Pick up your faith / Yeah everybody come with me.” On “Under Heaven’s Skies,”
Roland uses allegory to describe his love for a woman: “Whenever I taste honey from your lips / It’s a moment
of purpose only you can give / Whatever I hear, whatever I may see / Whatever my cause dear, I know you’ll believe /
‘Cause you’re beautiful my love . . . Under Heaven’s skies . . . You fly me through your skies of harmony
/ Then you lay me down with words of honesty.” “Satellite” is Roland’s love song to his son: “Soon
a man will kneel to pray / Soon the light will burn the shade / And with the sweet, the bitter fades / So take my heart and
take your place / ‘Cause I will be your faults / And I will be your rights / And I will watch over you like a satellite
. . . Your river will flow thru scenes unknown / I’ll guide you through by the love I show.” My Take: Memorable hooks,
modest lyrics, mixed message with bikini-clad girl for CD cover art. Parental Advisory: An excellent candidate for your teenager’s CD collection, CD cover aside. The
Band: Oasis The
CD: “Don’t Believe The Truth” ©
2005 SINE It
may be a bit too obvious to note, but for those of you who grew up with and loved the songs of the Beatles, it’s as
if John Lennon’s ghost hovers close by the Gallagher brothers’ writing table. Even more eerie is the fact that
the drummer for all but one song on this CD is the son of one Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr), Zak Starkey. The feuding
Gallagher brothers have been bickering and making music together since 1994. This is their best since “(What’s
The Story) Morning Glory?” Selected lyrics from various songs: “A Bell Will Ring,” is incredibly, melodically reminiscent of the Beatle’s song “Rain,”
but celebrates the clouds’ passing: “A little space, a little time / See what it can do / A little faith, peace
of mind / See what passes through / The sun will shine on you again / A bell will ring inside your head / And all will be
brand new.” John Lennon could have written “Let There Be Love”: “Who kicked a hole in the sky so the
heavens would cry over me? / Who stole the soul from the sun in a world come undone at the seams? / Let there be love / I
hope the weather is calm as you sail up your heavenly stream / Suspended clear in the sky are the words we sing in our dreams
/ Let there be love.” My Take: British songwriter/brothers
Noel and Liam Gallagher may seem hopelessly fixated on the Beatles to some, but it’s all right by me. Parental Advisory: A listening
pleasure. The
Band: Coldplay The
CD: “X&Y” ©
2005 EMI Records Ltd. This
is Coldplay’s third CD since 2000, and save for the stratospheric tenor of singer/songwriter Chris Martin, much of what
I hear is evocative of U2. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, no more than the Oasis-Beatles psychic bond is. Were
it not for the U2 guitar technique, Coldplay would sound completely unique. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “White Shadows,” the future can be a bright possibility: “Maybe you’ll get what you wanted
/ Maybe you’ll stumble upon it / Everything you ever wanted / In a permanent state / Maybe you’ll know when you
see it / Maybe if you say it, you’ll mean it / And when you find it you’ll keep it / In a permanent state . .
. See it in a new sun rising / See it break on your horizon.” The love songs on “X&Y” are simple, universal
pleas like those penned by millions before, such as on “A Message”: “My song is love / My song is love,
unknown / And I’m on fire for you, clearly / You don’t have to be alone / You don’t have to be on your own.” My Take: Coldplay needs
to work harder at finding a voice all their own. Parental Advisory: Nothing
to report. The
Band: The White Stripes The
CD: “Get Behind Me Satan” ©
Third Man Records Inc. Jack
(Gillis) White and Meg White make up The White Stripes. Supposedly married and divorced (he took her name), their low-key,
minimalist sound (Gillis on guitar, White on drums) is acclaimed by many as rock’s redemption. They hail from southwest
Detroit, and Gillis resembles a cross between Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow of “The Pirates of the Caribbean”
and Zorro. Their eclectic thank-you list includes, among many others, God, family, truth, St. Thérèse of the Little Flower,
St. Rita of the Impossible and St. Sebastian of Endurance. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Passive Manipulation,” lyrics repeated thrice by Meg White make up the song’s entirety: “Women,
listen to your mothers / Don’t just succumb to the wishes of your brothers / Take a step back, take a look at one another
/ You need to know the difference / Between a father and a lover.” “Instinct Blues” is an exercise in sex
education: “Well, the crickets get it / And the ants get it / I bet you the pigs get it / Yeah, even the plants get
it / Come on now, and get with it / Yeah, I want you to get with it / Oh! . . . They just happen to know exactly what to do
/ So why don’t you?” Get it? “Take, Take, Take” is a lesson in excess. Rita Hayworth walks into this
bar, you see: “And I could not resist, I just had to get close to her / And that was all that I needed / I walked and
loomed around her table for awhile / And that was all that I needed / Then I said, ‘I hate to bug you, ma’am,
but can I have your autograph?’ / And that was all that I needed … So I asked her one more time, ‘Could
I have another favor?’ / That was all that I needed….” My Take: Jack White is
an intuitive storyteller, however . . . Parental Advisory: For
mature young adults only. For May-June of 2006
The Artist: Jack Johnson The CD: “In Between Dreams” © 2005 Jack Johnson Surfer, film director, photographer, producer,
