PARENTS CAN DO MUCH MORE TO TUNE IN FOR THEIR CHILDREN

The other day, Widespread Panic announced it endorsed the drug crackdown
held at its concert in Pelham the other day. The band's statement said it
hopes all fans attend its concerts "equipped with only an appreciation for
the music and respect for their fellow concert goers."

Somehow its hard for me to get worked up over music appreciation for
today's artists. I doubt you'll find this type of mayhem at Friday's Third
Day concert at Boutwell Auditorium, led by former Clanton resident Mac
Powell. That band's music really does inspire appreciation and respect.
More often than not, secular music doesn't come close.

My friend Alan Broome, a Clanton native who is youth minister at First
Baptist Church in Pelham, points out a 1999 Focus on the Family review of
one popular "gangsta rap" singer called DMX, who has an album called, "It's
Dark and Hell is Hot." The album has sold a million copies and hit number
one on the pop and R&B charts.

Reviewer Bob Waliszewski noted, "'F--in' with D' says, 'Since I run with
the devil, I'm one with the devil.' That sentiment is echoed on 'Let Me
Fly,' 'Niggaz Done Started Something' and 'I Can Feel It.' Explicit,
barbaric threats range from murdering police ('Crime Story') and shooting a
man in the head ('Ruff Ryders' Anthem'), to dismembering an enemy before
killing his wife and raping his daughter right in front of him ('X-Is
Coming'). On 'Look Thru My Eyes,' DMX misapplies Matthew 7:1 in defense of
his violent lifestyle. 'Get at Me Dog' and 'Stop Being Greedy' refer to
getting drunk and high. Four cuts contain crude sexual slang."

Waliszewski noted the singer has had a long, widely publicized history of
being in trouble with the law, appearing in court on a wide range of
serious charges, although to date he has only served time for a traffic
violation he pleaded guilty to. He has also been involved with a number of
albums and movies since then.

Broome is not surprised at DMX's legal troubles, as he says many of the
lyrics come from the experiences of the songwriters and singers. He said
many such artists have dealt with unhappy childhoods, painful relations
with parents, and suicidal feelings coming from not being loved at school
or feeling they are "at the bottom of the social ladder. They want to be so
accepted."

Many students relate to those feelings now. Broome noted he was shocked to
find out students were involved now in "self mutilation," where depressed
teens were cutting themselves with now.

"I had never seen that in the youth ministry," Broome said, saying he had
to get advice from a counselor on how to deal with it.

Noting he had not been happy with the Widespread Panic lyrics at the
group's website, he said such bands should be more responsible on what they
put out to impressionable teenagers. He noted that contrary to what NBA
star Charles Barkley has said, public figures such as athletes and rock
bands are role models for teenagers.

Certainly parents don't work at it. A USA Weekend poll of 60,000 teens this
month reported 68 percent of teens said their parents do NOT forbid them to
listen to certain kinds of music.

You can imagine the results of that. The poll said 27 percent listen to
hip-hop and rap, while 23 percent listen to pop and 17 percent to
rock/punk. Country and Christian music was in the single digits. Nearly
half the teens don't blame shock rock nor gangsta rap for violence acts in
society, and only 26 percent think Eminem's music is obscene and offensive.
(About 20 percent liked his music but not the person, while 32 percent
liked him AND his music.) Seven out of 10 teens say they know most of the
lyrics to the songs they listen to.

Parents can keep up with what their children listen to, thanks to the
Internet. Broome noted the Focus of the Family website
(www.focusonthefamily.com) has a section devoted to "Plugged In," its
magazine devoted to helping parents and youth parents keep up with today's
youth culture. The magazine and site has reviews of popular albums for
content, which has spawned a book of 400 album reviews called "Chart
Watch," authored by magazine editor Bob Smithouser and Waliszewski, who is
the magazine's youth culture department manager.

Other websites are available for parents to look at, including. www.lyrics.com.

Note: Ed Howell is senior staff writer for The Clanton Advertiser.