Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Blurred Lines - "what rhymes with censored"?


 News | Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" Tops Billboard Hot 100 Chart ...

By Jeff Simpson


H/T Channel3000:

 MARSHFIELD, Wis. -
The head coach of the Marshfield High School dance team has been fired after the team performed to an edited version of Robin Thicke's popular but racy hit "Blurred Lines."

Superintendent Peg Geegan told News-Herald Media that she couldn't comment on personnel issues but Lisa Jolin was removed as head coach for "appropriate reasons and following district protocols."

Parents and students said they are concerned that the dance team might disband without Jolin. They said she brought a measure of respectability to an activity that students had looked down on, and two of the seven team members have already quit.

Jolin said she doesn't know how many people had called Geegan to complain about the song choice, but she heard no complaints immediately after the performance.

A popular coach was relieved of her duties when a few parents did not like her song choice, even though the song was edited down!    

In case you dont know the song:




"Blurred Lines" is a song recorded by Canadian-American recording artist Robin Thicke for his 2013 album of the same name. The song features guest vocals from American rapper T.I. and American singer and producer Pharrell; all three share writing credits on the song. It was produced by Pharrell. The song was released as the lead single from Blurred Lines on March 26, 2013 through Star Trak Recordings.[1]

The single has peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as topping the Billboard R&B Songs chart. It has also become Thicke's most successful song on the Billboard Hot 100, being his first to reach number one on the chart (he previously peaked at number 14 on the Hot 100 with "Lost Without U", in 2007).[2] The song has been a worldwide hit, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, as well as the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, France, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. As of July 17, 2013, it is the second best-selling single of 2013 in the UK, the Official Charts Company confirmed that it had sold one million copies,[3] behind Daft Punk's single "Get Lucky", which also features Pharrell Williams. In the United States, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for twelve consecutive weeks, becoming the longest running number one single of 2013 and of the 2010s decade surpassing Rihanna's "We Found Love" (2011). This feat also gave him the eighth lead male solo artist in Billboard history to rack ten or more weeks at the number one spot for a single.[4] It sold over 5 million copies in just 22 weeks in the US, faster than any other song in digital history.[5]


On July 28, 2013, "Blurred Lines" broke the record for radio audience previously held by Mariah Carey's We Belong Together in 2005. A press release from Interscope said as of the last week in July 2013, the track reached more than 242.65 million listeners.[6]

Regardless if you like it or not, Blurred Lines is THE song of the summer.  It plays everywhere and it plays constantly.   To think that you can shield your children from a song seems a bit naive to me.   Since she used the edited version, I think that the school was 100% wrong in this instance.

The question is WHO makes the determination on what is and is not appropriate?   When it comes to censorship, I tend to believe we should be very careful what we censor and use times when maybe we exposed too much as a learning moment!  I also think we need to give our children more credit than we do on what they can handle.    

your thoughts? 

and his mom is famous too…..she played “LIZ CHANDLER” on “DAYS ...

19 comments:

  1. Sounds like a plot from "Glee" where Sue wins.

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  2. It is played on the radio constantly but the playing of an edited version cost a woman her job? Where can I contribute to her legal fund?

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  3. It's no surprise given that Peg Geegan has been shown to be quite tea partyesque in her position she assumed a few years ago.

    Interesting fact. She was overpaid for well over a year before a concerned citizen broke the story to the news and the pressure was put on. http://wsau.com/news/articles/2013/mar/14/marshfield-school-board-still-quiet-on-unresolved-overpayments-issue/

    I would hope that Ms. Jolin take the time to go after Peg Geegan and the school district for defamation, or at the least, to request email and phone records regarding the "complaints". I plan on contacting Ms. Jolin, since I live here in Marshfield, to see if she is going to pursue this in any way.

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    1. Keep me informed, would love to follow this story through and giver her any publicity she needs!

      jeff_simpson7@yahoo.com

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  4. Talk about "nanny state"....