score composer and singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, of Selected lyrics: Johnson writes on “Never Know”: “I heard this old story before / Where the people keep on killing for their metaphors / But don’t leave much up to the imagination / So I want to give this imagery back….” On “Good People,” he laments the vast wasteland of television: “Where did all the good people go / I’ve been changing channels I don’t see them on the TV shows … We’ve got heaps and heaps of what we sow.” Lying beneath the stars, he writes to the sky: “It was just another night / With a sunset and a moonrise not so far behind / To give is just enough light to lay down underneath the stars / Listen to all translations of the stories across the sky / We drew our own constellations.” My Take: Music to listen, live and love to. Parental Advisory: For everyone. The Band: The Killers The CD: “Hot Fuss” © 2004 The Island Def Jam Music Group By the time you read this, The Killers
may or may not have won Grammys in February, according to a VH1.com poll in January 2006. VHI noted that The Killers were
in the running for a Grammy for Best Album of the Year with its debut CD “Hot Fuss,” and Best Song for “Somebody
Told Me.” It’s not the best song on the CD. They hail from Selected lyrics: From “Mr. Brightside,” singer/songwriter Brandon Flowers is green with jealousy: “”Now they’re going to bed / And my stomach is sick / And it’s all in my head / But she’s touching his – chest / Now, he takes off her dress.” Some gender confusion pops up on “Somebody Told Me”: “Well somebody told me / You had a boyfriend / Who looked like a girlfriend / That I had in February of last year.” On “Midnight Show,” motives get a bit puerile: “I know there’s a hope / There’s too many people trying to help me cope / You got a real short skirt / I wanna look up, look up, look up, look up, yeah yeah.” My Take: Songs about jealousy, murder, stalking, androgyny – why wouldn’t they win a Grammy? Parental Advisory: For mature young adults. The Band: The Darkness The CD “One Way Ticket To Hell … And Back” © 2005 Warner Music UK Ltd. Ear-piercing falsettos reminiscent of Selected lyrics: On “One Way Ticket,” the ride to hell is cocaine-driven: “Several massive choking lines of glorious gack … stick it up your f****** nose … Pausing just long enough to snort the white powder … I bought a one-way ticket to hell … and back.” Vocalist Justin Hawkins gets right to the point on “Knockers”: “Oh Christ, I’m enticed / I want you in my sack / You’re potty-mouthed and brassy … You’re beautiful and busty? And I’m a little rusty / I’ve forgotten what to do.” He “yearns” for his lover on “Is It Just Me?” “I see your face / When I close my eyes / And there ain’t no place / Like between your thighs.” My Take: I have to admit that, moral considerations aside, they are fun to listen to. Parental Advisory: For mature young adults only. The Band: INXS The CD: “Switch” © 2005 JBMP INXS has had its ups and downs since it
formed in the early 1980s in Selected lyrics: The old codgers of INXS still lust, apparently. Fortune fronts for the aging pervs on “Hot Girls”: On her motor bike the way she’s riding it, riding it / And she says it feels so good … Wet lips to cigarette and now she’s / Striking it lighting it as she looks me in the eye / Hell she must know she’s inviting it … Hot girls they can break me … I got nothing to prove / Ain’t got nothing to loose [sic] / If you need someone to use / I can take the abuse.” A one-night stand is the recipe for an ideal bonding on “Perfect Strangers”: “Don’t tell me your name / Just use that pretty mouth / To kiss me if you want this / But I want you inside out / Start here at the end / And later when we’re waking / Our bodies still weak / We finally meet.” My Take: The Parental Advisory: For mature young adults. The Artist: Britney SpearsThe CD: “…Baby
One More Time” Copyright Ó 1999 Zomba Recording Corporation This angel-faced teenager graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and an inside spread in scanty outfits that would more than curl the brows of protective parents. And the CD poster … well … speaks volumes. At least to this dad. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “…Baby One More Time,” angel-face pleads, “Oh pretty baby, I
shouldn’t have let you go / I must confess, that my loneliness is killing me now / Don’t you know I still believe
/ That you will be here / And give me a sign / Hit me baby one more time.” Whatever that
means. On “(You Drive Me) Crazy,” angel-face is distracted from a good night’s sleep: “You drive me
crazy, I just can’t sleep / I’m so excited, I’m in too deep / Crazy, but it feels all right, baby thinkin’
of you keeps me up all night.” Angel-face reveals her loving intentions on “Sometimes”: “But all I
really want is to hold you tight / Treat you right, be with you day and night.” No-no-no. On “Born To Make You
Happy,” angel-face finds reason for living: “I really want to know what we did wrong / With a love that felt so
strong / If only you were here tonight / I know that we could make it right.” On which base? My Take:
Love makes the world go ’round, but the spin on young love may have many a parent wondering if so much worldly wooing
and cooing steals away innocence and the time needed just to be a kid. Parental Advisory: If you are the parents of mature, moral, responsible junior or senior high school daughters, this CD shouldn’t
sound an alarm, but it’s definitely not recommended for the ears of those struggling through the early, tender years
of confusing adolescence. Also, Spears’ dependency on boys as a means to form her identity could be better formed were
she to focus toward the heavens. The Band: TLC The CD:
“Fanmail” Copyright Ó 1999 LaFace Records TLC (Tionne, Lisa and Chilli) set double standards in the CD booklet with praises such as: (Tionne — “God
has blessed me and to Him my heart I give”; Lisa — “I give thanks because I believe”; Chilli —
“Dear Father in heaven, I want to thank You for all of my blessings throughout my life”), then follow up with
lyrics like: “A good man is hard to find / Well, actually, a hard man is so good to find / Yo, yeah baby!” What’s
wrong with this picture? Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Silly Ho,” we’re instructed on the difference between a run-of-the-mill
