Rap and hip-hop song lyrics proven to twitterpate teens

Yesterday, a headline on The Raw Deal news site claimed to have discovered a link between "raunchy music" and early teen sexual behavior. The study, which described the troublesome musical lyrics as "depicting sexually insatiable men pursuing women valued only as sex objects," was based on telephone interviews with more than 1400 youth ages 12-17 years old.

While the study claims to have controlled for other variables that may explain the differences in reported sexual behavior, questions remain about the subjective categorization of the song lyrics and about whether listening to these songs leads to sexual activity, or if research participants who became sexually active earlier, were more likely to listen to genres of music that might be sexually explicit.

Let's be frank... clearly, we're talking about lyrics in rap and hip-hop here.

Could it be that researchers failed to identify more subtle sexual innuendos or degrading descriptions of women in other genres of music? It's possible... some can be quite tricky to catch, but may be just as damaging to the teen psyche.

For example, perhaps we should no longer allow teens to listen to:

BROADWAY SHOWTUNES

"I'm a toy balloon that’s fated soon to pop... But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!"

Cole Porter's You're the Top, from De-Lovely

"If she fights when her clothes you are mussing, What are clothes? Much Ado About Nussing. If she says your behavior is heinous, kick her right in the Coriolanus. Brush up your Shakespeare and they'll all kowtow."

Cole Porter's Brush Up Your Shakespeare, from Kiss Me, Kate

"But he drew me close and he swallowed me down...down a dark slimy path where lie secrets that I never want to know."

Stephen Sondheim's I Know Things Now, from Into the Woods

COUNTRY MUSIC

"Mama, lock your daughters up, that vile bunch is back in town, and them little girls get frisky when they hear that racecar sound...They're bringing out the yellow flag; somebody's brakes have failed...Theres an oilslick on the inside and a wreck along the rail...You'd better stand on it, Stroker cause a bandit's on your tail."

Charlie Daniel's Band's Stroker's Theme

"Girl, you’ll remember what your knees are for."

Sugarland's Baby Girl

JAZZ AND BIG BAND

"You perform miracles whenever you hold me near...Tender, warm miracles that make me surrender dear, yes and when you kiss me heaven opens wide... And there you are inviting me inside."

Louis Armstrong's Fantastic, That's You

"Flat Foot Floogey with the floy floy...floy doy, floy doy, floy doy, floy doy."

Benny Goodman's, Flat Foot Floogey

And don't even get me started on CLASSIC ROCK!

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Posted by Jenn on August 8, 2006 10:26 AM
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