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Here's a professional opinion:
SayAnything is a harmless band. These lyrics don't mean anything. And there's WAY much worse stuff out there. Go ask your son. And it's not just in rock.
I, for one, don't believe any band should be censored at all, but they are. And when they're given the least bit of lienancy, they get smashed from parents who irrationally overreact. I personally manage tons of rock bands, I work for a major record label, I own a rock website, and I know the rock scene inside and out.

Besides, in a very plain and simple statement: If you don't like the music your kids are listening to, than step up, be a parent, do your job and don't let them listen to it.
And if the SMALL chance your kid goes out there and does something that was in a song, don't blame the song, or else that's just shifting the blame from bad parenting.

Stop being naive. Music is what's kept so many teenagers alive. I've seen it thousands of times over.

Thank you,

Rasha @ UltimateRockGods.com

After reading all the comments to this story, I have to say that 80 percent are enraged fans who are just pissed at what the author says in his article. First these people are comitting the same injustice they accuse the author of. that is, responding without delving deeper into the context of it. I agree that the song is a metaphor and indeed has nothing to do with child predatation. Jason Miller is a Web Journalist, the only reason people even got to this article, for the most part, was because of a web search for Say Anything.

The fact that Miller has a self-awareness of the similarity of his article to the controversy in the 80's that sparked the whole explicit content in music debate, I see this article as being misguided humor or he has an understanding of the riot he is going to start. It seems like at an attempt to get people to read his work. He is sited as being a technology and business expert, I don't see a article on song lyrics as falling into that category, but editors do what they want.

The fact that the RIAA requires the Parental Advisory on the Albums of artist's music that contains explicit conflict, of which Say Anything's album has, means that the content should not be brought to question as a consumer is made known of content before purchase.

The fact that someone is going to bash an industry when the person at fault is in fact himself. YouTube is a user ran site and should not be the free roaming domain of a ten year old boy. But i digress, the authors parenting skills are not the topic at hand, the poorly written article is.

Miller tries to justify his article comparing the lyrics to bands and artists that have been controversial to bring a comparable effect. However, this is to no avail as the mentioned artists work belittles the controversy in the "kill kill kill little girls" lyric. "Little girls" has not recieved radio play.

A proper comparison would be with the lyrics of, I don't know, a popular 70's tune by Jethro Tull, which has gotten extensive radio play for the last 30 years:

"Sitting on a park bench
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Feeling like a dead duck
spitting out pieces of his broken luck. "
-from "Aqualung"-Jethro Tull

...Oh, wait I think this song really IS about child predators. I guess my point has been lost as well.

Mr. Miller, "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it" - Voltaire

I am all for voicing your opinion as I have exercised mine as well. I support musical expression and believe the artists should be able to do so free of censorship. The ideas of Musicians are always being put under scrutiny where other forms of media are not. I think the Explicit content that a 10 year old can access on basic cable television is more of a concern, again I digress.

If you are going to voice an opinion, which, by all means you should go ahead and do. but if you are going to be unfairly subjective and then support your claims poorly, expect to be attacked. you're intent may have been good but your point moot; by your own doing I might add. If this were an entry on a moderated message board, this article would be considered Trolling and your post locked.

I guess that means I've fed the troll.

if you took the time to listen to the rest of Max Bemis + co.'s work you'd realize that his work is dark and very human. The emotions and empty feelings portrayed in almost every single one of his songs manage to touch or relate to almost anyone at a given point or another. However, when such emotions are lightened up by a minimal catchy tune with "offensive" lyrics, then the band gets bashed. As far as I'm concerned, Max and the rest of say anything haven't ever killed anyone and its only obvious the world doesn't see little girls getting hurt as a thrill. Is it mildly offensive? i guess you could say so but that's no reason to question Say Anything's capability to represent myspace's first tour and nevertheless, the thoughts of millions of teenagers and/or adults etc around the globe. Then again, this is just me and my thoughts.

I'm not a child, out of my teens & a Say Anything fan. Could you possibly explain why this band & this song have been selected for your frighteningly conservative & dramatic, over scrutiny?

There are many thousands of songs with lyrics as bad as & worse than these. Quite obviously, Max Bemis (who wrote the song, i thought i'd share that as you have clearly looked into nothing on this subject) Is NOT promoting or advocating the murder of little girls. Have you ever heard of black comedy? A way of looking at something serious & unpleasant without waving your hands in the air & screaming about all the wrongs in the world you cannot change anyway? It's not always appropriate, to everyones taste & sometimes, yes, if you choose to react in such a way, it can be offensive.

