In preparation for a series of Wednesday night youth classes called “learning to discern,” I recently decided to check the lyrics of the current top 10 songs in America based on physical sales, digital sales, and radio airplay This adventure was somewhat depressing to say the least.
I remember as a teenager hearing Casey Kasem count down the top 40 songs of the week based on billboard magazines charts. I must admit I have not been a top 40 listener since I was a teenager. However I know without a doubt that now over some twenty years later, I have witnessed the absolute unraveling of the music entertainment industry.
The hardest part of preparing my lesson was this; I can’t even use or read the lyrics of the songs I investigated in order to explain just how bad it is. It would literally be completely inappropriate for me to try and have an honest talk about any details of the lyrics and themes of these songs.
In the coming weeks I will be doing similar lessons on entertainment such as movies, television, and gaming. Unfortunately, I am not to hopeful it is going to be much better. Truth is I am beginning to question whether it could possibly be any worse. After reading these lyrics I can’t imagine what you could sing about that would be more offensive or vulgar than what is now at the top of the charts.
Please pray as I discuss this with our youth and challenge them to swim against the stream of American secular culture and use Godly discernment in their entertainment choices.
Here is the summary of the Top Ten Songs and Artists from billboard magazine. Billboard is considered the foremost authority worldwide in music charts, and the rankings have gained a following among the general public. It is typically regarded as one of the most relevant and unbiased sources of information on the music industry.
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Billboard Hot 100 ranks the top 100 songs regardless of genre and is based on physical sales, digital sales, and radio airplay.
By the way, an excellent site to get Christian reviews for music, television, movies, videos, and gaming (from which I borrowed for some of these) is the Focus On The Family website called Plugged In Online at http://www.pluggedin.com/
Here are the top 10 for the week ending March 7, 2010.
1. Imma Be – The Black Eyed Peas – a song about drugs, alcohol, partying, sexing. The f-word, the n-word, the s-word and every other imaginable obscenity both in words and themes. Yes this leads the top ten – sadly it only gets worse.
2. Bedrock – Lil Wayne (featuring lloyd lyrics) – The first line of the song “I Can Make Your Bed Rock” along with graphic and explicit lyrics concerning a sexual encounter, the rapper Lil Wayne incarcerated on felony weapons and drug possession charges has the words fear and God tattooed on his eyelids, apparently he does not.
3. Need You Now – Lady Antebellum - about a man and woman who get drunk on whiskey waiting and she calls the old boyfriend for a one night stand although she knows she will regret it in the morning. Lady Antebellum is the 2008 new artist of the year in country music. Again not the worst on the list but alcohol and one night stands blur the otherwise tamed love stories.
4. TiK ToK- Ke$ha – brushing teeth with Jack Daniels, drinking the night away, getting arrested, partying and encounters with the guys. Basically celebration of the party lifestyle. Ke$ha explained her inspiration for writing music, “I’ll usually go out, have one f‑‑‑ing insane night, come home half drunk, stumbling, and write down a few words. The next morning I’ll wake up and be like, Whoa, this story needs to be told. Like this single I have out right now, called ’TiK ToK.’”
5. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga – explicitly graphic request and offers for sexual activities. The video shows a bathhouse where Gaga is kidnapped by a group of supermodels who drug her and then sell her off to the Russian Mafia as a sex slave. Lady Gaga often boasts of her bisexuality, swooning over the devotion of her huge homosexual fan base. What she sells more than music – narcissism and self-destruction.
6. Hey, Soul Sister – Train – about a guy who is enamored by a woman who we wants to have a relationship with. Not graphic but suggestive of a one night stand. This may have been the tamest of the top ten.
7. How Low – Ludacris – seems to be an explicitly graphic description of an encounter in a strip club. Ludacris, is an extremely lewd rapper who sings more graphically than just about any modern rapper. Ludacris songs are loaded with Graphic sex, profanity, drugs, booze and guys toting guns.
8. Rude Boy, Rihanna – explicitly graphic lyrics about a sexual encounter, this is one of thirteen songs off the album title “rated R” which probably should be “rated X”.
9. Say Aah, Trey Songz – a song about drinking alcohol, club hopping, and then once intoxicated they move the party to his condo and further describe in detail what happens next. The music video for the song was released along with the video to “I Invented Sex.”
10. In My Head, Jason Derulo – song is about someone who is fantasizing in their mind about having a sexual relationship with graphic lyrics about the details. The Song was alternately to be called “In My Bed”.
Scriptures for the lesson.
Psalm 98
A Psalm. 1 O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. 2 The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, With the lyre and the sound of melody. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord. 7 Let the sea roar and all it contains, The world and those who dwell in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy 9 Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.
Psalm 150
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. 2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. 3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Romans 8:5–8
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
