Music and your growing kids

[Ms. Mom]

Ok, ds is 7 now and starting to have his own musical taste. I'm really excited to see what he likes and dislikes.

My only concern is some of the lyrics that have come up and how to handle it.

He's learning to play a song by his guitar teacher right now and the music is really beautiful, but I'm concerned about the words. So far he dosn't care what the words are.

Rotting Pinata - by Sponge

get on the rodeo that is
your life
beat on me
spill my insides out on
the ground
cut on me
i will go when i say die
i will rot away
like a rotting piñata

see my soul
it cuts a hole in the sky
standing near
watch the birds eat out my
eyes
it will rot away
like a rotting piñata

here lies this junk of me
here lies this wreck that
was me
oh god help me rot
i don't look quite the
same
grab my beating heart
tear it from this broken
cage today

i'm rotting
i'm coloring
i'm red and black
i'm twice my size
don't cry for me
just pull the plug
and let me fly

i will rot away
like a rotting piñata

Have any of you dealt with this yet? How do you handle a young child exploring this?

[khrisday]

We haven't had to deal with this yet- my 6 year old is still into the Raffi and Wee Sing stage of musical entertainment (sometimes delays ahve a good side too) What I think I would do is just have a discussion with him about the lyrics and what he thinks they mean, what you think they mean, and what you both think the author is trying to convey. The lyrics actually are not that bad- he could be into rap music! :

[Ms. Mom]

Thanks, that is a good idea. I asked him what he thought and he said he can't here all the words because he's trying to hear the strum pattern (lol). I guess I'll keep the communication open and see how it goes!

He won't listen to Wee Sing or 101 Silly Songs anymore - he calls it baby music. He's growing so fast...

[~member~]

Hello Ms. Mom!
My 6 yo DD has 'favorites' and I often wonder what she is going to say to me when she is older and understands the lyrics. Ie- 'What kind of mother were you? How could let me listen to that?!?', etc. Right now, one of her favorites is the Janis Joplin song that goes something like, 'Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porches and I must make amends...'
Or Christina Aguilera? (DD calls her Christina Allegra LOL!)
"I'm a genie in a bottle. You gotta rub me the right way if you want to be with me. I can make your wish come true.."
Osmosis Jones Soundtrack - Cool Daddy Cool by Kid Rock : He sings about having sex with young girls and 'some might call that statutory, I call it mandatory..'

Of course, being the 'good' mom that I am, did I bother to listen and preview these CD's before purchasing them?!? NOOO! Although, I actually only bought the Osmosis Jones CD, all others were gifts. Okay, okay, I actually believed that Osmosis Jones being a kid movie would have kid songs: Well, I have learned my lesson.
Worse yet, is the Pocahontas one that some 'friend' got DD. DD is Native American, and, I don't know the word(s), so here's the scene. My precious, Native American DD siting on the floor singing along, "Savages, savages, savages! What are we waiting for? We will wipe them out until there is a trace no more!"
And no, I have no idea who or why someone would take that video out to the back of my apartment building and stomp the heck out of it and rip its guts out. Really, I don't know who.