The song is essentially looking at what goes on inside some sick individuals minds & putting it down in words. It's not the end of the world, it won't result in an increase in murder rates of children & as a band with young fans who are a lot more involved with their fans than many bands, they would be concerned to know some people took a simple piece of music so seriously.

I honestly cannot believe the opinions you have expressed serve any other purpose than to bring to the attention of a certain section of society, something that they are sure to react in disgust to. You're obviously an educated person, read back what wrote & ask yourself if it really needed to be stated as if a band were bringing about the end of modern civilization! & Furthermore, LISTEN to a lot more modern music lying outside the mainstream or just on the edges of it & when you find far, far worse songs, either subject the band in questions fans to a similar rant intended to indoctrinate the easily offended & ignorant or realize that, perhaps, you may have slightly over reacted...

it's called SARCASM dumbass!

In response to the comments you've received, you expressed concern over the idea that we cannot all "speak as adults about what might be serious issues that affect our youth." Despite your supposed hang up about "serious issues" that apparently plague our youth, earlier you offered that you could "stomach Ozzie, Marilyn Manson and Mudvayne, but not [Say Anything]."

It strikes me as inherently ridiculous that one might take offense to lyrics that draw upon metaphor to rebuke the legions of teen girls who populate the live shows of burgeoning bands like Say Anything as opposed to expressing concern over the highly questionable lyrics of the bands and musical artists you claim to "stomach" just fine.

So I guess you can stomach Mudvayne's "Death Blooms": "Resistance, futile. Suicidal ideas. I will crucify my own being, satisfy selfish needs. Fuck the deities, justify my own right to what's waiting for me."

Suicidal ideals? Inflicting medieval torture methods on one's being? Championing the cause of selfishness in the face of ethical or moral standards? I guess juvenile misconduct is not an issue for you, though more than half of all child cases of conduct disorder develop into full blown antisocial personality disorder... the psychopath's default personality.

Or how about Marilyn Manson's "Irresponsible Hate Anthem": "Let's just kill everyone and let your god sort them out... I wasn't born with enough middle fingers."

Irresponsible, indeed. I guess you uphold Manson's lyrics of mass homicide. Apparently you support his notion of not being born with enough metaphorical "fuck you"s to society.

There is something fundamentally inconsistent in your argument. Whereas mildly imaginative lyrics suggesting what you call the behavior of a child predator is not okay in your "opinion," misanthropic lyrics that sound as if they were written by suicidal psychopaths is acceptable? AND YES, MAYBE ALL THESE LYRICS ARE METAPHORICAL, but according to you, that doesn't matter. Because if you're offended, then no matter what the band or artist intended, their material is still offensive, and they should be marketed as such.... am I right? That is, after all, what you are saying here.

Instead of appearing like a concerned parent, the slightest bit of fact checking proves that you are either A) an aging member of society fearsome of new musical developments that you cannot comprehend, and are thus embittered by it, B) a child predator engaging in the Freudian defense mechanism "reaction formation" to mask your own depraved desires, or C) an idiot.

1.Remove stick from ass.
2.Research before you write.
3.Parental Controls are real.
4.:"I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but Say Anything ain't one..."

it's obviously a joke/metaphor. relax. art is about metaphors/ self expression. and say anything didn't make that video. the video + the song may seem sick, but the song itself isn't so don't go blaming the band or myspace.. Little Girls is not on their myspace page, nor was it a single, nor did they make a video for it.

instead of trying to deprive kids from Say Anything's genius, try educating your own son about the difference between metaphor and reality, if you're really that concerned.

if your stupid kid is on the internet enough to be a regular myspace and youtube user, believe me.. he's seen worse than "I kill little girls."

max bemis of say anything isn't killing little girls.. and myspace wasn't established to influence a bunch of brainless preteens. people are free to use and abuse myspace however they please.

This is the internet, this is music, this is pop culture, deal with it.

If you want to keep your son from seeing say anything on the myspace tour, fine. if you want to block your son's use of myspace, fine.

but i want to see say anything on the myspace tour when they come to my city.

so perhaps you and your son should go listen to some nice music without metaphors- like gangsta rap about fucking bitches and stealing things and gang murders.

maybe then say anything won't look so bad, and neither will myspace.

