Disappointment of the Week

My disappointment of the week- purchasing an anticipated Avril Lavigne album and finding, not one, but 4 songs with “bad” words. Great songs with great beats. Some great messages, even. Too bad I can’t play them in the car. Too bad I’ll have to upload the clean songs to Ipod if I want to play just them. Too bad such a talented girl felt she had to be so “rough” and “raw.”

I have a confession to make. Years ago on an album by this same artist, I convinced my kids she sang, “damp,” cold night. Maybe that was a sign. I guess it wasn’t a one-time thing.

I’m disappointed that this album didn’t have a parental warning on the label. I’ve purchased “clean” version albums before. I didn’t think that there would be CD’s without the label that had offensive language. I checked into it, and found that there’s no standard for using the warning. Did you know that? I also found out that retailers like WalMart won’t stock CD’s with the warning. Seems like there’s an incentive to leave it off.

You can preview most songs online, but unless the snippet includes the bad words, you still won’t know. And you can’t take it back once you’ve opened it. There’s $14 out the window…

It just makes it harder as a parent to keep up with what your kids are listening to. I usually get Sabrina’s music and rip it to her Ipod for her. But a lot of parents don’t. How many parents have listened to every CD their kids own?

So, here’s the other issue: The standards. When researched, it seemed only blatant, face-blushing language was given a warning. I’m not a prude, but it seems like the standards have changed fast. What used to be “offensive” isn’t considered so. And, yes, I know my kids have heard the words before. But, they’re not pretty—or intelligent vocabulary. Why expose them repeatedly until they are desensitized?

In searching for anything “virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy,” it sure can be difficult, can’t it? But, it’s so worth it. So, goodbye to Goodbye Lullaby. I’m disappointed that you weren’t appropriate to truly enjoy.