I remember getting a random Airport Tapes and Records taster CD after a concert.
I don't remember the concert at which I got the CD, nor do I remember the songs on the CD.
But what I remember is hearing Stacy Clark's "Say What You Want" for the first time, not being able to get enough of the harmony, ignoring all the other tracks, and playing the song on a non-stop repeat. Something about the undulation of the drumming beat that guaranteed that one listen would not be enough.
You can imagine my surprise then, when I heard the first chords of "To Catch a Thief"" by a Seattle trio Sports. I initially thought this was a remix of Stacy Clark's song and expected to hear her silvery vocals at any point in the song. I never heard her voice, but the song didn't suffer from it.
Inserting a swear word in the chorus, let alone in the title, is a decision that never fails to challenge the taboo and grab the attention. The song may be playing along, with no one actively paying attention, but as soon as the first F-bomb drops, all ears prick up, and the red-faced owner of the family-run cafe scrambles to fast forward to the next track of the CD he got from his daughter's boyfriend. (He didn't really want to take it, but his daughter insisted, trying to bring them closer together, and after all, how can he say "No" to his little girl?)
Of course, the radio got around the problem of "verses with curses" by bleeping out the forbidden 7 words, but that approach, if anything, only manages to attract more attention to the word. The distracting bleeps only break apart the flow of the song, irritating the listeners and making them only more curious about what's hidden or covered up. After all, we are all curious creatures – give us a censor bar, and we'll try to look behind, even if we'll come to regret it the next moment.(N.B. For die-hard fans of censorship fun, check out these censor bars.)
Another politically-correct solution has been to completely change the inappropriate lyric, often resulting in changing the entire meaning and emotion of the line. Best examples of such approach have been "Let's Get It Started" by Black Eyed Peas and the recent renditions of Cee-Lo Green "Forget You".
And yet, despite (or maybe because) of these obstacles, it hasn't prevented the musicians from inserting the dreaded curse words not only in their lyrics, but even in the song titles. Of course, the king of expletives remains the F-bomb. Its versatility as a noun, adjective, adverb, verb, pretty much every part of speech save the particles, has ensured its immortality in colloquial uncensored English. Here is the short lesson on the usage of the word:
So without further ado, I would like to introduce to you some of the notable songs which have pushed F-word envelope. I have provided the official F-bomb count as well as the "Grandma Shock Value" rating to predict a response your Nana would have after hearing the song.
Cee-Lo's tour-de-F**k has been a resounding success of 2010. It has a bouncing beat, fun lyrics and has been sung in Glee, so you know it must be popular with the kids.
F**k Count: 16 S**t Count: 10 Grandma Shock Value: 7/10. I think Grandma could be reminded of her youth listening to this song, but she will be most likely offended by the repetitive F-explosions blasting out of the speakers.
The ultimate bad-ex-boyfriend-that-all-of-your-friends-disliked-and-told-you-about-it song. Nice post-breakup lyrics.
F**k Count: 16 Grandma Shock Value: 8/10. Grandma would probably really like the nice string arrangements in the background, but can't see her being too thrilled about the "What the f**k was I thinking?" question repeated for the last minute of the song.
Although the swearing is kept to a minimum as opposed to the previous two songs, the expletives are said with such a deliciously bitter venom, that they are worth twice as much. Ani almost savours rolling the F's off her tongue for the ultimate effect.
F**k Count: 6 Grandma Shock Value: 4/10. This is the point where your Grandma reminisces about the her first boyfriend, (it was before Grandpa, so she never told you that story) who dumped her for that skanky waitress from Chuck's. Lost in her thoughts, she forgets to be offended by the swear words.
You might not remember this song, but Eamon stormed the R&B charts with this ballad in 2004. He is probably the only founder and representative of Ho-Wop, a genre of R&B ballads with aggressive lyrics.
F**k Count: 24 S**t Count: 7 H* Count: 4 B*tch Count: 1 Grandma Shock Value: 10/10. Your Grandma has no time for this "urban" music with all of its swearing and violence.
Most of you may remember this electronic romp as the song in the stripclub from Lost in Translation. With one verse and the same lyric in the chorus, it's a great sing-along.
F**k Count: 24 T**ties Count: 3 Grandma Shock Value: 10/10. By now, your Grandma can not be having any fun, and frankly, is very upset that you made her listen to this playlist.
The trouble-making darling Lily takes on the homophobic bigot in this upbeat, bouncy song that hides the much more sober message.
F**k Count: 31 Grandma Shock Value: 3/10. If you turn the volume just low enough, Grandma will think that Lily is just a polite girl singing "Thank you very, very much."
In the fragility and self-deprecation of Michigan and Illinois songs,Sufjan Stevens has established himself as a deeply religious, self-chastising singer-songwriter. It, therefore, comes as a complete shock at 4 minutes into this song to hear him repeat that he's not "f**king around". It would not be an understatement to say that this is one of the biggest indie surprises of the year.
F**k Count: 16 Grandma Shock Value: 7/10. 16 repetitions of the dreaded word accompanied by a distorted guitar will not win the heart of any proper-behaving Grandma.
I continue to discover the beauty of Karkwa. After listening to this song, you will feel literally feel the "sleep in your blood". A great song that builds upon itself until a quiet, but resolute denouement.
Stacy Clark - Say What You Want
Sports - To Catch a Thief
Cee-Lo Green - F**k You
Jenny Owen Youngs - F**k Was I
Ani DiFranco - Untouchable Face
Eamon - F**k It
Peaches - F**k the Pain Away
Lily Allen - F**k You
Sufjan Stevens - I Want To Be Well
Olenka and the Autumn Lovers - Odessa
Karkwa - Dors Dans Mon Sang