“ho” (hole and/or whore) and a decent, upstanding, God-fearing “ho”: “If you really wanna find
/ Someone to get some behind / I ain’t the one for you.” “One
night you just / Go and must find a ho / To give it up.” On “I’m Good At Being Bad,” it’s true-confession
time: “What you gonna do with a bitch like me / Feel my **** so tight / Make ya *** all night.” “Sorry I
turned you out / I guess I didn’t know / That a man could be so soft (hmm).” “When I’m all alone I
touch myself / And I always dreamed about someone else.” On “Come On Down,” we’re not talkin’
’bout no game-show invitation: “Oh baby baby come down on me / Where the water water tastes so sweet / Just come
to me come to me / You’re in me / Come on down.” Finally, on “Dear Lie”: “Dear lie / You suck
/ You said you could fix anything / Instead I’m ******.” “I’ve got your *****, now get the hell away
from me.” My Take:
Their God must be a mighty, mighty tolerant God. Parental Advisory: Give TLC the LOB into the BIN. The Band: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers The CD:
“Echo” Copyright Ó 1999 Warner Bros. Records Inc. After who knows how many broken hearts over the course of 14 albums, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers reach No. 15, too old to break many more, but not too old to keep trying. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Room At The Top,” Petty holes up: “I got a room where everyone / Can have a drink and forget those things / That went wrong in their life.” On “Free Girl Now,” Petty observes: “I remember him touching your butt.” On “Echo,” he woke up “In a pool of sweat / With a box of pills and you.” On “About To Give Out,” old habits won’t die: “Rickey rolled a number / Dickey raised the hood / Time we hit Daytona I was feeling pretty good.” My Take: In general, I have absolutely no idea what Petty’ lyrics are essentially about, however . . . Parental Advisory: . . .The references to booze, drugs and sex make this musically decent CD off limits for your adolescents and teens. The Band: Ben Folds Five The CD:
“The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner” Copyright Ó 1999 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Ben Folds is the gentleman from whom the band takes its name. Reinhold Messner, the name used years ago by band
member Darren Jessee and his buddies on their fake Ids to slip into bars when underage, is also a real person. The band was
“unaware of the existence of a living, breathing and famous Reinhold Messner” when they chose the title for the
CD. Messner is, in real life, the first man to have reached the summit of Mount Everest without extra oxygen. On the “Unauthorized”
concept CD, Messner is a fictional “nerd Everyman,” Rolling Stone reviewer Anthony DeCurtis wrote, who “is
consumed by small worries, pointless betrayals, tentative displays of affection, secret pains and touching hopes.” Loser
comes to mind. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Mess,” our imagined Messner bemoans: “And I don’t believe in
God / So I can’t be saved / All alone as I’ve learned to be / In this mess I have made.” On “Army,”
our unreal Messner gets some fatherly advise: “Well I thought about the army / Dad said, son your ******* high.”
Later he pleads to the same God he earlier denied: “I say to my reflection / God, please spare me more rejection / ’Cause
my peers, they criticize me / And my ex-wives all despise me.” On “Regrets,” our worrisome character reflects:
“I thought about the hours wasted / Watching t.v., drinking beer / I thought about the things I thought about / Until
immobilized with fear / And all the great ideas I had / And how we just made fun / Of those who had the guts to try and fail
/ And then I ended up in jail.” “I thought about the things I settled for or never tried / I never visited my
grandma even once / When she was sick before she died / So I don’t blame you if you never come to see me here again.” My Take:
Many of the novel arrangements are drenched in elaborate, melodic movements, accompanied by a four-piece string section, saxophones
and a fluegelhorn. But poor, inept Messner himself never manages to take life by the horns. The Band: Backstreet Boys The CD: “Millennium” Copyright 8 1999 Zomba Recording Corporation Described as “hunkaliscious singing studs” in one of the multitude of Websites devoted to them, the Backstreet Boys thus far have sold more than 27 million copies of “Millennium” to the 12-14-year-old female demographic. Again, as on their first CD, the calculated tweak is to thank God for talent, opportunity, etc., then belt out lyrics about their teenybopper fans’ “sexuality.” And, of course, not all song lyrics are provided in the CD booklet. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “I Need You Tonight,” he needs her right now, and “It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right / I really need you tonight.” One of the boys has been hanging out with a questionable babe on “Don’t Want You Back,” and realizes it: “I should have known that I would be / another victim of your sexuality.” On “The One,” the boy promises to “be the one” who will be “holding you all through the night.” “No One Else Comes Close” begins with, “When we turn out the lights / the two of us alone together,” later to be followed with, “And when I wake up to / the touch of your head on my shoulder,” and, “Girl with just a touch / you can do so much.” My Take: Except for the tribute to Brian Littrell’s mother on “The Perfect Fan,” the subtle suggestiveness of things sexual, concealed tidily behind the Backstreet Boys’ goody-goody façade, convinces me that these guys make up morality as they go. Parental Advisory: Not for any 12-14-year-old-female-demographic daughter of mine. The Artist: Ricky Martin The CD: “Ricky Martin” Copyright 8 1999 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. Little Ricky thanks Madonna (the singer), God and his guru “for guiding me into stillness.” And on Rolling Stone’s cover for Aug. 5, he’s pictured on his back in a shallow pool of water, clothed, surrounded by a throng of naked females. Little Ricky “grew up in a Catholic home,” he said in the Rolling stone magazine interview. He was also an altar boy and attended a Catholic school. He lost his virginity at the ripe old age of 14. