Music Archives - Page 20 of 23 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

MTV VMA’s Poke at Purity All Night

Posted on: 09/8/08 8:10 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Last week we prepped you for the MTV Video Music Awards show that aired last night, one of the most reflective and predictive youth culture barometers of the year. This year, British comic Russell Brand was the host… and I guess he was intimidated by the purity pledge of the Jonas Bros.

The Jonas Bros are not only the hottest thing to arrive to the tween world since Miley, they actually have a pretty clean slate. Last night Brand ridiculed the Jonas Brothers’ public stance on sexual purity. All three of these pastor’s kids wear a promise ring and have vowed to remain celibate until marriage.

In his opening remarks, the British funnyman pointed out to the audience,

“In case you are unaware, each of the Jonas Brothers does wear a tiny ring as a mark of their commitment to God. I’d take it a little bit more seriously if they wore it on their genitals. And also, it is a little bit ungrateful, cause they could literally have sex with any woman that they want…they’re just not gonna do it. That’s like Superman just deciding not to fly and to go everywhere on a bus. Bless em, though, them lads.”

The jesting went on throughout the evening, until American Idol icon Jordin Sparks hit the stage and had a chance to retort. All these details and more in this week’s Youth Culture Window article on our website.

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Britney Opening the VMAs

Posted on: 09/5/08 1:52 AM | by Jonathan McKee

I’ve been blogging about the VMAs all week. (you can catch most the hype here, and here). David’s Youth Culture Window article is preparing us with what to expect. And now we know something new… Britney will be opening the VMAs.

No, she won’t be performing. Who knows what MTV has up their sleeves. But Britney will be kicking off the show.

ET says…

The pop princess herself told us Wednesday afternoon, “How can I not be there to kick off their 25th VMAs? I’m excited to open the entire show, to say ‘Hi’ to my fans and to be nominated,” also noting, “MTV has long played an important role in my career.” (ET online, 9/3/08)

Hmmmmm.

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Predicting the Content of This Year’s VMAs

Posted on: 09/3/08 1:07 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Last year’s MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) were one of the most sexually charged award shows I’ve seen (I talked about it here). This year, it will be interesting to see if they continue down that route. We’ll find out this Sunday night.

Why do I wonder if it will be different? Several reasons:

1. The emergence of Miley and the Jonas Bros.

The fact is… two of the most popular artists of today are pretty dang clean. Miley has had her scandals, but overall I think she brings a positive element to music. She is up for the best new artist category for her “7 Minutes” video.

The Jonas Bros are not only from a Christian family (more about them in our Youth Culture Window article here), but their music and videos have maintained a pretty clean slate. Their “Burnin Up” video is actually up for the coveted “Video of the Year” spot.

2. The recent Teen Choice Awards were as clean as I’ve seen them.

Every year we review three shows that we feel are the biggest youth culture barometers: The MTV Movie Awards, The Teen Choice Awards, and the MTV VMAs. And every year all three are depressing. But this year’s Teen Choice Awards was actually clean. It still featured shows kids shouldn’t watch and awarded celebs who are not positive role models… but the “show” was actually clean (my Youth Culture Window article on that show here). That’s the first time in a while. So it will be interesting to see where this year’s VMA’s fall.

But I’m probably pre-mature if I predict a clean show this year. After all, just a couple months ago we saw MTV’s Movie Awards and they were far from clean (you can read our Youth Culture Window article on that show here).

So what do you think? Do you think this year will go dirty as usual? Or might they clean up a bit? David provides the list of nominees and gives us his two cents in this week’s Youth Culture Window article.

One interesting note is the five finalists for video of the year. Of the top five videos, only two of them are really sexually charged. Here’s the list:

Chris Brown
“Forever”

Jonas Brothers
“Burnin Up”

Pussycat Dolls
“When I Grow Up”

Britney Spears
“Piece of Me”

The Ting Tings
“Shut Up and Let Me Go”

Can you guess which two are?

Now… one of the remaining three isn’t great. Typical R&B. Lyrics like “ecstasy, pleasure, all night” scattered throughout the song. A pretty clean video, not much more than dancing, kissing, embracing…

But then two of them are pretty fun.

You can take a peek for yourself here on MTV’s page.

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Youth Culture Barometer

Posted on: 08/30/08 2:37 PM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s that time of year again… the time where we gain a little insight into the collection of media that kids are putting into their heads. A few weeks ago we saw this via the Teen Choice Awards and I offered my two cents. This coming week we see the biggest youth culture barometer of them all… the MTV MVAs.

David wrote the pre-VMA piece for this week’s YOUTH CULTURE WINDOW article, a great summary of what to expect. Next week I’ll write the afterthoughts.

This week I’m checking out this page– the MTV.com VMA page that allows you to peek at all the nominees for the different awards, including Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Male Video, Best New Artist, etc.

Keep your eyes on this blog. I’ll be writing about a lot of these this week.

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Rock Me Sexy Jesus

Posted on: 08/24/08 9:43 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I’m warning you… you will be offended with this one.

David wrote all about this brand new movie in our current Youth Culture Window article. The movie is called Hamlet 2 (in theatres now), and this “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” scene is in the climactic presentation of the play at the end of the movie.