Ok, first of all, you're taking that song out of context from the whole album "Is A Real Boy...Was A Real Boy". That album is a bit of a concept album and the theme revolves around childish/juvenile behavior. Check out "yellow cat" and "wow I can be sexual too" to further establish my point. That particular song, with the lyrics in question should more or less be taken as a metaphor. More like he's killing them with his eyes and voicing in a song what he thinks about girls that are extremely fake. This attitude towards these kinds of girls seems to stem from a personal encounter with a girl like this.

Also, your snide comment about being reminded of the VA Tech massacre. You know what, screw you dude. This album came out LOOONNNGGG before those events, and you shouldn't be drawing a connection between those two very different and completely UNRELATED things. Music doesn't make people kill other people. I was going to say "kids" instead of people...but that's something people seem to have forgotten when talking about that tragedy. He was not a child. He was an adult and plotted out those murders.

It's also very crude of you to think that those who listen to this band or song for that matter don't pay attention to the news. That's an absolutely absurd thing to say! You say you are a defender of the arts, yet you seem to be doing the exact thing those who really are, stand for...we're against labels and stereotypes. Good job. Thanks for turning 30 and losing that principal.

As far as contacting the band to ask them questions about their lyrics. Who the hell are you? Some random dude looking to ask questions that don't need to be asked because the answers are right there in the lyrics. You even stated that yourself. Get off your high horse and find something better to do with your time.

...that this is just a change in vantage points? Call it tongue-in-cheek if you want, its more or less just an exacerbated viewpoint of some of the thoughts driven by the manic highs such an outlandish/adventurous lifestyle can drive one to (Max Bemis is in fact medicated for manic-depression with slight schizophrenia; had a nervy b when recording SA's last full length).

Dude, its catharsis. He feels crazy and brutal honesty is the only way he knows how to release it and thereby let it lose its control of him. Let the thoughts out and they dont control you anymore. IF you want him to not kill people, the answer is to let him sing about killing people.

Stop. Take a breath. Calm down.

Listen to the entire CD, do some real research, and then make your judgements. And please, the lyrics to "Little Girls" are not supposed to be taken literally. Most things must be looked at past the surface.

But you wouldn't know that.
It's a metaphor, fool.

Let me say I'm a big Say Anything fan. 20 years old might I add. This should play of some importance seeing as a person 10 years younger than you can point out the obvious.

You claimed you watched the video, well whatever the video had in it had nothing to do with Say Anything, just the song. Did you listen to the lyrics beyond that? Or did you just hear him singing about killing little girls.

Let me ask you, have you ever heard of a metaphor? Thats what it is! OH NO! He's not talking about actually MURDERING a little girl, he's talking about being a heart breaker. Crazy isn't it!? Plan backfired! Nobody will respond to you because you'll turn whatever their response is to make you seem like you're 100% correct when you're actually 100% wrong.

Good day

Obviously you must be making some kind of objection to both the band and Myspace seeing as how YOU QUESTION how Myspace can promote a band like this that sings about killing little girls. You even put down the kids who commented on the video saying they don't listen to the news so therefore they can't feel the same as you when watching the video. They are laughing because most of them know the band and their style. They unlike you, can take songs for either the objective meanings in them, or just the plain madness of a song being just a song for fun. You are taking it too literally. Max doesnt literally kill little girls, maybe he was writing about how he doesn't enjoy being hounded by a bunch of lil girl fans like Nsync or the Backstreet Boys. You say you can deal with Ozzie and Marilyn, yet you make no point against any of their songs or the labels that put out their cds that have songs like Get your Gunn, or Suicide is Painless. You wrote this piece as an objective article and not pro Say Anything. You don't knw anything about this band nor their fans but yet you question the morality of the kids who commented on the video.

Be careful what you write about you have stirred up the hornets. Say anything=Awesome. You=Not. Go listen to the album and get a real job.

If you anything about the music out today, then you would know that there is much worse out there. Say anything happen to be my favorite band, and Max's lyrics deal with angst and issues with relationships and stuff like that. This particular song is kind of graphic but it is about a relationship and his anger towards getting screwed over, and feeling socially awkward.

