Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Offensive term in Black Eyed Peas review - not an error

A caller asked a question about something in Saturday's paper that gave me a double take as well. In the review of the multiplatinum, multiple-Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas' concert last week at the Sprint Center, the first song in the setlist is named as "Let's Get Retarded."

"How do you think that could have happened?" asked the caller. "Do you think someone was making a joke?"
That was my initial fear, too -- that someone was making a terrible crack about the group and it made it to print. So I was extremely surprised to check out the official track listing of the band's album "Elephunk," which shows that the track in fact originally went by that name. Looks like the group re-recorded the lyric and re-released the song as the much blander "Let's Get It Started," too. To be honest, I just don't have it in me to research this one any further.  Bottom line: I just listened to the original version on Rhapsody, and yes, it was built around the word "retarded."

The Star has printed pretty much every curse word or slur that I can think of at one time or another, and I've argued before that when it's presented in the proper context -- especially when it's a question of whether the word is appropriate or note -- that anything can be justifiable. Here, though, my personal preference would have been to use the track's new name, or maybe even noted that it's an offensive term without printing it.

But I suppose I could see the other side too. After all, the band wrote and released the lyric. I'm one who finds the term extremely offensive in this context, but that the band used it is simple reality. Maybe whether it's objectionable or not should be up to the reader, who can form his or her opinions of the Black Eyed Peas based on how they use language.

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