Censoring music? Who am I, Tipper Gore?

So on the drive back from Hershey yesterday, Beastie Boy’s “Fight for your right…(to party!!!!!)” came on the XM radio. This was a top 5 favorite song of mine in 5th grade (3 other slots taken by Madonna, one by BB’s “Girls”…I wasn’t confused, just loved the xylophone part.)

Normally, this would be cause for jubilation. I remain a fan of all things Beastie, and have passed that on to J, who was yelling from the way back, “Beastie Boys! Turn it up!” But I didn’t. I turned it off. Because we had another 11 year old guest along, I suddenly questioned the wisdom of letting my kid listen to a song that contains the line “Your mom threw away your best porno mag! Busted.”

The other kid’s mom is very cool, and I’m sure she wouldn’t have cared, but having someone else’s kid in the car made me take a closer look at whether mine should know all the words to Kanye West’s first album. Yes. ALL of them. (It’s a favorite of mine, enjoyed when we are toddler-less.)

What’s a parent’s responsibility to both expose and protect their child from culture? I draw the lines at violent/scary/horror TV shows or movies, but with music, have gravitated towards a more “If he likes it, he must need it” approach. Except for Linkin Park or Slipknot. That’s just not happening.

Before anything is added to his Ipod, we listen to it together and discuss it (how I became a High School Musical one junkie). But I’m not really a stickler about cursing, and I think sometimes misogynistic lyrics (like Kanye’s Gold Digger) grant an opportunity to talk about ways that are appropriate to talk about women and ways that suck. Or maybe that’s my First Amendment out for being a sort of lazy parent about censoring things. How do you handle this in your house, or how will you when the tots are old enough to clamor for Britney?

And, in case you need a refresher, here’s the Beastie Boy’s Classic: