Lessons from the Jamaica 50 Song Fiasco

A map of Jamaica (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The predictable chorus of voices asking why Jamaicans are spending so much time talking about the Jamaica 50 song, misses, as we tend to do, the real issue. (If you missed the debate of the last few days check out my post on the Jamaica 50 song controversy here). People have real concerns  about the way this process has been handled, about inclusiveness, and most of all about what many feel has been the marring of a national celebration by political bickering and one-upmanship.

The Culture Ministry’s determined insistence that there is no problem, that we all should just hold hands and get along, ignores, deliberately, its role in the problem.  The latest statement from the Ministry has managed to blame almost everybody but itself, saying that:

“It is unfortunate and regrettable that the promotional agency associated with the producer of  the “On a Mission” marketing campaign song and a corporate sponsor of Jamaica 50, as part of the sponsor’s undertaking to promote the song, incorrectly  branded a released CD and associated printed materials with the declaration of the “On a Mission” marketing campaign song as the Official Jamaica 50 Song, without the required vetting or approval of the Jamaica 50 Secretariat.”

I think only Shaggy escaped censure there.

English: Shaggy Deutsch: Shaggy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are lessons here for the future, though, if only we would heed them.

1. Allow the annual Festival celebrations to be the vehicle driving such national celebrations. The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) puts on the annual Festival events. They are fun, well-produced, and well-attended.  With those already scheduled events themed for Jamaica 50,  or Jamaica 60 or whatever,  there would be no need for any additional big,costly national events. Each parish also already has its own programme, eg the JCDC Evenings of Excellence, which again are well attended.   With perhaps the addition of a western Grand Gala, or something else to ensure that Kingston is not the only focus, we could achieve the goal of a national celebration with not too much more additional cost.

2. The National Secretariat of such a big event should never again be located in a Ministry, with all the political issues that we have seen develop here. If the secretariat had been independently situated and truly national in composition, the disturbing changing of gear and shifting of focus that has caused a lot of the fuss would never have been necessary.

3. Similarly, regional planning committees could develop events that are celebratory but also money-making in scope, for example special community festivals and cultural events that could be put on the national calendar and marketed as tourist attractions.

4. The addition of  a series of national discussions about Jamaica at 50, and our path ahead for the next 50 years, would add the contemplative note many people feel we need at this time. Hey, I would love to see Parliament spending a few days debating that issue.

5. Let the Festival Song stand as the official song of the celebrations. Barbara Gloudon made the point on All Angles, my TV show on Television Jamaica (you can view the programme on the All Angles page at http://www.televisionjamaica.com) that people have hated some festival Songs and that many veteran producers would feel they are too big to participate in any kind of a national competition to choose a song. Well, so be it. We need to nurture new talent anyway.

Русский: Флаг Ямайки Slovenščina: državna zastava Jamajke “The Sun shineth, the land is green, and the people are strong and bold” is the symbolism of the colours of the flag. BLACK represents the strength and creativity of the people; GREEN represents hope and agricultural resources; GOLD represents the natural wealth and beauty of sunlight. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For us to benefit from this experience, however, there first has to be an admission that there was a problem, and so far we haven’t seen that. That is the real pity here.

PS – Oh, Culture Ministry – blaming the media? Really? The latest statement on the issue says:

“It is unfortunate that extended media attention has been devoted to a debate about a song for Jamaica 50 rather than about the real significance the Jamaica 50 milestone in the life the nation.”

I guess the folk up at Culture have been so busy not knowing what was happening with the mission-campaign-song-incorrectly-branded-as-a-Jamaica-50-song, they haven’t realized how much work the media have been doing on exactly that – contemplation of where we are at 50 years. Taking a few minutes to note the concerns people have doesn’t negate that. But hey, you have to blame somebody. Our backs are broad, we’re used to it.

Related articles

• Our Jamaica 50 Song….What the Hell Is It? (newsandviewsbydjmillerja.wordpress.com)

Our Jamaica 50 Song….What the Hell Is It?

Русский: Флаг Ямайки Slovenščina: državna zastava Jamajke “The Sun shineth, the land is green, and the people are strong and bold” is the symbolism of the colours of the flag. BLACK represents the strength and creativity of the people; GREEN represents hope and agricultural resources; GOLD represents the natural wealth and beauty of sunlight. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So even our music has fallen victim to that agent of change – the election. Some months ago, I was perplexed to see people calling for Eric Donaldson’s “Land of my Birth” to be made the official Jamaica 50 song. What the hell? I thought. We already HAVE a Jamaica 50 song! Remember? The song, “Find the Flag” was produced by the respected veteran Mikey Bennett and officially presented to the country.

