What do you think of swearing in music?

[mvd]

Poll question: What do you think of swearing in music?

I'd say it's only annoying if used gratuitously throughout the whole CD. There are other factors, too - maybe Avril's new CD shouldn't have had that much swearing since her new sound is more youthful - but generally I'm ok with it. There are some who think The Wreckers shouldn't be in the country music genre since they used a couple "s" words. That's going way too far IMO. I just enjoy them as a great duo.

[JVS]

1. LONG LIVE THE CHRONIC

[bigwillq]

2. Musical artists should have the right

to swear in their songs.

I don't mind it.

[mvd]

5. Hi, billwillq!

I never buy edited CDs. It sounds like they are skipping. Even if an album has a lot of swearing, I'd rather buy the unedited version.

[bigwillq]

14. Me too!

Just like I don't like watching Movies or Pay-Cable TV shows on regular TV...it just annoys me when they bleep it out or change the words.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. neither do i. i love peaches and she swears all the time.

[Deep13]

3. Christ, I hate it. Bothers the fucking shit out of me! nt

[mvd]

6. LOL

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. 'Gosh darn the pusher'?

:puke:

[Robeson]

28. You read my mind....

...I'll take the original lyrics on that one.

[jpgray]

7. Same as in movies, plays, art, whatever--language is a toolbox

[Joe Fields]

9. kind of unnecessary.

[skygazer]

10. Exactly what I think of it in literature

If it fits the character or serves to drive the story or make a point, it should be there. If it's purely gratuitous and does nothing to enhance the message or the idea, it's a pompous affectation.

When Roger Waters sings that he's got "13 channels of shit on the tv to choose from," he's saying something pertinent to the song.

[Beer Snob-50]

11. if it is gratitouitous I really like it.

[Orsino]

12. If it's the only way to get accountability for music's many failures...

...then sure, put it under oath. I say subpoena Manilow's I've-been-alive-forever ass, too.

[ghostsofgiants]

13. I don't care either way.

I swear. Most people swear.

[Left Is Write]

15. I agree with Avril's new CD could have had a little less swearing.

But I like it anyway. :)

[mvd]

17. Same here

As I said, it's more youthful sounding than her others, but I enjoy it.

Have a good weekend. :hi:

[Telly Savalas]

16. Summerfuckintime

And the fucking living is goddamn easy
The fish are fuckin jumpin
And that cotton shit is high

Your mutherfuckin' daddy's rich
And your mama's hella good lookin'

So hush little baby
Don't you fucking cry


Man, I'm glad George put the foot down on Ira's propensity for profanity.

[IntravenousDemilo]

22. Hey, neighbour...

That was fuckin' DuBose fuckin' Heyward who wrote that particular shit, not that Ira bitch. Fucken!

[Telly Savalas]

23. Oops. My bad.

And sorry, but I'm now only a neighbour in spirit. My family moved to Kansas City.

It's nice, but I often find myself really missing Parkdale/Roncy Village. :cry:

Hope all is going well there!

[IntravenousDemilo]

27. I heard that everything's up to date in Kansas City. They've gone about as fer as they can go.

When did you move down there? Wish we could have met when you were just a couple of blocks away.

And spring is here, finally. Temps in the 20s tomorrow. After my church gig, I shall go for a nice bike ride tomorrow in High Park.

Speaking of which, from Tom Lehrer:

POISONING PIGEONS IN THE PARK

Spring is here, a-suh-puh-ring is here.
Life is skittles and life is beer.
I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring.
I do, don't you? 'Course you do.
But there's one thing that makes spring complete for me,
And makes ev'ry Sunday a treat for me.

All the world seems in tune
On a spring afternoon,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.
Ev'ry Sunday you'll see
My sweetheart and me,
As we poison the pigeons in the park.

