Poop Cookies Part 2

Continued from Part 1...

Bring in iTunes and a few new downloaded albums:

• Lemonade Mouth: Lemonade Mouth  The kids wanted this after seeing the movie.  The songs are catchy, fun, and have encouraging lyrics.
• Toby Mac: Tonight  We love Toby.  We got the extended album and can't listen enough.  The kids want to hear more of Toby's son "TruDog" Truett.  I don't know why I didn't get this album sooner.
• The Afters: Light Up the Sky  Fun CD, the title track being my favorite song, but they are all good.

Listening to one of Toby Mac's songs, Hold On, I actually had tears well up as I thought how glad I am they have these words in their hearts and minds instead of songs that end with "I wanna have you naked by the end of this song."  (And you who know me know I love me some Justin Timberlake.)

Here's a portion of the lyrics from "Hold On."  (The portion that made me tear up. Mostly because I was thinking about my girls and how, just two days prior, they had come in feeling very bad about themselves because of how some other kids were treating them.  THIS is the kind of music I want them to go to their rooms to listen to.  Not something about having a gun and the other kids better run fast.)

Wake up to the rising sun
thank the Lord for the things He's done
lift your eyes up to the hope that's ever true
Wanna see you smiling girl
you're a light in this jaded world
wipe away those tears
this one's for you

Come on, move a little bit closer, you can put your head on my shoulder
Yeah, yeah

[Chorus]

And the stars are up there shining for you
oh, the Father does adore you
His love will never change
And you and I
we were born to follow
the hope that will lead us to tomorrow
and no one can take it away

So baby hold on
just another day or two
I can see the clouds are
moving faster now
and the sun is breaking through
If you could hold on
to the one that's holding you
there is nothing that can stop this crazy, crazy love from breaking...

Yes!  I don't care if my kids wanna listen to pop, country, hip hop, rap, or hard, heavy metal like Living Sacrifice. (Which, to me, sounds grating like hip hop/rap sounds to my mother.) as long as what is being engraved into their minds over and over and over again through the music is a message that is in line with our family's worldview, I'm good with it.  You may have to remind me of this post when TJ is 12 and wanting to download every Living Sacrifice album.

At one point, we were listening to a song that we all agreed had a great sound, rhythm, and was just fun. But there in the middle of all the fun were some tacky lyrics.  "But it's such a good song! That's just one little part of it."  Yep.  Poop cookies.

In our family, we all know the story we call "Poop Cookies."  It goes something like this:  A dad offers his daughters delicious chocolate chip cookies.  He explains that he used special fine flour, the richest butter, the most expensive chocolate.  He asked if they wanted one.  Of course they did!  Before they took a bite, he let them know he did add just a touch of the dog's poop from the backyard.  As the girls gagged and threw the cookies across the room, he said, "But they are the BEST cookies with all the best ingredients.  There is only a little tiny bit of dog poop."

Of course you wouldn't want the cookies touching your mouth.  So why make the same compromise with what you put in your mind and what gets engrained there for your entire life?

Hearing parents are bad enough about not knowing what kids are listening to.  (I'm an example.  I was listening to stuff when I had no clue about the words.)  For Deaf parents, I would want to take extra care to really look over the lyrics of popular songs as well as stuff on your kids' computers and iPods.  Looking at the lyrics isn't always enough.  (I'm thinking of Britney's song "If You Seek Amy.")  Check the music video, too.  That will provide even more insight into the band and meaning of the song lyrics.  (Although not always. That song Pumped Up Kicks had a video that would never clue one in to the meaning of the song.)  There are websites that analyze the meanings of songs.  Many songs are interpreted on You Tube now and even by very good interpreters.

Eric Witteborg is my favorite.  I love watching him preform songs. He hasn't done too many recently, but what he HAS done is unbelievable.  Last month, he downloaded one minute of a super-fast rap song. It's WOW!  I can't watch too many times. Cry Me a River is another favorite that he does.

Tiffany Hill is someone I've just discovered this week.  She's GREAT! She has a couple of current popular songs posted right now.  Her interpretation of "Firework" is awesome!

This guy is amazing, but be warned. ALL are explicit, very sexualized songs.  But for Deaf parents, you can truly see the meaning of the song.

What about you Deaf parents or hearing parents? How do you monitor your kids music?