Let me reiterate that. The song was officially and publicly presented to the country last October. If you don’t believe me, or never heard about it, read this story by Mel Cooke in the Jamaica Gleaner.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20111204/ent/ent7.html

A Reporter’s Guide to Jamaica 50 sent out by the Culture Ministry in December stated that:

“The Jamaica 50 song ‘Fly (sic)  the Flag in Your Heart’, written by Michael Bennett, captures Jamaica’s journey of challenges and triumphs.”

So I posted to that effect, saying that we have a Jamaica 50 song.

Except… silly me. There was an election. For months we heard nothing of Find the Flag  - the official Jamaica 50 song – until another story in the Observer told us the song had been shelved.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Soundtrack-shelved–No-word-on-JA-50-song_11513407

Shelved? How could it be shelved? It’s the Jamaica 50 song! Not any more, apparently!

The Jamaica 50 secretariat (under, as they say, new management) now says that there was no documentation that the song had been commissioned or was the Jamaica 50 song. Emm….. it was officially presented to the country! No, that didn’t count.

Mikey Bennett says it is customary for him to work based on verbal agreements, and after all, this was an agreement with officials from the Government of Jamaica, not some fly-by-night outfit. He also says there were some disagreements over the cost of the song, until he and the artistes decided that they would donate the song for use in the celebrations for free, and communicated this fact to the Ministry. He told me that his publisher was in the process of putting together the necessary documentation.

He has since realized that the song has been dumped as the Jamaica 50 song, and all the artistes who worked for many passionate, excited hours with him have been calling to ask what the hell is going on. Bennett says one of his primary concerns is whether anyone thinks he was “trying a ting,” pulling a fast one, and misrepresenting the agreement with the Culture Ministry.

Apparently, some kind of compromise has since been cobbled together which should see the song being used somewhere in the Jamaica 50 celebrations. Former Culture Minister Babsy Grange, who has said she is upset at how the situation was handled, met with current Minister Lisa Hanna and says this was one of the matters discussed.

Please note that I’m not commenting on whether I like Find the Flag or the song which has now been introduced to the country as the Jamaica 50 campaign song, Nation on a Mission. My problem is much more fundamental – it’s how we do things.

I’m not getting into any argument with anybody about which song is better.

The fact is, a song was chosen and then rejected by a subsequent government. I have a serious issue with how this has been handled. This smacks of disrespect of the highest order.

The same Reporter’s Guide to Jamaica 50 listed the following singers as participants in the Jamaica 50 song - Bunny Rugs, Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, Freddy McGregor,Tarrus Riley, Cocoa T, Konshens, Mr Vegas, Ernie Smith, Agent Sasko, Capleton, Chevelle Franklyn, Stitchie and Admiral Bailey. These are among our best artistes. There were also the musicians and technical crew, many of them also well-known names.

Photo from Wikipedia

I make no comment on the Culture Minister’s claims that the Jamaica 50 programme had to be streamlined and re-organised. I’ll leave that argument to the current and former holders of that office.

I am, however, saying that the work of the professionals involved in creating the song should have been respected. The clear decision of the previous administration that Find the Flag was the official Jamaica 50 song should have been let alone.

I think that the shelving of Find the Flag was totally unnecessary and brings to mind some of the sillier parts of our political history – remember the change from Jamaica Information Service (JIS) to Agency for Public Information (API) back to JIS  anyone?

I hold no brief for Mikey Bennet and the musicians and artistes who worked on Find the Flag.  I am not a musician. But I am a Jamaican, and I don’t like what happened here.

Mission Catwalk – Review

Reality Television (Photo credit: badjonni)

 

For the uninitiated, Mission Catwalk is a Caribbean reality show, where aspiring fashion designers create outfits each week based on a specific challenge. Every week, one gets booted out. There has been great talent on display, and it’s a fun show, but could be even more fun. Here’s how.

The contestants need to be more natural. We WANT to see ourselves on screen. Those of us who like (love!) reality shows want to watch contestants chop some creole and drop some Jamaican (or Trini or whatever) attitude. Otherwise, we might as well be watching Project Runway or Fashion Star.