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Livin’ La Vida Loca” (the crazy life), Little Ricky teases, “She’ll make you take your / Clothes off and go dancing in the rain.” On “Spanish Eyes,” he laments, “I miss the touch / Of her body so much.” On “Shake Your Bon-Bon” (one’s buttocks, presumably), Romeo Ricky appeals to his Juliet to “Shake your bon-bon / I wanna be your lover . . . Up in the Himalayas / C’mon I wanna lay ya.” On “Love You For A Day,” Little Ricky’s plans for the millennium include a little lovemaking: “In the paper / They say the end is coming soon / I wanna make love till it’s over / If I’m goin’ down it’ll be with you. . . . Let me love you for a day / Let me have you for a night. . . . Let me take you home tonight. . . . I wanna be under the covers / Baby, in your arms without a care.” Finally, on “You Stay With Me,” Little Ricky confesses, “We shared a kiss till daylight came / And kissed the night goodbye / When the sun came up that day / We smiled and went our separate ways.” My Take: If this guy is the standard for today’s role models, then we’re in deep doo-doo. Parental Advisory: If you want your children to get a taste of honest-to-goodness, excellent Latin music, lose Little Ricky and pick up the CD by 80-year-old Rubén González, a Cuban pianist who plays with uninhibited zeal. The Band: Red Hot Chili Peppers The CD: “Californication” Copyright 8 1999 Warner Bros. Records Inc. Bassist Flea, yes Flea, performed nude at Woodstock ’99, further evidence that degenerates begat degenerates. Selected lyrics from various songs: You won’t read the compound word ************ in the CD booklet, but it’s loud and clear on the CD’s first song, “Around The World.” On “Get On Top,” the profundity of the lyrics speaks for itself: “Go-rilla ****illa / Sammy D and Salmonella / Come with me ’cause I’m an *** killer / You’re ill but I’m iller”; and I’ll malinger on your block and / Give the finger to a cop and / Pick a lock before I knock and / Set you up to get on top.” Whew. On “I Like Dirt”: “Some come up and some come young / Live to love and give good tongue.” Finally, on “Purple Stain”: “To finger paint is not a sin / I put my middle finger in / Your monthly blood is what I win / I’m in your house now let me spin.” To paraphrase comedian George Carlin from an old comedy record: You don’t have to be Fellini to figure that one out! Amen. My Take: The only things red hot about the members of this band are their libidos. Parental Advisory: Too hot to handle. Pass this one by. The Band: Limp Bizkit The CD: “Significant Other” Copyright 8 1999 Flip/Interscope Records During what was the final chorus of the song “Break Stuff,” performed at Woodstock ’99, lead singer Fred Durst urged the large gathering of nihilists to relieve itself of “negative energy.” The spectators seized on his counsel and commenced to despoil and loot their surrounding habitat, raping several women along the way for good measure. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Just Like This,” Durst blurts, “It ain’t fake when the girls get naked.” On “Nookie,” he barks, “She’s stuck with my homeez that she ****** . . . but I’m a sucker like I said, ******up in the head,” and, “I did it all for the nookie.” On “Break Stuff,” he yelps, “Everything is ****** . . . your best bet is to stay away ************ . . . damn right I’m a maniac, you better watch your back cuz I’m ****** up your program.” On “Don’t Go Off Wandering,” Durst howls, “ I’m stuck with my **** in my hand.” My Take: And stuck with that with which he thinks. Parental Advisory: Limp Bizkit has nothing to contribute to the betterment of the culture. Steer clear. The Band: Marilyn Manson The CD:
“Mechanical Animals” Copyright © 1998 Nothing/Interscope Records Brian Warner (Marilyn Manson) needs a dad, but not the one who raised him. In an article that appeared in New Man
magazine entitled “Marilyn Manson’s Revenge,” by Walt Mueller, Manson said that his father “constantly
threatened to throw me out of the house and never failed to remind me that I was worthless and wouldn’t amount to anything.
Sound like any young people you know? The bleak
psychosis into which Manson and the tormented youths who buy his disturbing music have morphed can best be illustrated by
the complete lyrics to the following song, “User Friendly”: “Use me when you want to c*** / I’ve bled
just to have your touch / when I’m in you I want to die / user friendly f****** dopestar obscene / will you die when
you’re high / you’d never die just for me she says / ‘I’m not in love, but I’m gonna f*** you
/ ’til somebody better comes along / use me like I was a whore / relationships are such a bore / delete the ones that
you’ve f*****’.” God help Brian Warner and the misguided, “fatherless” children who look to
Marilyn Manson for answers. Selected
lyrics from various songs: On “Posthuman”: “God is a number you cannot count to,” and, “God
is just a statistic.” On “The Speed Of Pain”: “The crack inside your f****** heart is me.” On
“Mechanical Animal”: “You were automatic and as hollow as the ‘o’ in God.” On “I
Want To Disappear”: “Look at me now / got no religion / look at me now / I’m so vacant / look at me now
/ I was a virgin / look at me now / grew up to be a whore / and I want it / I believe it / I’m a million different things
/ and not one you know,” and, “I wanna die young / and sell my soul / use up all your drugs / and make me c***.”
On “Fundamentally Loathsome”: “And I am resigned to this wicked f****** world / on its way to hell / the
living are dead and / I hope to join them too.” My Take: Parents: Love your children more than yourselves, be there for them at all times, and “judge with
justice, reprove without fear or favor, and never be in two minds about your decisions...” (Didache). Love them, demonstratively.
