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Inappropriate profanities in songwriting


mentalextra

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Lets call them 'sentence embellishments'. Do songwriters now feel they have to include some 'sentence embellishments', (that are inevitably bleeped out anyway) to complete a song. I can't help feeling that hearing 'sentence embellishments' in a love song is a little incongruous. I was listening to some of my daughters non chart music and felt that some 'sentence embellishments' have been jammed in at the last minute to try and make a song appeal to a certain audience. A bit like the way that designer brand names also seem to be slotted in.

Rant over!:D

Edited by mentalextra
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On a more serious note there is a trend in modern music where an upcoming swear word is telegraphed by the rhyming structure of the lyrics but the word itself is partially obscured, so for example you only hear the initial 'f'.

If you listen to Radio 1 for any amount of time you'll hear a few of them.

I always wonder what the point is.

Much like writing s**t.

People just automatically fill in the blanks for themselves.

Hence the unfortunate  misunderstanding at my f**k music night.

I'll never forget the disapointment on their faces as I launched into 'This Land is Your Land'.

 

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First pop/rock song to use the F word. Pink Floyd 1967 Candy and a Currant bun.

Oooh don't talk to me
please just f*** with me
please you know I'm feeling frail

:hi:

Edited by Rich
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I generally don't like swearing in music as it makes the song sound juvenile. 

There are some bands however, which are awesome for their juvenility, where swearing makes perfect sense - Pantera, Lamb Of God and Blink 182 for example.

Edited by Graham
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42 minutes ago, Cato said:

On a more serious note there is a trend in modern music where an upcoming swear word is telegraphed by the rhyming structure of the lyrics but the word itself is partially obscured, so for example you only hear the initial 'f'.

If you listen to Radio 1 for any amount of time you'll hear a few of them.

I always wonder what the point is.

Much like writing s**t.

People just automatically fill in the blanks for themselves.

Hence the unfortunate  misunderstanding at my f**k music night.

I'll never forget the disapointment on their faces as I launched into 'This Land is Your Land'.

 

F**k music can be swearing (I remember seeing a band called North meets South at Derby Uni in the early 90s) but if F**k music could be offensive then surely J**z should be pulled by the filter.

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16 hours ago, Hobbayne said:

First pop/rock song to use the F word. Pink Floyd 1967 Candy and a Currant bun.

Oooh don't talk to me
please just f*** with me
please you know I'm feeling frail

:hi:

 

 

Edited by Rich
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1 hour ago, Cato said:

On a more serious note there is a trend in modern music where an upcoming swear word is telegraphed by the rhyming structure of the lyrics but the word itself is partially obscured

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IYPII6rUt4 (1955)

"I like to dance the Suzie Q, the Conga, and the Truck.

I like to dance the Suzie Q, the Conga, and the Truck.

When I get romantic all I want to do is ---"

etc :biggrin:

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 How would you describe  'inappropriate'? I've no problem at all with profanities in lyrics like those expressing anger at The Man, as is the case with a lot of rap and metal.  It's another thing when people  just use them because of poor vocabulary. Albums like  NWA's Straight Outta Compton or Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power would lose much of their power and ferocity without expletives

Edited by Barking Spiders
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Blancmange's "Living On The Ceiling", with the line "I'm up and down, I'm up the wall, I'm up the bloody tree" still gets changed by some radio stations to "up the cuckoo tree". 

Zero chance of them playing anything by Anal C**t....

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I'm by no means a prude as I love a good old swear from time to time.  However, at my gym they play hip hop far too loud with tons of swearing.  Not a fan.  Personally find it too aggressive in an already testosterone fuelled environment.  

Asked them please could they either turn it down a bit or roll some of the bass off so I don't hear/feel it when I am listening to my music.  They said "we don't always play hip hop, we also play garage and r&b"  

Like there's a difference to me :)

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My band can be quite sweary, when we're not playing in front of children and pensioners, but we like to feel that it's all in context. We advertise ourselves as 'family friendly - providing your family is like the family from Shameless'

13 hours ago, Cato said:

 

I'll never forget the disapointment on their faces as I launched into 'This Land is Your Land'.

 

We do a Dorset-centric version of 'This Land' where one of the lyrics is 'F**k 'em! This land's for you and me!'. Always goes down a storm with the locals. 

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At a gig about ten years ago I drunkenly staggered back to my mic and said “We’re about three songs in and I think I may have used the C word a few times”, a voice came back from the darkness “Yes, eighteen times”, it was my boss from work. Could this be a record?

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Swearing has its place and imo should only be used for dynamic effect to express anger, desperation etc and when used correctly enhances the art (whether it be music, literature or acting).

However, the absolute drivel coming from r n b has completely unarmed its effect.

For example i was setting up at an event the other week and the staff had a r n b cd on and most contained pointless swearing. One in particular was just a slow drivel of a beat and obviously nicked bassline with the vocalist just going something like "i work hard for my money, every mother fxxxxing day" repeated for about 10 minutes.

Pointless to have swearing in there. Pointless to have that particular phrase in there. Pointless. 

I nearly cut the wires on the speakers.

Im no prude and im not against swearing, but gees, this generation has lost the plot when it comes to swearing and its use.

Edited by la bam
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