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Overnighter

Posted on: 08/20/08 3:30 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Okay… maybe some of you have all ready seen this video (someone told me they played it at GROUP’s NYMC). I hadn’t seen it yet…

This is classic, especially for anyone who’s ever done a youth ministry all night event. (I usually don’t watch entire videos when someone sends them to me. Someone sent this today in one of my blog comments. Funny stuff all the way through. I was laughing pretty hard at the two minute mark… the pastor’s van.) 🙂

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Rihanna Knocks Katy Perry Outta #1

Posted on: 08/14/08 10:54 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Katy Perry (I Kissed a Girl) has been riding the #1 spot on the Billboard charts for 7 weeks now, but this week Rihanna’s Disturbia bumped her down.

Months ago I blogged about Perry’s song, I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It, a blog that has attracted over 10,000 web views and hundreds of heated comments (some of which I didn’t even bother posting). I have been frustrated with the song because of its “do what feels right at the moment” message that kids love hearing.

Unfortunately, I can’t say that its replacement is anything of redeeming value.

Rihanna is definitely one to watch (I often recommend that parents and youth workers keep their eyes on certain artists, because their kids are), with two hits in Billboards top 10 right now, and rapidly becoming one of the most popular female artists:

Rihanna’s “Disturbia” puts an end to the seven-week run at No. 1 by Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” on the Billboard Hot 100, rising 3-1 after selling 148,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s Rihanna’s fourth chart-topper here, tying her with Beyonce and Mariah Carey for the most by a female artist this decade. (Billboard)

Most of us know Rihanna from her song Umbrella… eh, eh, eh… but she is proving to be far more than a one hit wonder.

Her song Disturbia is interesting. The lyrics are very vague. The video is typical of Rihanna’s videos– highly sexualized. But this one has a dark edge.

It’s no surprise that Rihanna is popular. She’s pretty, she’s got talent, she’s partnered with some of the best (Jay Z, Chris Brown) and she’s usually provocative. It sells!

Hmmmmmmm.

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Reflecting on Last Week’s Teen Choice Awards

Posted on: 08/11/08 1:51 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Last Monday night the Teen Choice Awards was not only the cleanest it has been in four years, it was also the most viewed in four years, with 4.4 million viewers (as reported by Media Life). Blame it on Miley or the Jonas Bros (the popularity, or even how clean it was)… the results were a hit with teens, tweens and kids.

Last week I gave my annual report on the award show, a television event that I call a “must see” for youth workers. In that report, I remind youth workers that the show doesn’t provide the whole picture if you don’t know the “content behind the names.”

This year the TCAs provided keen insight as to what kids are watching and listening to. The show always is a great pop culture barometer, allowing teens (or anybody who logs onto their website) to vote as many times as they want on a huge collection of entertainment-based favorites including movies, TV shows, music, fashion, and more. Just as the show boasts, the TCAs lets teens share “their choice and their voice.”

Every year this two hour show reveals volumes to parents and youth workers about the content being thrown at our kids- we should pay attention. But understand, a glimpse of the list of winners doesn’t reveal a thing if you don’t know the content behind the names. That’s why I am filling this article with links so you can click to read more or even peek at videos and lyrics from some of these “role models.”

And that’s just what we did. We provided you with links about Miley, the Jonas Bros, Gossip Girl, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Katy Perry, Usher…. you name it. Click here for the entire article.

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Good for Miley

Posted on: 08/5/08 9:15 AM | by Jonathan McKee

When Miley’s in the headlines… I’m always a little worried. Miley is a good clean girl, but she’s a teenager who’s grown up in the spotlight. That’s a tough gig. And she’s made her fair share of mistakes. Haven’t we all?

I’ve blogged about Miley’s ups and downs before, but today I’m compelled to share, Miley made me proud twice yesterday.

1. Miley didn’t fall into the trap of controversy by kissing the girl…

Miley might have had the opportunity to join the legacy of Madonna and Brittany on stage last night with Katy Perry. Media Life Magazine provides the details in their article about all the buzz:

Between that infamous Vanity Fair photo shoot and the suggestive pictures that have been floating around the internet, Miley Cyrus apparently feels she’s done enough to sex up her image this year.

The 15-year-old pop star, who hosts Fox’s “Teen Choice Awards” tonight at 8 p.m., turned down an offer from “I Kissed a Girl” singer Katy Perry to recreate the infamous Britney Spears-Madonna liplock from the “MTV Video Awards” a few years back.

Whew! We’ve had enough of Katy’s influence this year.

2. Miley brought good clean fun to last night’s Teen Choice Awards.

The Teen Choice Awards is not always an easy pill for parents to swallow ( a show that twice over the years has topped the Parents Television Council’s “Worst Family TV Show of the Week”). Last night, Miley was a breath of fresh air on the show.

Today I’ll provide all the details in my annual review of last night’s show in our Youth Culture Window article (posted tonight). But it was nice to have a host that not only avoided risque humor (like past hosts), but when winning her own award, gave a huge thanks to “the most important man in my life, who I love so so much, and thats Big Jesus Christ up there (pointing up).”

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I Don’t Understand the Lyrics

Posted on: 07/29/08 8:19 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I don’t know about you, but sometimes people talk to me about raunchy lyrics… and to be honest, I can’t understand what the lyrics are saying in the first place.

With that in mind- check out this hilarious YouTube video (clean, but a little edgy). Give it at least 45 to 50 seconds…but I found the whole thing funny. (Thanks to Mikey for sending this to me.)

(click here if you’re receiving this via email)

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