She has been begging me for months to write something on country music sensation Ella Langley. My just-turned-13-year-old-grandaughter is like most girls her age, obsessed with the music of the 27-year-old singer who at one time earlier this year had 15. . . yes 15! . . . of her songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time. And so, I began listening. Truth be told, Langley’s music is quite catchy. . . so much so that even this non-country-music-fan was intrigued by the singer’s music, lyrics, and sudden rise to popularity.
Last week, I tackled Ella Langley’s hit song, “Be Her”, running it through our CPYU How To Use Your Head To Guard Your Heart: 3(D) Guide To Making Wise Music Choices. . . a three-step media-evaluation process we developed years ago to teach kids how to think critically and christianly about music and media. “Be Her” offers a fascinating study and perfect conversation starter on matters of personhood and identity and how we navigate those in today’s world that’s full of all kinds of cultural noise that’s pounding our kids. . . most of it leading them in the wrong direction.
I finished up this latest 3(D) evaluation on “Be Her” just in time to print one out and throw it in the car before heading down to my grandaughter’s 13th birthday party. I knocked on Lucy’s door as she was getting ready so that I could hand her what she was hoping I would someday write. As she opened the door, who and what did I hear coming out of her bluetooth speaker? You guessed it! It was Ella Langley singing “Be Her.” Perfect timing! It made for some great discussion, just as I had hoped.
But the story doesn’t stop there. Later the next day I was in the car with Lucy’s dad when we saw a kid we know from the neighborhood walking along the street with his Beats headphones over his ears. As we pulled up I rolled down my window to ask this high school senior what he was listening to. Yeah, research! “Music”, was his answer. “What kind?”, I asked. “Country”. Not surprising these days. “Who are you listening to?”, I asked. “Ella Langley.” “What song?” His answer: “Be Her.” I considered warning him that the tune is risky for guys, as it’s earworm potentiality could create problems if he would be heard singing it out loud.
Music is both directive and reflective. For our kids, it serves as both a map and a mirror. On the one hand, it guides them through the vulnerable and change-filled years of adolescence, telling them what to believe and how to live. But it’s also helpful to us as it mirrors back to us the cultural stories and narratives that serve to shape their lives. In other words, if I want to effectively share God’s story and the life-giving biblical narrative of the Gospel, I need some level of understanding of the stories they are already hearing and believing. And so, I’m going to listen to, understand, and talk about Ella Langley. That’s just what we’re helping you do through this latest CPYU 3(D) evaluation of Langley’s “Be Her”. . . which you can download here.
Teaching your kids to go through the 3(D) steps. . . Discover, Discern, Decide. . . is something we need to be doing all the time so that we might equip them for a lifetime of exercising wisdom and discernment as they see and hear the life-shaping (or life-mis-shaping) messages of music and media. You can learn more about our How To Use Your Head To Guard Your Heart: 3(D) Guide To Making Wise Music Choices guides and order some for yourself here.
