What the %*&@# Has Happened to Song Lyrics?!

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

They tell stories about Elvis Presley in his heyday being criticized – labeled as scandalous – because of the way he would gyrate his hips on television.  Viewers were appalled at this sort of demonstration.  In those times this was more than frowned upon.

While it’s true he went on to become known as the King of Rock & Roll, keep in mind that he kept all his clothes on, was clean cut, and (without reviewing every lyric of every song in his vast catalogue) probably didn’t have any profanity in his songs.

Before you slap the “old guy” tag on me, understand that scores of listeners and creators (and maybe even psychologists) would tell you how impressionable music can be.  It’s not unlike why there is a ratings system for movies.  Responsible parents don’t want their kids hearing bad language and/or seeing adult-type scenes.

Which brings me to the sad state of song lyrics today.

What the heck has happened and when did it get this out of control?

I remember being a kid and saying someone was a jerk, and my parents coming down on me as though I just damaged that person’s property.  Yet in 2020, kids can potentially hear any of George Carlin’s proverbial seven dirty words by easily accessing music on their phone, which most seem to own and carry these days.  Even YouTube is making a big push to get more users to embrace YouTube Music as the streaming platform of choice from the sea of endless app options that make songs so easily accessible.

A look at the charts this morning reveals some gruesome findings.

On the Top 200 chart on iTunes (a.k.a. Apple Music), 43 of the songs are marked as having explicit lyrics. That almost 22 percent, or, more than one out of five songs.  Keep in mind how many songs might be listened to in an average streaming session and that means you can probably be assured of hearing at least one song with explicit lyrics.  The chart does span many genres, including at least one Christian artist that jumped out at me, not to mention country and even “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins.  Even Taylor Swift is on there – with a song that’s marked as explicit.  You know, the same Taylor Swift who is supposed to be a role model to so many young kids, but who also committed two offenses that I documented on this site three weeks ago.

It gets worse.

This morning I also looked on Spotify at the US Top 50 chart, which is labeled as, “Your daily update of the most played tracks in United States right now” (sic) and has close to 3.3 million followers.  They would be jealous of Apple Music’s figure of “only” almost 22 percent.  How about that 35 out of the 50 songs have explicit lyrics?  Are you kidding me?  Seventy percent?!

From the category of, “Watch your mouth, young man,” what point are you trying to make that has to be done through profanity?  Perhaps I should start taking a poll with the songwriter guests on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast and ask, “Where does profanity come into play in your songwriting process.”

Last week UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten said that during his career he noticed that when opponents would start using profanity, they were nervous.  He took it as a sign of weakness and was able to exploit it.  Perhaps there are recording artists nowadays who struggle with confidence in their lyrics and try to hide behind profanity to try to be that same tough guy that went up against Bas in the octagon.  To them I simply say that Bas ended his career on a 22-fight unbeaten streak.  So, the cursing wasn’t fooling anyone.  The best rose to the top.

Clean up your act.

Want to disagree with me?  Tweet your reaction to me on Twitter to @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, use Facebook or LinkedIn, or even email to continue the conversation.

I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.

Taylor’s Two Most Recent Moves Weren’t Real Swift

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

If Taylor Swift were a baseball player, she’d quickly find herself behind in the count, 0-2.  As quickly – and in the same timing – as the Major League Baseball season started, so has the songstress initiated a new campaign that, like the proverbial boys of summer and their bizarre 2020 season, seemingly will require an asterisk also.

I’ve been publishing a weekly blog here every week for what will be six years come the end of September.  While my content is always centered around the entertainment industry, I don’t write about songs, EPs, or full albums.  So, my offering this week is not a commentary on one (or more) of Taylor Swift’s songs.  I’ll leave that for the critics.

Instead, I am very bothered by two missteps she has taken in the span of just a few days.  It’s just not good business.

First is, I am not a One Direction fan.  To clarify, that doesn’t mean I don’t like their music, it just means that I don’t follow them.  However, you didn’t have to be a One Direction fan to know that last Thursday was the ten-year anniversary of the band.  I bumped into the news that day on Twitter, among other countless places it was being reported.

Notice the day that I said that occasion was.  Last Thursday.  As in, the same day that Taylor Swift decided to do an album release that no one knew was coming.

In a time when there is nothing going on thanks to the darn Coronavirus, there’s not a lot of entertainment news to compete with.  So – again, speaking as an uninterested third party who, as admitted above, isn’t a fan – did it have to be on the same day as One Direction’s milestone?  Am I supposed to believe that no one on the Swift camp saw it coming?  There wasn’t a single person around her who could’ve said, “Hey, that’s the same day as the One Direction ten-year anniversary.  Maybe we should wait until the following Thursday”?

The guys in One Direction will get over it, I’m sure.  But what about Tim Halperin?  Is he just supposed to get over Taylor Swift now putting out a music video that is an exact duplicate of one that he had put out nine years ago?  This, my friends, cannot be a coincidence, and again, she must be the one to accept responsibility, even if someone on her team did have prior knowledge.  And don’t just take my word on it.  Watch the side by side comparison of the twovideos yourself.  I dare you to tell me that you don’t see the similarities.  If you do, I’ll ask you to watch it again without your rose-colored glasses.

Tim Halperin has done great things.  Back when I interviewed him for Episode 70 of “Now Hear This Entertainment,” he had been on Season 10 of “American Idol.”  Fast forward to 2020 and he was on NBC’s “Songland.”  He has built up a nice following, while not being quite the household name that Taylor Swift is.  Hopefully, their names will be in the same sentence, though, when she takes ownership of this situation and addresses him.

She needs to bear down on this test, though.  We’re all sitting in our home bleacher seats waiting for the next pitch to see if she strikes out.

Can I get an “Amen”?  Tweet at me to @NHT_tweets on this.  Alternatively, use Facebook, LinkedIn, or even email to continue the conversation.

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I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.