Okay folks…..I need to vent! I know I’ve mentioned a few times how much I love the time I’m in the car by myself so I can listen to music of my choice, without any pouting or crabbing coming from the passenger seat. Fortunately, my daughter and I like the same radio station; there are some favorite CDs in her collection that I would just as soon throw out, but if we settle on the radio; we can usually get along.

However, there is this song, playing at least once every hour, the dichotomy of which has completely driven me insane! By mentioning it and discussing it I’m probably giving it even more air time than I should but I can’t help myself. It’s called: “I Kissed A Girl” by Katy Parry. I don’t know if you’ve heard it, and it’s official: I’m getting old…sort of. I say “sort of” because when I’m alone, I crank this song! It’s a great song; the music stays with you all day and the lyrics are cleverly written so they stay in your head all day after you hear it the one time. We women may sound strange when we’re walking down the hall singing “I kissed a girl and I like it….the taste of her cherry chap stick.” at work; again, I can’t help myself.

That said, those lyrics are encouraging my little 10-year-old-going-on-30 daughter to ask me questions that I, frankly, don’t know the answers to. Such as: “Mom, if she has a boyfriend why is she kissing somebody else?” And; “Mom, why is she kissing a girl if she likes boys?” She thinks it’s funny when I don’t answer right away and then I scream; “I don’t know!!” So every time the song comes on I cringe and I could change the station but we’ve got this really cool chair dance we do to the song in the car, and it’s more fun to have a good laugh with my daughter and join in than get my big girl panties in a wad over the lyrics to a song. I have to constantly remind myself of what I used to tell my folks: “Just because I listen to a song about it, doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and do it! Jeez, Dad!!!”

I remember when I was a kid and we played the songs our parents hated even louder because we knew the lyrics got to them. The ones they didn’t seem to care about were played at a normal, more quiet level. Let me think: my favorite was to play this song on Sunday mornings when I didn’t necessarily want to be burdened with going to church: “Hell is for Children” by Pat Benatar. Yeah the house got blasted with that one more than once. Remember AC/DC: “Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap”, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister, and “It’s the End of the World” by R.E.M? My brothers had some fun ones blaring from their cars and from their bedrooms, from the depths of the basement: “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard and “She’s My Cherry Pie” by Warrant, come to mind. But more in the same genre as “Kissed A Girl”: “Call Me” by Blondie, “Red Corvette” by Prince, and two of my absolute favorites and still are: “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” by Meat Loaf and “I Need a Lover That Won’t Drive Me Crazy” by John (then Cougar) Mellencamp. I’m sure my folks HATED those songs and couldn’t understand why a 10/11-year-old would like them. It’s because they are great songs and the lyrics stick with you! Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way comparing Katy Parry’s one-hit-wonder to these Rock Legends, but you get my drift. Every generation has their Jerry Lee Lewis or Elvis, right?

I’m trying not to make tooooo much of this but if anyone can help me out in my effort to explain this song to my girl, let me know. I try to be open minded and accepting of other people’s choices and all of that but the attitude that you-can-have-it-all-as-long-as-it-makes-you-feel-good is kind of sitting awry in my brain.  In my opinion we should all pick a lane and drive between the lines.  I guess I have to admit that I’m getting old in that respect, because I just don’t get it.   At least not enough so that I can explain it to someone who is still depending on me for answers and who still, somewhat, hangs on my every word.

In the meantime: I think it’s okay to dance to it; if it makes you want to dance….just try not to sing out loud when the music isn’t playing, that way you will avoid having to come up with that uncomfortable explanation for yourself.