Parental Advisory: Enough said. The Band: Hole The CD:
“Celebrity Skin” Copyright © 1998 Geffen Records Inc. OK. Every
song is about Nirvana’s Curt Cobain, singer/songwriter Courtney Love’s deceased husband. There. Truth. “Celebrity
Skin’s” muscles have atrophied, whereas in leaner times pure intensity and raw energy stretched Hole’s sinew
and the music pumped and raged. Whole-hog fed on celebrity, Hole weighs in fleshy and flabby, Love swears like a startled
preacher’s wife and the whole thing smells like back-bacon. Selected
lyric from one song: On “Playing Your Song,” Love matter-of-factly sings, “It’s f****** wonderful
they sold you out.” The word “slut” appears in the song “Celebrity Skin.” That’s about
it for profanity and slang. My Take: Topic: Courtney Love is filled to the brim with herself? Talk amongst yourselves. Parental Advisory: The f-word, and Love’s pitifully self-absorbed lyrics, make this CD inappropriate for
adolescents and young teenagers. Older, mature youths should seek out more responsible role models. The Artist: Rod Zombie The CD:
“Hellbilly Deluxe” Copyright © 1998 Geffen Records Inc. Subtitled
“13 Tales Of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside The Spookshow International,” one wonders what kind of parents he claims
whom he thanks in the CD booklet. Open to the first page of said booklet and you’ll discover a picture of “The
Nude Ghoul,” a come-on for the “Sexy Shock Show” and page after page of asinine, childish, horror-comic-book-like
idiocy. A 14-year-old girl I spoke with shrugged off Zombie as “just fun, you know, like, Halloween.” Selected
lyrics from various songs: On “Dragula,” cretin Zombie growls, “Dead I am the dog, hound of hell you cry
/ devil on your back, I can never cry.” On “Living Dead Girl,” simpleton Zombie snarls, “Blood on
her skin / dripping with sin / do it again / living dead girl.” On “Demonoid Phenomenon,” dolt Zombie yelps,
“Violator — desecrator / turn around and meet the hater.” Finally, on “The Ballad of Resurrection
Joe and Rosa Whore,” moron Zombie caterwauls, “She wants some more / sweet Rosa Whore / I say hell is love / you
say I must suffer / she’s a mother****** / resurrect me.” What fun. Bring out the clowns. My Take: This stuff is too mindless to be taken seriously, but, unfortunately, many impressionable, undisciplined
and unsupervised kids, in particular young boys, will get sucked in to this demonic drivel, from which they will learn to
become delinquent, disrespectful, disgusting louts. Parental Advisory: Exorcize this from your adolescent’s or teenager’s possession immediately. The Artist: Lauryn Hill The CD:
“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” Copyright © 1998 Ruffhouse Records LP Lauryn
Hill, formerly of The Fugees, has grown up. I gather from her extensive raps that she was abused by her former “man,”
became pregnant and gave birth, despite advice to the contrary from so-called friends. Selected
lyrics from the last tune, “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill,” portray the extent to which she has matured, even
spiritually: “My world it moves so fast today / The past it seems so far away / And I squeeze it so tight, I can’t
breathe / And every time I try to be / What someone has thought of me / So caught up, I wasn’t able to achieve / But
deep in my heart the answer it was in me / And I made up my mind to find my own destiny / I look at my environment / And wonder
where the fire went / What happened to everything we used to be / I hear so many cry for help / Searching outside of themselves
/ Now I know his strength is within me....” Good for Lauryn Hill. There
is, however, one song that includes the words f*** and a**, yet they’re used in context with serious points made about
responsible relationships, accountability and self-respect. My Take: On “Everything Is Everything,” Hill sums up what most of us experience sooner or later: personal
change for the better. “Everything is everything / What is meant to be, will be / After winter, must come spring / Change,
it comes eventually.” Parental Advisory: This CD is about sin and salvation. Teenage girls (and boys), black and white, caught up in
drugs, abusive relationships, or suffering from a lack of self-respect or depression, could learn from Hill’s confessions
and redemption — she bares her soul. And if they listen closely to the lyrics, they might even ponder their own souls’
destinies as well. The Band: The Offspring The CD: “ Copyright © 1998 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The Offspring would like “to make the world be a better place.” I suggest they disband and volunteer
at a soup kitchen or join the Peace Corps. Now that would make a difference. Selected lyrics from various songs: From their hit “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)”: “They’re gonna kick
his lily ***.” On “The Kids Aren’t Alright”: “He just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot /
Jay committed suicide / Brandon OD’d and died / what the hell is going on.” Their parody of the ’70s hit
“Feelings” by Morris Albert is a bitter pill, indeed: “Feelings / for all my life I’ll feel it / I
wish I’d never met you / you’ll make me sick again / Feelings / oh oh feelings / of hate on my mind / Feelings
/ feelings like I never liked you / feelings like I want to kill you / live in my heart.” Now now. On “She’s
Got Issues,” the young lady in question seems rather troubled: “Now she talks about her ex nonstop, but I don’t
mind / but when she calls out his name in bed / that’s where I draw the line / you told me a hundred times how your
father left and he’s gone / but I wish you wouldn’t call me daddy / when we’re gettin’ it on.”
Gulp. Bitch and sh** pop up on later tunes, and on “ My Take:
The Offsprings’ parents surely must be proud. Parental Advisory: No decent parents in their right minds should allow this stuff in their homes. The Band: The Flys The CD: “ Copyright © 1998 Trauma Records Here’s a band with a smidgen of musical promise that’s nonetheless lyrically challenged. But compared
to other popular bands visited in this column, The Flys are more subtly lewd. In fact, the CD booklet’s line art is
more lascivious than most of the lyrics. Selected lyrics from various songs: On “Got You (Where I Want You),” the lyrics mean nothing unless the dominatrix
image upon which they are overprinted has something to do with the song. “Take U There” bespeaks the author’s
personal growth: “Ain’t got no right or reason / ain’t got no soul to speak of / I ain’t got no compass
/ or no sense of self-direction / but I’ll call you when I get there.” No collect calls, please. Could be harmless
stuff, but what do the lyrics from “Superfly” really mean?: “In those days I rode on the back of you / kissin
all that *** / in no time I found out the answer was / ‘***, gas, or grass’.” “Sexual My Take:
I’ve done what I do when I do it to you, which is dissing your doo-doo for folks not like you. Parental Advisory: Mom/Dad: Do what YOU need to do to keep this CD out of range. The Artist: Jewel The CD: “Spirit” Copyright © 1998 Atlantic Recording Corp. Some years older now since her last release, Jewel is a more reflective artist with a vision for a better world.
Her personally intense poetry is delightful in many instances, yet mystifyingly esoteric elsewhere. Selected lyrics from various songs: From “Deep Water”: “ And when you’re drowning in deep water / And
you wake up making love to a wall / Well it’s these little times that help to remind / It’s nothing without love,
love, love.” From “Hands”: “I will gather myself around my faith / For light does the darkness most
fear.... For someone must stand up for what’s right.... In the end only kindness matters.... We are God’s eyes
/ God’s hands / God’s mind ... God’s heart.” From “Down So Long”: “I look to everybody
but me to answer my prayers / ’Til I saw an angel in a bathroom who said she saw no one worth saving anywhere.”
Try looking up! From “Innocence Maintained”: “So he found himself a whore to love while daisies choked in
the window sill / We’ve made houses for hatred / It’s time we made a place / Where people’s souls may be
seen and made safe.” We call it the confessional, dear. Also: “We are given to a god to put our faith therein
/ But to be forgiven, we must first believe in sin.... I want to live bravely and love without fear / I want always to feel
the wings of grace near / We will all be Christed when we hear ourselves say / We are that to which we pray.” Finally,
on “Life Uncommon”: “There are plenty of people who pray for peace / But if praying were enough it would
have come to be.” My Take:
Wanting a better world is fine; all mankind should work toward that. But her pious Deism, which is a denial that God interferes
with the laws of the universe, and thus that we, in essence, are gods, sends the wrong message. Yes, it’s about love,
but it’s also about salvation. Parental Advisory: Although sincere, well-meaning and thoughtful, Jewel is a good messenger, but her message falls short theologically.
That, along with several sexually intimate passages make this a big no-no for adolescents, and a big maybe for teenagers,
even those mature and well-grounded doctrinally in their Catholicism.
SIDEBAR 1 Three Easy Disses Without going into detail, the following three rap CDs should be off-limits to all adolescents and teenagers. The first is a female group called Total, and the song “Masturbation” on this CD is exactly that —
a moanin’ and groanin’, one-woman bathtub pageant, compliments of rapper Keisha. Next is dj Quik, a rapper who has little, if any, respect for the opposite sex on the CD “Rhythm-al-ism.”
So what’s the inspiration for the song titled “Medley For A ‘V’ (The P***y Medley)”? What once were interludes between songs take on lives of their own on volume one of “Bad Boy Greatest Hits.”
Nigger and the f-word, with its numerous compound variations, eclipse all of the English language’s linguistic possibilities
on this tribute to so-called rapper greats, such as Puff Daddy and The Notorious B.I.G.
SIDEBAR 2 Recommended From the editors of Focus on the the Family’s newsletter Plugged In, a new book, “Chart Watch,”
compiles more than 400 CD reviews that have appeared in past issues of Plugged In, and includes practical tips to help families
make informed choices about the music their children may wish to bring home. A must reference book for parents who care (Tyndale
House Publishers). Loud and Clear Music Reviews by Richard Beemer from Jan/Feb 03 Catholic Parent LOUD AND CLEAR by Richard Beemer The Artist: Peter Gabriel The CD: "Up" © 2002 Geffen Records Peter Gabriel’s long-awaited follow-up to "Us" (it’s been 10 years since
his last album) won’t disappoint his hard-core fans, but there’s nothing new about his songs on this CD except
his tendency to see only a dim light at the end of the dark tunnels he explores. Selected lyrics from various songs: On the song "Darkness," Gabriel admits: "I’m afraid of what I do not know . . . I’m
afraid I can be devil man / and I’m scared to be divine." Gabriel sees a small beam of light on "Signal To Noise": "When
all things beautiful and bright / sink in the night / yet there’s still something in my heart / that can find a way
/ to make a start." He satirizes Jerry Springer-like shows, easy targets for anyone with half a sense of outrage: "‘My
lover stole my girlfriend,’ ‘I keep beating up my ex,’ / ‘I want to kill my neighbor,’ my daughter’s
selling sex,’ / ‘My s/m lover hurt me,’ ‘my girl became a man,’ / ‘I love my daughter’s
rapist,’ my life’s gone down the pan." My Take: Something
happened to Gabriel during his lean years of not recording that keeps him, unfortunately, in the dark. Parental Advisory: For mature young adults only. The Band: Disturbed The CD: "Believe" © 2002 Reprise Records This is Disturbed’s second release, which is supposed to be more aggressive
than the debut CD, but the final cut, "Darkness," surprises head-banger listeners with a sad ballad. You’ll have to
go to Disturbed’s Website or view the enhanced content on the CD to view the video for "Prayer," because those ever-righteous
executive guardians of the major video outlets felt that the video’s apocalyptic subject matter was too reminiscent
of 9/11 events. Selected lyrics from various songs: "Prayer" is supposed to be a conversation between vocalist David Draiman and God, and a symbolic
representation of the Book of Job: "Another nightmare about to come true / will manifest tomorrow. / Another love that I’ve
taken from you / lost in time, on the edge of suffering. / Another taste of the evil I breed / will level you completely."
Sounds as if God’s the bad guy. Disturbed stoop to an unsurprising lyrical low with the following on "Liberate": "Liberate
your mind / you ************. / You’re so narrow-minded / so narrow-minded / Liberate your mind / now, ************.
