A truly random post after an extended period of silence. This past weekend, I joined thousands of tiny and teenyboppers in the trek to FNB Stadium to watch Justin Bieber perform courtesy of 5FM on a night when many a father was a giant in their daughter’s eyes, at least for the night. It was also Mother’s Day and to see so many mothers and daughters bonding was also wonderful.
My view of Bieber was altered by the documentary Never Say Never which gave a peek into his life before and after his discovery and the people around him, including his manager Scooter Braun who ‘discovered’ him. Tweeting about the fact that I was at the concert brought with it some interesting comments from people. For some reason, which I still don’t quite get, there is borderline hatred in some quarters for Bieber and his Beliebers.
I love music and my children seem to have acquired that same love, especially my two year old daughter. In the mornings driving them to school, I try to expose them to a wide range of music genres. The soundtrack is usually determined by my mood as well as the content of the songs. During weekends, we often have one of the music channels playing videos but, often, my greatest worry is the images that are in those videos, many of which are highly sexualised. I spend most of my time with remote in hand to quickly switch between channels accordingly. I also tend to play Vh1 Classic more than anything else because they generally play music that comes from eras when sex, semi-nudity, swag and molly wasn’t the overarching theme of the day. Also, with rock bands, music videos will show people playing instruments and it’s important – for me – for my children to see where music ‘comes’ from.
Watching and listening to Justin Bieber, who is obviously growing older and whose reference points and thought processes will hopefully evolve, I just think that it is great that kids today still get the musicians who create relatively age appropriate music. It’s cute, he’s talented and the crushes are sweet. I remember being 15, vaguely, and what puppy love felt like. I hope that as my children grow older, there will be music that I feel 100% comfortable with them listening to, which, at present, I feel Bieber provides. The way I see it, if you don’t like it, don’t listen to it. If you aren’t the target market, don’t engage. Some may disagree, and that’s alright. Just trying to figure out how to raise these children.
To listen to several thousand kids sing “never say never” with conviction was, for me, a beautiful thing. It is hard out here for these young ones.
Believe
I don’t know how I got here
I knew it wouldn’t be easy
But your faith in me was so clear
It didn’t matter how many times I got knocked on the floor
But you knew one day I would be standing tall
Just look at me now
Cause everything starts from something
But something would be nothing
Nothing if your heart didn’t dream with me
Where would I be, if you didn’t believe
Believe…
There were days when I was just broken, you know
There were night when I was doubting myself
But your kept my heart from falling
It didn’t matter how many times I got knocked on the floor
But you knew one day I would be standing tall
Just look at us now
Cause everything starts from something
But something would be nothing
Nothing if your heart didn’t dream with me
Where would I be, if you didn’t believe
Where would I be, if you, if you
If you didn’t believe
Wouldn’t know how it feels to
Touch the sky, if you didn’t believe
Believe, believe
It didn’t matter how many times I got knocked on the floor
You knew one day I would be standing tall
Just look at us now
Cause everything starts from something
But something would be nothing
Nothing if your heart didn’t dream with me
Cause everything starts from something
But something would be nothing
Nothing if your heart didn’t dream with me
Where would I be, if you didn’t believe
Where would I be, if you
If you didn’t believe
Wouldn’t know how it feels to
Touch the sky, if you didn’t believe
Believe, believe
Where would I be, if you didn’t believe