Random Rantings of Jordan Drew

The other day my kiddos and I were in the car and they asked me to turn on “their” radio station. Reluctantly, I acquiesced, and teeny-bop beats come sounding through my speakers. Catchy tunes too, I can kind of see their appeal to the kiddos. Then I start paying attention to the words. Instant. Headache. followed by an hour long conversation with my 9 and 6 year old to explain that Romeo and Juliet were not the ideal romantic couple: they didn’t live happily ever after, they DIED. Romeo and Hester Prynne didn’t know each other, so that “You were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter” bit doesn’t even make sense, not to mention calling yourself a “Scarlet Letter” really doesn’t paint you in the greatest of lights. I went on to explain that it isn’t our god-FORSAKEN right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved; and the word “suck” shouldn’t be used in a song about people you care about, as in “my life would suck without you”. The kicker? A song by a kid, who doesn’t sound like he could possibly be much older than my nine year old singing about his girl “Shawty” who he loves, is the one, and he would give everything to, right down to his last dime, which my youngest son wanted to know if the tooth fairy brought to him. I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

A while back, I mentioned something to my friends on facebook that has been bothering me for YEARS. Some were wondering when I fell off the deep end of sanity, but a couple of others actually joined me in my quest to find an answer. They didn’t find one, and we’re still confounded about the whole thing. The first line of The Rainbow Connection asks “Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side.”

I don’t think it is two distinct questions. It’s a single question, and one to which the answer is “There aren’t” There aren’t so many songs about rainbows AND what is on the other side of them. My friends and I Googled, Bing-ed (that’s not one you can just add the “ed” to without spawning odd looks and weird questions, btw), and even Ask.com-ed, man. There isn’t a single one, unless you count that one, and because it is the one actually asking the question, I’m not 100% sure you can count it.

Music spawns all sorts of pointless tangents for me. My kids aren’t always appreciative when I start ranting about music, but it’s all in good fun, so they deal. I do worry about our musical future and the clashing of Titans… um, generation gap, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out… and even though they look at me funny and say things like “Mama, stop , just let me hear the song!” – my life would most definitely suck without them.

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