Project Revolution 2008
OK…so in my heart…the music will NEVER die. But check this out. I had a revelation of parental nature the other day. Mother by Danzig was playing on the radio. Aside: I love radio. Real, local, FM radio, not the new-fangled satellite stuff with no commercials. Although truthfully I’ve never had satellite radio. But then I would miss out on the local DJ’s and the cool stuff that goes along with listening to local stations…fundraisers, griping about local news and whatnot. I seriously love radio. But ANYWAY. So I was listening to Danzig and for the first time EVER, I felt a twinge of defensiveness listening to the lyrics. Holy sheets! I am the mother in the song now! I am no longer the hot young thing chasing after the bad boys. Nooooooooooooooo! When did this happen!?!?! Alright. Yes. I know when it happened. It happened on July 4, 2009. So, my point being…am I turning into my mother?!?!? A little bit yes, I already knew that, but that’s a tale for a different night, a night of getting blitzed on various tropical-themed adult beverages. Seriously though. This was a pivotal moment in my life. I felt the Earth shift a little bit. I couldn’t bring myself to really jam to the song anymore. I was pissed at Danzig, I wanted to kick him in the nuts, put him in a headlock (sure…I could do that) and tell him to keep the fuck away from my precious daughter. Which got me to thinking. What about all the other music I love that is totally inappropriate for children? Will I slowly lose my love for raunchy dance tunes and angst-ridden rock music? Oh my gawd, I really hope not. Will I take offense to every anti-parent anthem? And if I don’t develop a disgust for it all, how am I going to get my fix?! Should I stop listening to the music I love in the company of my children? Should I attempt to let them listen and keep a open dialog about lyrics and the issues they bring up? How will I explain it to my kids when I’m passionately belting out “I WANNA TAKE A RIDE ON YOUR DISCO STICK?”
I have lots of questions and not very many answers here. I once read the quote, “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” which is attributed to Berthold Auerbach. It’s a beautiful and intensely relevant sentiment for me. My selfish side really wants to go with the open dialog option, but I can already see the flaws. It’s going to be quite awhile before my kiddos are ready to even have a dialog about a lot of issues that come up in pop music these days. So yeah…I may have to sacrifice and let some dust accumulate on my soul. But I’m thinking maybe the kiddos will help wash it off with their antics.
Gasp! You know what just occured to me!? I might have to start exercising to give myself an excuse to listen to music. Eek!
I feel your pain. I had this thought the other day. I was singing along to La Vie Boheme from Rent and I looked down at LA watching me and went “oops.”
I suppose being a parent might involve the use of headphones or something … I hate to think the answer is exercise!