When they see us coming, the birdies all try an' hide,
But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide.
The sun's shining bright,
Ev'rything seems all right,
When we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

Lalaalaalalaladoodiedieedoodoodoo

We've gained notoriety,
And caused much anxiety
In the Audubon Society
With our games.
They call it impiety,
And lack of propriety,
And quite a variety
Of unpleasant names.
But it's not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon.

So if Sunday you're free,
Why don't you come with me,
And we'll poison the pigeons in the park.
And maybe we'll do
In a squirrel or two,
While we're poisoning pigeons in the park.

We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment.
Except for the few we take home to experiment.
My pulse will be quickenin'
With each drop of strychnine
We feed to a pigeon.
It just takes a smidgen!
To poison a pigeon in the park.

[Danger Mouse]

18. Cursing in and of itself doesn't bother me.

However, nasty imagery I don't much like. I don't want to hear about how 'they're bound to like my doody crack.'
No. Shut up.

[RedCappedBandit]

19. I put I don't mind it - I swear a lot, but

a) I don't really swear alot, it more or less depends on the company I am with.. I usually try to use more vibrant and meaningful language.

b) In plenty of cases, swearing is a good way of getting emotions across in music. Of course, there are also plenty of cases where a talented lyricist can think of ways to better convey their feelings.

c) Regardless of a person's opinion of swearing, I don't think it should be censored.

[Broken_Hero]

20. hmm, I went with

I don't mind it - I swear a lot....


:hide:

[Deja Q]

21. Depends on the context.

But, overall, I like the concepts of decorum and dignity in music. Swearing seems tasteful and annoying.

[LaurenG]

24. Wow - I didn't read this correctly at all...

thinking that I've never heard music during a swearing in. ;-)

:shrug:

[RFKHumphreyObama]

25. It's OK in the appropriate context

And there are some songs were no swearing would lessen the impact of the song. But I don't like gratituous swearing that serves no purpose and singers who inject needlessly inappropriate swear words into their songs to make themselves sound "cool" or "with it" or whatever. But it is not a big issue for me and I do listen to some songs and CDs which have quite a lot of swearing in them -although it is also sometimes true that I look for edited versions of some explicit songs

I used to be quite prudish about listening to songs about swearing and it is only in recent years that I have become more liberal-I wouldn't listen to Eminem's hits for the longest time because I didn't like want to hear the obscenities in his music. But he was on a hits CD that I purchased and one day I turned on his hit and forced myself to listen to the single on the CD only to find out they'd actually edited out the swearing:rofl:

[realisticphish]

26. well, you know

it depends on the culture the artist is targeting. Polka? Yeah, probably not. But other musical cultures curse all the time in conversation, so I would think the music should reflect that. Personally, I don't care, as I curse all the fucking time.

[Generic Brad]

29. Never underestimate the power of a well place cuss word

If used sparingly - they are extremely effective in conveying a message.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

30. The country of my birth

Used to have very strict censorship laws about swearing in music -it has a board that goes and reviews all the latest hits and edit out sexual references/swear words before the song was aired on radio. So example Meredith Brooks's "Bitch" had all the b-word references removed and was known by a different title when it went on radio

Unfortunately for this country's government, the censors aren't always up with the latest jargon/words. So when Bobby Brown's "Humping Around" came out, they had no idea what it was referring to and allowed it to air uncensored

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. For the most part, I think it signifies a profound lack of creativity

I use expletives quite a lot, too. But it's usually because I'm too lazy to find inoffensive words to express myself.

[LostInAnomie]

32. Cussing is like air to me

Music is about expression and sometimes "shucks" and "gosh darn" aren't enough.

IMHO, country music could use a lot more "shits" and "fucks" thrown into the lyrics. It would finally make it authentic expression of life, instead of just adult pop.

[av8rdave]

33. I didn't realize they played any music during a swearing in

It's supposed to be a solemn occasion, though for the pResident's swearing in, "Send in the Clowns" or "American Idiot" might have been appropriate.