 “Dah dress deh shot like M-16!”

Ok, no one actually said that but how much more fun it would be if the contestants would let down their hair a little more and talk the way they really talk! Caribbean people are hilarious. In every gathering, you have loud talk and laughter and a couple of  crazy storytellers and jokers who can turn a trip to the patty shop into a rolling on the ground laughfest. I refuse to believe the contestants are really that quiet and emmm, ok, boring. I’m not saying make a jackass of yourself for the camera but, you know, loosen up!

Check out the fan favourites. Gregory and Keshon, the contestants who talked Jamaican, acted Jamaican and generally came across as entirely natural and uninhibited.  Our language is fun and colourful, and so were Gregory and Keshon. Big up to them. Gregory also made it to top three, so he’s also talented, I thought Keshon was too, and could see him developing a Biggy-type clientèle eventually.

I watch reality shows for the competition and talent, but you also want some energy and interaction. I don’t care how good the music is, unless it’s Rising Stars! Using music to fill the gaps and try to pump up the energy didn’t work for me.

Photo from Wikipedia

The show, like many local productions, has great potential. Expanding beyond Jamaica to include designers from other Caribbean countries was a smart marketing idea, plus helped to mix it up a little.

TV is as much about style as content. Great designers yes, but we also want super entertaining TV. Mission Catwalk  can get there. And yes, I’ll be watching next season!

News and Newsworthiness in the Age of Social Media

Photo - Palto

I received several very interesting and thoughtful responses to my post “Is the Yendi Story “News?” and wanted to share them with you and continue the conversation about what makes a story newsworthy. It’s a question which members of the public often ask, baffled about the content of a newscast or stories on the main pages of a newspaper.

Journalism professor Tony Rogers in an article on About.com outlined the basic criteria as follows:

Impact or Consequences

Conflict

Loss of Life/Property Destruction

Proximity

Prominence

Timeliness

Novelty

In relating those factors to the Yendi story, communications lecturer and broadcaster Hume Johnson made a similar list on my blog:

1. Proximity.
2. Significance
3. Relevance.
4. Prominence.
5. Human Interest.
6. Conflict.
7. Unusualness.

She said:

Photo - Rosengurtt at en.wikipedia

“The Yendi story satisfies #4. She is, for all intents and purposes a celebrity – prominent individual in our Jamaican community. So it is news. Yet the particular story is only ‘soft’ news. Should we give attention to soft news? I would say depends on where in the paper you put it. Front page – that would be absolutely scandalous; yet those whose aim is to sell newspapers will trump a political story for a soft news story because the ‘business model’ of the media industry and the revenue agenda would be chief determinant in this scenario.”

The problem, of course, is that these criteria are applied subjectively by editors.

Hillary Profita, formerly of CBS (the home of 60 Minutes) pointed this out in a 2006 article on the company’s websitein the context of a discussion about the role that race and class play in leading US news outlets to cover stories  like the disappearance of Natalee Holloway (white, middle-class, teenager), while ignoring that of  Marion Fye, (36 years old, a single mother of five children, unemployed and African American).

Natalee Holloway (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

She suggested that an indicator of the public’s rejection of the criteria applied by editors could be

“…the fact that more are veering toward the Internet to get news, where to a greater degree the news judgement is one’s own.”

She also echoes the sentiment I expressed about how editors and newsroom people decide what is newsworthy in noting that:

“…editors claim to know (what is newsworthy) when they see it. Unfortunately, in my view, that decision seems to boil down to what those of us in newsrooms, and not readers, care about.

And there’s the problem. What draws the interest of people in the news business (what they like to read and write about) often bears little relationship to what people who live in communities like Marion Fye’s care about. In that sense, what newspapers deem “newsworthy” is not actually information that is most relevant in terms of its potential effect on readers’ and viewers’ lives, but what is most out of the ordinary.”

It was in that vein that I had disagreed with Hume’s analysis by stating that:

“The story satisfies no. 1 – proximity – she is a celebrity, but she is ours, she is Jamaican, we all watched her become runner-up in Miss Universe and many people have been following her career. People feel close to her.

It also satisfies no. 5 – human interest. It is also unusual, no. 7 – of course, not in the sense of a woman becoming pregnant for a man, but the surrounding circumstances, the announcement on FB, the reactions and huge response, combined to make the way this story unfolded unusual – that fueled the story still more.

