Dodging the Teen Angst Bullet for Another Couple of Years

Today in the car we all needed a pick-me-up so we popped in one of the kids' favorites, Madonna's 'Hung Up On You.' It's an upbeat little diddy really meant for 17 year olds with suspiciously dilated pupils to rave to, but I figure it's never too young to introduce children to the darker aspects of American culture. Both of them sang along, being well versed in the lyrics. I was admiring how good their sense of timing has developed when Eddie got really into it and shouted 'ring ring ring goes the telephone! your lights are on! but there's no one home!' He then paused and took a moment to reflect on the song's deeper meaning. He caught my eye in the rear view and said, "You know mom, I think she's really got to go somewhere, like the store or a party or something, and she's running late, and she's calling her buddy to go with her and her buddy's not answering the phone. And she's obviously home, because her lights are on. I think Madonna's going to just leave without her, because what? Like her legs are broken so she can't answer her stupid phone? Her legs are not broken, I bet. I would leave without her too." I agreed that I would probably just leave too, and the friend could always catch me on my cell later. He nodded in agreement. I can only hope that through his teen years we continue to communicate so candidly when discussing his favorite pop music. Of course, it would also be great if he only loved the music because it gave him a good back beat to jump off of the coffee table and onto the sofa with, like now, and not because he feels it accurately portrays his own misery and loneliness. I guess we'll have to see.