Will you liberate your mind / this time." On "Devour," someone is looking for redemption in all the wrong places: "Run, to
where the smallest ray of light will never find you / Run, to where you will not need to shield your eyes / Run, away from
all the soulless, heartless fiends who hound you / Run, away and let your memories go blind." My Take:
From an article in Hit Parader magazine: "Disturbed insist that we all believe in ourselves rather than in some autonomous
government or faceless, soulless media." OK, fine. But it’s disturbing that this band is incapable of taking it to the
next level. Parental Advisory: Disturbed will only confuse your children. The Artist: Beck The CD: "Sea Change" © 2002 Geffen Records Lyrically, Beck has penned some of the most depressing lyrics of this year. Sounds
as if he’s mourning the breakup of a relationship, and he’s not moving on. Selected lyrics from various songs: On "The Golden Age," Beck offers a bleak outlook: "These days I barely get by / I don’t
even try / It’s a treacherous road with a desolated view." On "Paper Tiger," the depression takes hold: "We’re
just holding on to nothing / to see how long nothing lasts." Beck is beyond pitying with the following, from "Guess I’m
Doing fine": "It’s only lies that I’m living / it’s only tears that I’m crying / it’s only you
that I’m losing / guess I’m doing fine." My Take:
Time DOES heal. This CD reinforces my opinion that teenagers shouldn’t date one-on-one until they’ve found their
vocation in life and are ready to settle down. Parental Advisory: For older, mature and relationship-free teenagers only. The Artist: India.Arie The CD: "Voyage to India" © Motown Records The period in her name is supposed to make her distinctive. She’s more distinctive,
however, in her admitting to a spiritual journey, which she is proud of and doesn’t compromise. Selected lyrics from various songs: On "Beautiful Surprise," Arie gives thanks for a good man: "And I am thankful for the man that
you are / You are everything I asked for in my prayer / So I know my angel brought you to my life / Your energy is healing
to my soul." Aria gives it up on "Healing," with nothing else but these lyrics: "I release all disappointment / From my mental,
physical, spiritual, and emotional body / Cause I know that spirit guides me and love lives inside me / That way / Today I
take life as it comes." She yearns for lasting commitment with a man on "Can I Walk With You": "Can I walk with you through
your life / Can I lay with you as your wife / Can I be your friend till the end / Can I walk with you through your life." My Take: Arie
is without a doubt grounded in a solid Christian faith, and stays away from racy lyrics, which plagues most other R&B
femmes fatales. Parental Advisory: A scenic "voyage" for mature, teenage girls grounded in their faith. Loud and Clear Contemporary Music Reviews for Parents from the July/Aug 2002 Catholic Parent LOUD AND CLEAR by Richard G. Beemer The Artist: The CD: " © 2002 Murder Inc. Records It’s not surprising that 21-year-old Selected lyrics from various songs: On "Leaving," she tells the one she’s dumping: "Who else would to hold you and sex you
crazy?" On "Scared," she yelps: "I’m feeling the **** out of you / You feeling the **** out of me." However, until things
change, "It’s going to be ****** up." On "Baby," she coos, "When you touch me my whole body quivers." In a little dialogue
segue into "Over," she and her man-for-the-moment have words, and his selection includes, "What the **** are you sayin’?" My Take:
In the vast, deep Parental Advisory: Not for your adolescents or teens. The Artist: Celine Dion The CD: "A New Day Has Come" © 2002 Sony Music Entertainment Fans waited five years for Dion’s latest studio album, which climbed to No.
1 its first week with 500,000 copies sold. Selected lyrics from various songs: Dion celebrates the love of her husband on several songs. On "I’m Alive," she promises:
"When you reach for me / Raising spirits high / God knows that / That I’ll be the one standing by / Through good and
through trying times." She sings passionately about her love for her man on "Right In Front Of You": "Faith / It can lift
you up / And we’ve got enough to reach a new beginning / Love / Can withstand a storm in the final hour / We’ll
find the joy in living." She sings devotedly about an aging mother she dearly loves: "Goodbye’s the saddest word I’ll
ever hear / Goodbye’s the last time I will hold you near / Someday you’ll say that word and I will cry / It’ll
break my heart to hear you say goodbye." On "Nature Boy," a remake of the 1948 classic, she sings the line "The greatest thing
you’ll ever learn / is just to love and be loved in return" as if it were her own. My Take:
If the liner photos of Dion and her family are any indication, she unashamedly puts her family first. Parental Advisory: For all ages. The Band: The Goo Goo Dolls The CD: "Gutterflower" © 2002 Warner Bros. Records Inc. The Goo Goo Dolls have been depressing people for about 15 years now, and their
latest CD is no exception. Selected lyrics from various songs: On "Big Machine," the mournful John Rzeznik wails: "Nothing’s real and nothing lasts /
And I’m aware / I’m in love and you don’t care / Turn your anger into lust . . . Love and sex and loneliness
/ Take what’s yours and leave the rest." More angst on "Here Is Gone": "I have no solution / To the sound of this pollution
in me / And I was not the answer / So forget you ever thought it was me." He’s also bummed out on "Truth Is A Whisper":
"Who’s the one you answer to / Do you listen when he speaks / Or is everything for you / And do you find it hard to
sleep / Or is it easy on your own / Will you ever find some peace / Before you’re gone." My Take: Although
there’s little profanity on "Gutterflower," the notions of grace, love or hope are concepts the Gog Goo Dolls fall short
of grasping in their quest for peace within. Parental Advisory: For older, mature and well-adjusted teenagers only. The Artists: R. Kelly / Jay-Z The CD: "The Best Of Both Worlds" © 2002 Zomba Recording Corporation What do you get when you combine a man who stabbed a record producer and another