Relevance – no. 3 – I don’t know who determines what is relevant – if people are interested in someone or something, news about that person or thing will always be relevant.

…timeliness – again, she broke the news, the reactions started then she fueled it with the interview, and all this was being reported as it happened.”

Keriann took the discussion further by placing the story squarely within the framework of the social media age.

Author - Jeff Ogden

“It most certainly satisfied news value no.6 as well – conflict. The responses illustrated a conflict of values in the society. The country was clearly divided among those who thought the circumstances were no big deal and those who disapproved, and each side was vociferous about its position. That conflict matters, because each society (especially developing ones) must determine the value systems that will inform policies, laws, etc.

Unusual is also being defined too narrowly as a news value. It does not only address the sensational (man bites dog). It describes that which is unexpected. And the reactions have made it clear that Yendi was not expected to make the choices she did. If she was, there would not have been any heavy interest in her announcement or the aforementioned conflict.

Your argument about timeliness and the age of her pregnancy is also flawed. The stories of the intense reaction were carried within hours of the intense reaction. And it’s the reactions which made the story big. Also, if we’re discussing the pregnancy itself as a story (which it was for entertainment segments), then the age of the pregnancy doesn’t matter. It’s when the public discovers it, that it matters. The birth of former US presidential candidate John Edwards’ love child did not become news until well after the child was born.Should American media have ignored the story because they didn’t know about it as soon as his lover was pregnant? In cases when pregnancies are news, they do not become news when the parents become aware. They become news when the public does.

All journalism students will be familiar with your list of news values because it was developed to provide a means of helping media practitioners determine which stories will be of public interest. The closer an editor or journalist followed those principles, the more s/he was guaranteed public interest, which is the ultimate aim. It’s a shortcut to the right decision because naturally, editors cannot pick up the phone and call every potential news consumer everyday or conduct a focus group before choosing stories. So s/he unconsciously applies the news value test to stories everyday, hoping s/he made the right call. o The level of interest in her story will tell her whether s/he applied the principles well. Overtime, if a news source keeps making the wrong decisions, it will be penalised with low ratings in the market.

Photo - Wikimedia Commons

But here’s the clincher: in the age of social media when a story immediately goes viral, the public interest is already apparent! When there is already public interest, your system for determining public interest doesn’t need to be dissected because the end result (which the system was set up to determine) has already been achieved. It’s like working an equation backwards. You must get the same result or your inputs were wrong.”

Thanks to all who have commented and Hume and Keriann in particular for their thoughtful and considered respones. I’d love your comments as well. Is the migration to social media an indicator that traditional media are ignoring the interests of the public? Do newsrooms need to rethink how they apply the criteria of what constitutes a newsworthy story? And as Keriann suggests, if a story goes viral on social media, does that  make the list redundant?

Is the Yendi Story “News?”

Yendi Phillips
Photo – Wikimedia Commons

Of course not, traditionalists say. How can that be news? Well, it certainly doesn’t fit into the politics-economy-crime triumvirate with which we like to bombard our listeners and viewers. Forget the fact that people are interested in a much wider range of issues such as health, diet and nutrition, consumer affairs, and yes, entertainment.

God forbid we cover and talk about what people are interested in. No, to make the bulletin, it must be about the Net International Reserves, the International Monetary Fund, five people gunned down somewhere or a cass-cass in one of the political parties (which many people give not one hoot about – I actually think that most of the people interested in the happenings within the political parties are the politicians, their die hard supporters and we reporters).

I’m not saying Yendi’s pregnancy should have led the newscast. Please. But most major newscasts entirely ignore anything in the entertainment arena which doesn’t involve ground-breakings and speeches by government Ministers.

Many of us in media have very straight-laced, hide-bound and yes, out-of-date

Photo by DNY59

notions about what constitutes the “news” and what we should be talking about on current affairs programmes. The issues of interest to the lives of most people are often ignored.

Case in point – I once had a huge argument in the newsroom because I wanted to interview the author of a book about marriage and divorce from a Christian perspective. The book in question is called “The Man I Married is Not My Husband, the Woman I Married is Not My Wife.” It was written by a priest who spent years doing marriage counselling. My colleagues  couldn’t see how that issue was relevant to a current affairs discussion programme. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Well, it’s relevant to people’s lives. By definition for me, that makes it current.

