Parents listen to their teen’s choice of music at their own peril.
Between the sexualized lyrics and anti-capitalist choruses, today’s music often clashes with the messages parents are trying to teach their children.
That’s not the case with country crooner Taylor Swift, according to Bloomberg.com’s Amity Shlaes. The columnist argues that Swift is the anti-Miley Cyrus, an uber-popular entertainer whose songs should be listened to by young and old alike.
Swift, who happens to be named after James Taylor, isn’t occasionally pro-parent, like Kanye West (See his 2005 “Hey Mama”), with whom she tangled at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in 2009.
Swift is, in fact, systematically pro-parent and pro- family. She sings about men, yes, but she also sings about mom, dad, being nice, putting bullies in their place and backing up friends, all in a perfectly irony-free tone. She even publicly thanks father chaperones accompanying their daughters to her concerts.
And here’s the interesting part: Swift is wildly popular with people older than 9. Her album, “Speak Now,” has set a Guinness World Record as the fastest-selling digital recording of 2011. Her tours gross $100 million.
The entertainment industry might want to think long and hard about those numbers. If being pro-family and pro-parent sells, why not convince a few more young singers to give it a whirl?