"Music Causes Controversy at BHS"

Since we do quite a few of Bountiful High School's dances throughout the year, I though this was an interesting article that ran in The Davis County Clipper in December. I've edited it a little bit so you get the point, but don't have to spend your afternoon reading:

BOUNTIFUL — This past November, following the Halloween Dance, complaints were made to the administration about the content of the music played, along with the videos which accompany the music.
Danny Turnblom, a BHS music teacher, went straight to the top after hearing of the type of music being played at school dances.
“A lot of students came to me and said, ‘I’m uncomfortable.’” said Turnblom. “I wasn’t soliciting, they came to me with their concerns.”
The recent shift of hip-hop towards the mainstream has made it increasingly difficult to avoid such music, as it is becoming the most popular genre of music among teenagers.
“A lot of it is perception,” said Amy Jones, Student Body Officer Advisor. “If you go anywhere with expectations, that’s what you’re going to see.”

The true controversy arose when the alleged music was questioned.
Multiple lyrics were brought to the table for examination, some of them crass, some of them not.

The line, “Come on my homeys,” was one of the controversial lines submitted.

“In context, it was pretty clear to me that it was talking about homosexuals,” said Turnblom. “Some people may say it’s just a group of friends or your buddies, but I believe it was talking about homosexuals.”

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, the word “homey,” when used as a noun, is defined as “a homeboy or homegirl.”
“If the songs were of a nature as it was originally alleged, then yeah, a school dance isn’t an appropriate setting,” said Ross Harris, a BHS administrator.
Among the alleged songs, most had explicit lyrics or crass context.
“The DJ didn’t even have [the songs] in his collection,” said Jones. “He’s of the predominant religion. He told me he would never play that kind of music because he has a teenage daughter; he would never want her subjected to that.”

After close investigation, the administration concluded the DJ was telling the truth.
“The alleged songs weren’t really even played,” said Harris.

Despite this, all parties felt that a change needed to be made.
“As a parent and teacher, I was concerned,” said Turnblom. “The kids are the ones that complained to me, and they’re aware of the music. As adults we are not, so they know more about the lyrics and what is said. “I think it needed to be done.”
So where is the line drawn? When does a lyric cross the line?
“Anything offends somebody,” said Harris. “I think if you played only Mormon Tabernacle Choir, people would be offended.
“I think it’s water under the bridge. Kids have come to me since and said the music is much better,” said Turnblom. “It’s been solved."

Come on my homeys! That article rocked. I'm aware of at least one letter to the editor that was submitted. It wasn't published, so I thought I'd give it a forum here:

"I am writing in response to the article "Music Causes Controversy at BHS" in the Dec. 21st edition of the Clipper. I couldn't agree more with Mr. Turnblom's stance that songs with lyrics such as "come on my homeys" should not be allowed to be played at school dances. I am even somewhat surprised that you would print such offensive lines in your newspaper. Like Mr. Turnblom says, the line obviously refers to homosexuals...if not homosexuals than possibly homeless people or maybe homely people. I, like Mr. Turnblom, am an adult (just turned 24 last week) and know what words like "homey" mean and I would not appreciate my children being exposed to such offensive garbage. Homosexual, homeless, homely...whatever it means, it doesn't belong in Bountiful."

Well put. Thanks Scott. A quick search of our music database "VisiTrax" showed we don't have whatever song it is that talks about homosexuals, hobos, homless, homley or hobbit people. But if we did have one about hobbits or hobos, I'll probably buy an iPod and listen to that one all day long.

We'll be throwing down the party for Bountiful's Jr. Prom at the SLC Library in a couple weeks. Stay tuned.