(Disclosure: I have a personal connection with the author. Having said that, the book is a fascinating read, and it’s in local bookstores. Go look for it! )

Entertainment is big business and entertainers have millions of fans.  Vision 2030 states that:

“Cultural and creative industries represent one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, representing up to 7% of the world’s GDP with growth forecast at 10% per annum, driven in part by the convergence of media and the digital economy.”

The document further states:

“…while Jamaican music accounts for an estimated 3% of world music sales, amounting to US$1 billion in 2003, the country itself received only 25% of this sum or some US$250 million.”

Tell me, how is anything to do with an industry like that NOT big news?

Wikimedia load spike on June 25, 2009, following news of Michael Jackson’s death (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Beeb, the BBC, surely one of the most conservative news-gathering organisations in the world, led several newscasts with the death of Michael Jackson, and covered his doctor’s trial extensively. Were there no wars or famines anywhere else in the world? Yes, but on the day Michael Jackson died, no one (slight exaggeration perhaps!) was interested in anything else. There was no bigger story. The BBC, and everybody else, HAD to acknowledge that.

60 Minutes is one of the most respected news magazine programmes in the world. They cover entertainment issues and interview celebrities. ALL THE TIME. It is their treatment of the issues that sets them apart from the National Enquirer. Examples of recent stories they’ve dealt with – interviews with Adele and young country star Taylor Swift. 

People no longer have to wait for RJR and JBC, once the only game in town, to deliver the news we want to give them, when we want to give it to them.  No, the advance of technology has democratized media, and the public can now get, and indeed demands, real-time news delivery on issues in which they are passionately interested. Not all of us understand that yet.

Image via CrunchBase

Many reporters – and people who don’t participate – see social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as a waste of time. Can you waste hours on Twitter and FB? Of course. But with 800 million active users on Facebook and 500 million users on Twitter, are we really going to ignore the power of those new media? That is where people are talking to each other, and sharing information. That is where you can gauge WHAT people are talking to each other about, especially in the case of Twitter.

Which takes us back to Yendi. She chose to announce her pregnancy on FB.The news spread quickly, and the newspapers reported it on their websites. Was that a bad decision? Was that violating the standards of journalism? Let’s go back to the basics of journalism. What are the elements of a story? Who, what, where, when, why and how. The issue here is the “who.”

I checked her social media stats. Yendi has over 15,000 followers on Twitter, and over 144,000 likes on FB. Granted she’s still a baby compared to Lady Gaga who has over 23,000,000 followers on Twitter and over 50,000,000 likes on FB. Still, Yendi’s numbers are nothing to sneeze at.

Image via CrunchBase

So there is a sizeable community of people interested in her and in news about her. So, yes, whether I personally care anything about Yendi or not, any news editor and producer must understand that stories about her are legitimate news stories.

Now, news of her pregnancy would normally be slotted into the entertainment news segments. But the reaction to the announcement was not normal. The explosion of comment led to the issue “trending” on Twitter, meaning it was one of the top issues being discussed. That is huge, and THAT catapulted the story out of the entertainment news niche.

A range of issues has emerged from the discussions and chatter –  the concern about people seen as role models having children out of wedlock, the color issue, the class issue, the Rasta issue and more. There are many issues that can be treated in a thoughtful way, that would take the discussion beyond veranda suss and still hold the interest of people interested in the story.

Everywhere I went, this was what people were discussing. They were reading the posts on the internet and watching Yendi’s interview. Make sure you understand that even the people saying everybody should leave Yendi alone WERE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE STORY!

Should we ignore the clear interest in this issue and focus exclusively on the Net International Reserves et al?  Sure , we can do that. But don’t be surprised if one day we wake up to find that we are talking to nobody but ourselves.

So, now that I’ve had my say, what do YOU think?

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Why E-Readers are Great – Even for the Fuddy-Duddies!

English: Open book icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fuddy-duddies aren’t supposed to like E-readers. And I admit it – I’m a fuddy-duddy. I resisted getting a Blackberry, I still haven’t started to use Internet banking, I like paying bills at a counter and getting back paper receipts – what can I say, I don’t like change. So the idea of using an E-reader just wasn’t a huge draw for me. Until I tried it. And I got hooked immediately. Here’s why.

1. It’s so easy to buy books – let’s face it, most local bookstores are really limited in what they stock, and even the best aren’t superstores. My corner of heaven is going to have a superstore bargain book table, so when I’m faced with a device that with a couple of clicks can instantly deliver to me any book I want, I’m already in heaven – until the credit card bill comes!