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  5. WAOW-9 Wausau has a video of this "disgusting" display on their website. Caution: NSFW! (facepalm, snark). Additional note: The fascists are winning.

    http://www.waow.com/story/23584436/2013/10/01/marshfield-coach-fired-after-blurred-lines-dance

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  6. It was to a different song but what's-her-name, "the once-Pristine-daughter of white Protestant America..."

    http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/29/twerking-america/

    ...played out her adolescent rebellion for all to see on Robin Thicke. Like she was possessed by that Jazz Negro Rap music.

    That's the fear, the no-no, or red line or whatever you want to call it, that this is about.

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  7. I support the teacher but this glosses over the fact that the song is about Blurred lines of consent, its about date rape and drug use or using drugs to commit date rape and i think it was a bad choice . i dont think she should have just been fired but i do agree this isnt the kind of glorification of rape that i want my kids dealing with, getting promoted or sponsored by teachers. the dance that the kids did was not racy or offensive at all but the song choice was stupid and glorifying rape has no place in our school culture.

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    1. im not condoning the song either, im standing up against censorship.

      It is great to have a problem with this song and ask her to use another one(which other one is a problem) but it is the number one song now, if they dont hear it at halftime they will hear it 20 other times a day.

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    2. I dont think its fascist to object to songs glorifying date rape .
      it was a stupid choice of music for a school function and while i support the teacher and dont think she should be fired, i would raise hell if some teacher made my daughter shake her ass to a song about getting girls wasted to date rape them. whether they hear the song on the radio is irrelevant to whether a school should celebrate date rape. they shouldnt

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    3. i didnt say it was fascist, i just said that ship has sailed. Its hard to fight pop culture.

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    4. I did. I said it was fascist. And it is. Period.

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  8. Blue Noses of the world unite! Shut down everything! At least the children learned an important lesson: Adults are idiots and the biggest idiots call the shots. Learning to disrespect authority figures is the best lesson to be learned in High School and it lasts a lifetime.

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  9. Wanna know why you have teacher's unions? This is why, so some obnoxious PTA mom type or right-wing superintendent can't bully a school board into unwarranted discipline against a teacher that the PTA mom doesn't like.

    I'm no fan of the song, but it's hardly unusual to do a routine to a popular dance tune. And if these Marshfield types have an issue, I highly suggest they not do any grooving to "Jump Around" at the next Badger game they go to, as that's an edited track with some iffy subject matter as well.

    Between this and having Scott Suder as a rep, not a good time to say you're from Marshfield. Of course, you have a chance to redeem yourselves on Nov. 19. Just sayin'

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  10. Jeff -Re: Blurred Lines - Depicting women as farm animals, rationalizing sexual assault and rape. Oh, and blocked online for underage kids... Great Journalism Jeff - Giving your readers the watered down Ellen Degeneres version was misrepresenting the actual context of the concerns felt by parents - You owe women and concerned parents an apology for this one !

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  11. Sorry Joan, i am going to disagree. I am not advocating or even care about this song. I do care that someone lost their job and that there was censorship here. I tend to err on the side of NO censorship and using teachable moments.

    the watered down ellen version is the one that she played for the dance routine.

    Here is my question to you Joan.

    Have you written Ellen for having this on? have you written the sponsors of the local radio station that plays it perpetually? or is a dance teacher in Marshfield the only person in the country not allowed to play it?

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  12. Jeff, you are over your head - I am a long time reader and am confident that this blog respects women and the best interest of children and families, who should be shown respect in this matter and I would refer you back to the readers who agree with you - to have a mature conversation.

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  13. The edited version of this song is a very local (not MPS)school's varsity football song.

    When I was a cheerleader we did a halftime dance to this gem:
    She's a very kinky girl,
    The kind you don't take home to mother,
    She will never let your spirits down,
    Once you get her off the street, Ow girl,
    She likes the boys in the band,
    She says that I'm her all-time favorite,
    When I make my move to her room it's the right time,
    She's never hard to please,
    Ow now,
    That girl is pretty wild now,
    *The girl's a super freak*,
    The kind of girl you read about,
    *In new-wave magazines*,
    That girl is pretty kinky,
    *The girl's a super freak*,
    I really love to taste her,
    *Every time we meet*,
    She's all right, she's all right,
    That girl's all right... with me, yeah...
    He HE HE HE!

    No complaints... and that was 32 years ago.

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