You want to attack bands for lyrics? How about most mainstream rappers out today that promote using woman on a daily basis? How about Death metal bands that have lyrics about having relations with deceased children? How about hardcore bands that talk about killing there girlfriends, or beating up people for no good reason?

Say anything is one of the few quality bands left in todays Indie music scene. Yes, the lyrics may offend, but it is free speech, and if you dont want to listen to it, no one is putting a gun to your head.

I would be more worried about my son listening to Rap or Extreme form of metal telling him to use woman, kill people, do drugs etc. Not that I dont like all forms of music, I am a fan of rap and metal, but i was using it as an example that there is much worse out there than Say Anything.

"Proud of my life and the things that I have done
Proud of myself and the loner I’ve become
You’re free to whine, it will not get you far
I do just fine, my car and my..
Guitar"

"
You're what keeps me believing the world's not gone dead,
Strength in my bones put the words in my head.
When they pour out to paper, it's all for you.
'Cause that's what you do."

Man, lyrics like this really make me worried about my child. Take advice from Max with one of his own song titles: "Its a metaphor, fool."

If you think this is a problem, you should look up the lyrics to a Cannibal Corpse song.

Say Anything may have one grossly inappropriate song, but in the grand scheme of terrible songs about terrible topics, they're dryer fluff.

If you're going to speak out, go all the way.

considering that this album came out in 2004, there is no reason why this should be deemed inapporiate. this band has established themselves and have been doing the same exact thing for over the past 5 years. it is a parady. get over it(and yourselves). just because a 14 year old gets a hold of a youtube video (which is questionable that you would allow a child to surf the internet is another topic of discussion...), doesn't mean that they want to start the next columbine. start parenting properly and don't put down an artist for doing what they do best, BEING AN ARTIST AND EXPRESSING THEMSELVES.

The lyrics are figurative. It means breaking hearts of girls. Wow.

First of all if you knew ANYTHING, you know that the song is tounge in cheek and has nothing to do with actually killing little girls. The song is about a guy in a band who is sick of underage girls pestering him to have realtionships with them. You obviously dont know how to interperit music. You got upset over absolutly NOTHING.

Try thinking before you post this shit.

Did you have a slow news week? I mean we got global warming, Iowan caucuses coming up, and a war in Iraq, and this is what you took your time to report on. Or did someone take your O.J. Simpson beat, so you got stuck with the "small pop rock band lyrics debate" topic?

Half the trouble you are creating is now drawing people's attention to something they most likely would have never had listened to in the first place. Moreover, you pick a band, who is quite possibly the most harmless band on Earth. The have a song entitled "Alive With the Glory of Love" for pete's sake. I mean if you want to worry about lyrics, have you ever heard of SLAYER?

If you are really concerned about the future of children, why not analyze the ethical implications of actions and lifestyles promoted by Hollywood starlets such as Britney Spears or Paris Hilton. Instead you pick on a band who has never even sold close to 500,000 records, writes amazing music, and *gasp*, wrote a song with controversial lyrics.

Please. Johnny Cash did this years ago, but did people really think he shot a man and was in Folsom Prison? I guess some things will never change though. There will always be younger people writing music, that scares older people like yourself. And you know what, that's probably a good thing, because that in itself is the definition of rock n roll.

So Mr. Miller I understand where you are coming from, the idea that children might be exposed to a lyrical message of killing girls, whether it is literal or not (which I assure you is not), is probably not the best thing. But why is Fox's or Myspace's responsibility to make sure your child doesn't listen to it. If you don't want your child being exposed to "the dangers of the internet", turn off the computer and go throw a football with him. Congratulations on encouraging me to waste my time writing this response, so in a way, I award you that journalistic merit. But seriously, I think we got bigger fish to fry in America than rock n roll lyrics, thats sooooooo 1985.

Little Girls is from the ep '...was a real boy' and was originally goiing to be but on a cd to raise money/awareness for AIDs charities but lack of interest meant it was scrapped. The whole ep is about teenage sexual awakening. The song can be easyily interpreted as being about AIDs and STDs. If you actually listen to the lyrics there is also the line 'Don't you come near me, little girls' so CLEARLY the guy who's perspective the lyrics are listened to has some kind of STD and is not about a serial killer. The fact that you assume te song is about murdering children shows how morbid you are and has very little or no reflection on Max Bemis and the rest of Say Anything.