R-Rated Radio. Do today’s top hits really need to be so raunchy?

Have you listened to the radio lately?

When I am driving, the radio is usually on.  And I’m in my car a lot. Let’s face it, when you are a mom to two boys ages 12 and 13, you might as well add Chauffeur to your job title.

This past weekend was no exception.  All four of us were in the car together, me, hubby and the boys.  I don’t remember where we were going, but I can’t seem to forget the lyrics of the song that we all heard for the first time together.

The song , I learned later is called “The Hardest Ever”  by will.i.am, Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez.

While there are technically no “bad” words in it (at least in the clean version) most 12 or 13 year olds know what the singers are talking about. My jaw just about hit the floor. And  I could hear my boys giggling in the back seat.

I realize, I could have changed the station, but I was curious. I wanted to know if the lyrics could get any worse.

If you aren’t sure if you have heard this song, you can click the iTunes link for a preview.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/t.h.e-the-hardest-ever-feat./id481538740

Here are some of the lyrics.

I’mma be the owner, be a thought donor
I’mma go hard, like a muthaf*c*in boner

I woke up in the morning,Hard like morning wood in the morning
Woke up thinking about microphonin’

Wait a minute, I’mma make it a little harder
I’mma make it a little harder
Give it to you a little harder
THIS IS HARD….

[Mick Jagger]
Hard like a rock n roll
The time bomb’s tickin’, explode
Baby this is dynamo
Better move back now
It’s bout to blow
Hard like Geometry, and Trigonometry
This is crazy
Psychology
Get it baby
I’m bout to win
Watch out now
I’m going in
You can go hard or you can go home

You get the picture.

I realize this isn’t the first explicit song my kids have heard and it certainly won’t be the last.  How about the Lazy Song… 

Tomorrow, I’ll wake up, do some P90x

Find a really nice girl, have some really nice sex.

And she’s going to scream out

this is great

(Oh my god, this is great)

Some stations bleep out the word SEX in the Lazy Song, but I hear kids sing along and just fill it in themselves.  They know.

Then of course, one of the most talked about dirty songs in parent circles: Rihanna’s S and M.

‘Cause I may be bad, but I’m perfectly good at it

Sex in the air, I don’t car, I love the smell of it

Sticks and stones may break my bones

But chains and whips excite me

So where am I going with this blog?

I don’t blame the radio stations for playing this stuff.  It’s business. And it is my choice to listen or not.  Some stations choose to bleep out certain words. Others do not.  But if you ask me, unless all stations are bleeping the words, it doesn’t matter.

I am also fully aware that in the world we live in, Sex sells.  But I’d like to ask the music industry “Would it really make a difference if you switched a few words?”

Do you really need to talk about a boner, a wood or the smell of sex? Are these sexual innuendos that crucial to making these songs hits?

I realize lyrics are important. Heck, I still remember words to songs that were popular in the 70’s and 80’s.  I can’t remember people’s names, but if you asked me about a Donna Summer song or Little River Band tune, I could probably recite almost every word off the top of my head.

I’m not an expert in music. I’m just a mom who sometimes can’t believe what I am hearing and I would love to challenge music producers and songwriters to clean it up just a bit. I think you can still create the same effect without being so graphic.

Would love to hear what you think? What songs come to mind when you read this? Or do you think these types of lyrics are appropriate for the radio?