man accused of statutory rape? Why, the best of both worlds! These sociopathic individuals collaborated to produce a CD that
spent three weeks as No. 1 on the R&B charts. Selected lyrics from various songs: Let’s see. Take the f-word, the words bitch, s**t and n****r, and you’ve pretty much
defined the vocabulary of this disc. Here’s a sample from the song "Naked," which manages NOT to include the f-word,
bitch, s**t or n****r: "Girl I’ll take my clothes off first, then now you / Ooooooooooo-oo-ooo-oo-ooo-oo-ooo-oo-ooo
baby / Baby, tonight we’ll be naked / Ooooooooooo-oo-ooo-oo-ooo-oo-ooo-oo-ooo / I’ll take a stroll through your
garden of love." The poetry of "Shorty" just rolls off the tongue: "Now that **** done ****** around and made me rich / And
for those of you who don’t like it, y’all can suck my ‘uhhhh". . . . Get that ***** wet enough to put out
a bonfire / She be like ‘Wooooo’ and I be like ‘Woooooo’. . . . 4 slim bodies scooped me in a wide
body rover / Panties and bras all the way from the bed to the sofa / For all you so-called R&B playas, I’m ’bout
to coach ya / Sit right there and watch me freak yo girl chocha / It’s the best of both worlds, stickin’ ya in
the ‘uhhhh’." Finally, the song "P***y" celebrates, at one point, a 7-year-old boy losing his virginity to an
11-year-old girl. My Take: What’s
astounding is that people actually pay money for this stuff. Parental Advisory: Not for your adolescents or teens. LOUD AND CLEAR from July?Aug 2003 Catholic Parent By Richard G. Beemer The Artists: t.A.T.u. The CD: "200 KM/H In The © 2002 Universal Music No, I haven’t seen the video of these young Russian lesbians making out on
MTV, and don’t want to. Each song is about their love for each other. Or is it just a marketing ploy? They peaked at
No. 13 on the Billboard charts, but they may be back. Selected lyrics from various songs: On "All The Things She Said," their current hit and highly ranked MTV video, one shares with
the other: "They say it’s my fault that I want her so much / Want to fly her away where the sun and rain / Come in over
my face / Wash away all the shame / When they stop and stare — don’t worry me / ’Cause I’m feeling
for her what she’s feeling for me." On "Show Me Love," the passion becomes overwhelming: "Show me love, show me love
/ ’Til I’m Screaming for more." On "Stars," they look for acceptance: "Are we in space? Do we belong? / Someplace
where no one calls it wrong." My Take:
From Parental Advisory: If your daughter brings this home, you’re going to have issues. The Artists: The The CD: "Home" © 2002 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. This "roots" CD by the Dixie Chicks is old-time country, and because of that they
walked away with three Grammys this year: Best Country Album, Best Country Instrumental and Best Country Performance by a
Duo or Group With Vocal. Selected lyrics from various songs: "White Trash Wedding" is about a reality for too many: "Baby’s on its way / Say I do and
kiss me quick / ’Cause baby’s on its way / I shouldn’t be wearing white and you can’t afford no ring."
"More Love" is a song simply about the love we all need from those we love and who love us: "More love, I can hear our hearts
cryin’ / More love, I know that’s all we need / More love, to flow in between us / To take us and lift us above
/ If there’s ever an answer / It’s more love." The Chicks sing of real, married love on "I Believe In Love": "Oh,
I’d rather be alone / Like I am tonight / Than settle for the kind of love / That fades before the morning light." "Godspeed"
is a sweet and sentimental lullaby: "God bless mommy and match box cars / God bless dad and thanks for the stars / God hears
‘Amen’ wherever we are / And I love you." My Take:
A class act. Parental Advisory: None The Band: Trapt The CD: “ū” © 2002 Warner Brothers Records Inc. Trapt have one of the strangest CD covers I’ve encountered. It’s a color
photo, looking circa 1950s, of a man aggressively pushing one of those ancient, motorless rotary mowers that even I remember
using. Trapped? Sigh. This is their debut CD. Selected lyrics from various songs: The "Parental Advisory Explicit Content" notice on the front of the CD is for the few, foul
four-letter words that pop up, such as on "Headstrong": "I see you’re full of **** and that’s alright." What’s
prominent with this disc’s lyrics is angst. Here we go again. For example, on "Still Frame": "I see the clock and it’s
ticking away, and the hourglass empty / What the **** do I have to say." And: "Now we’re older it’s getting harder
to see / What this future will hold for us, what the **** are we going to be / So lost, I’m just as lost as you." Finally,
on "When All Is Said And Done": "Stop trying to control everything and **** what they say, what do you have to prove?" My Take:
Nothing at all unique about this band except their generic blandness. Parental Advisory: Don’t let anyone in your family find themselves "Trapt" in this stuff. The Band: Zwan The CD: "Mary Star of the Sea" © 2003 Martha’s Music L.L.C. What is it about Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame that is so rivetingly boring,
his nasal attempts at singing so irritating, his arrangements so continuously underdeveloped they grow like carpet? That said,
the song "Jesus, I ♠ / MARY STAR OF THE SEA ♠" is bound to be a cult classic. It has an acid taste of emotion, passion and lyrics that confound: "Jesus, I’ve taken my cross all to leave and follow thee / I’m
destitute, despised, forsaken / all to leave and follow thee." The obligatory f-word appears in "Yeah": ’Cause you are
my faults as you are my own / and you built my will but what I want you can’t ******* kill." On "Come With Me," Corgan
pleads: "Stay the night / stay all your life / just come with me." Hmm. But on "Ride a Black Swan," the lyrics take a spiritual
turn: "A white horse picks my dreams up to take my hopes to God / My prayers have nestled brightly to dim my sense of awe
/ I want you to be someone I can’t deny a house of fire / I want you to be something I realize as the world goes ’round." My Take:
Overwhelmingly mediocre musically, with one exception, and lyrically complicated, but confounding. Parental Advisory: For the older, more mature young adult only.
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