2.  One device can hold hundreds of books. All the classics you can download for FREE – and a bunch of other books you can buy for as little as a few $US (and anything else you want to buy for plenty $US.)  Confession – I’m a bag lady (I couldn’t find a picture of a bag lady who was good-looking and black and had locks, so I went with good-looking!)

. I walk around with four or five books at a time because I like to read several different books at once.

books (Photo credit: brody4)

The E-reader is supposed to eliminate that. Unless you then find yourself walking around with the E-reader plus four or five books, in which case I’m, I mean you’re,  beyond help.

3. Lighting. They have their own lighting source, so instead of cotching up under a reading lamp at night, you can see to read. This is especially important after you pass one of those landmark birthdays!

4.  They cut out the middleman. As an aspiring author, it’s great to know that if for some strange reason, I can’t find anyone willing to publish my M.Phil. thesis with the thrilling and provocative title of “The ecology of Procryptotermes corniceps in the Port Royal mangal, with some reference to Incisitermes schwarzi” (I’m not kidding), now I can put it out there myself and see the big bucks roll in!

So fuddy-duddies of the world, this E-reader thing really isn’t that bad! Give it a try and see!

Five Memories of Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston – Concert in Central Park / Good Morning America 2009 – Manhattan NYC (Photo credit: asterix611)

1. Seeing this beautiful, young, black teenager in the pages (and on the cover!!) of Seventeen – one of my favourite magazines, but one which featured mostly white girls. In an era in which I was searching for black, female images in the media, the photos of Whitney were a joy to me.

 

2. Buying her first album – on cassette (!!) for my new and highly-prized radio/cassette player and playing it so much my younger brother begged my mother to make me stop! Who could get enough of that first album with that unbelievable, soaring voice? I never got tired of songs like “How Will I know” “Saving All my Love” and of course “Greatest Love of All.”

How Will I Know (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. Her song for the 1988 summer Olympics “One Moment in Time” became my favourite Whitney song. Inspirational, so evocative of the beauty, power and glory of sports, and of course, that fabulous voice.

4. The incredible 2002 Diane Sawyer interview – fascinating for so many reasons. The power of TV, of an interview which takes right at just the right time, of a good interviewer getting the interviewee to open up (speaking as a journalist) and the dawning realisation of the tragedy that had become Whitney Houston’s life (speaking as a fan).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kovGM1ZrCck

5. Seeing the first report of her death of Facebook and not being even a little surprised. Sad primarily for her daughter and family. She had already given us,  the fans, so much.

 

How should we react to this dance hall song?

 

Common musical notes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

I had heard about a new, popular dance hall song with particularly offensive lyrics, but only went in search of it on the Internet after seeing this letter in the Gleaner.

 

 

 

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120208/letters/letters2.html#.TzJjci-Rzk4.facebook

This is the link to the song. WARNING. YOU MAY FIND THIS SONG OFFENSIVE.

The lyrics will offend many of us. Clearly not all. This is what one person posted on a thread discussing the song.

“Its called hyperbole…. He doesnt mean that he wants to rape women just that he would NEVER be a battyman. For example if someone says when pigs fly i will do ___ they dont mean they are waiting to see pigs fly. Its just a figure of speech.
The context in which potential kid says it makes it acceptable. (So long as this dejay doesnt make di paper a few weeks from now accused of 

rape ). Otherwise i say it is just a darkly humorous line.”

So there are, unsurprisingly, different vews on how seriously to take the lyrics.

So how should we react?

 

That’s a real question. I don’t know the answer. The argument goes….if it’s being played in the dance hall space, we should leave it alone. It’s a song for adults, being enjoyed by adults.

Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

The problem of course, is that it is almost certainly being played on buses, cell phones and that thousands of young people are hearing and absorbing this lyric. Will they be able to brush it off as “hyperbole”? Will public outrage make any difference one way or the other – other than to make the song even more popular? Those of us with children or teenagers in the house can sit them down and have a talk.

 

Not all young people have that kind of countering influence. So what about them?

Given the rest of the song, which is what we in the industry call NFAP (Not Fit for Airplay) it would be a little difficult even to suggest that teachers use it as a tool to start a discussion (they would have to do it, presumably without playing the song or making much reference to the rest of it)….so what do you think? Any ideas?