I am pretty sure that all my competitors are going to write about important subjects like legalizing dope, or the effects global warming, but I must rebel against this and write about a simple subject that effects us all. I am sure you all have your favorite artist, whether it's Metallica or Lady Gaga, or a favorite genre of music, whether it's country or rap. The censorship of music effects all genres (maybe not classical piano), and is a serious infringement on our First Amendment rights.


Should music be censored? I believe not. I will use just one example. The first time I heard Green Day, I was about nine years old. I listened the two main songs from their newest, and most controversial album, American Idiot, one time on the radio and then didn't hear them again. I live in a very conservative neighborhood/city/county and they kept the album suppressed.


My mom, who had introduced to me at a young age all kinds of great artists like Pink Floyd, Queen, The Doors, and Cat Stevens, heard their album's title song on a “Protest Songs Through History” website and instantly became a fan. We bought the single on iTunes, but the two best parts of the song have this really annoying censorship bleep. I am now 14 and I live and breathe Green Day. A few days ago, I went on iTunes and downloaded their full album. I can understand why people don't want their young children listening to people swear, but music is more than that; it is truly a form of art.


I don't like watching the Grammys when you have some rapper performing and you can't hear large chunks of the song because the media censors it. The lengths that people go to censor music is ridiculous. As said in the Notice of the Revocation of Independence, whose authorship is disputed, "There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.".


Last spring Green Day released their newest rock opera, 21st Century Breakdown, which has since won the Grammy for the best rock album of the year. I was one of the many that pre-ordered the album two months early on iTunes. When Walmart, the biggest retail store in America, asked Green Day to produce a 'clean' version of 21st Century Breakdown, they told Walmart to go to #$%@ (Sorry, the media....), and I would have done the same.