4 Hit Songs I Listened to as a Kid That I Definitely Shouldn’t Have

We all have those songs that exposed us to things we shouldn’t have been learning about as kids and pre-teens. Suggestive themes, bad words, rebellion, acting out, and being a little punk. Here’s a list of four songs from my own childhood that I listened to in my formative years that I definitely shouldn’t have known about.

Songs I Listened to As a Kid That I (Mostly) Didn’t Understand

“The Bad Touch” by Bloodhound Gang

We all knew this was coming, so I’m going to get it out of the way now. Bloodhound Gang released “The Bad Touch” in 1999, and it was a staple for edgy middle schoolers to shout on the bus and during their after school programs and at sleepovers. This was a revolutionary song for tweens who didn’t know what sex was, who were just learning about it in health class, or who just thought the song was funny. We didn’t know what we were talking about, but it sure was hilarious at the time.

“American Idiot” by Green Day

Personally, I was listening to this entire album when I definitely shouldn’t have, which is to say, when I was 11. My dad had American Idiot on CD and I used to love the track “Holiday” when I was a miserably edgy pre-teen. It’s definitely possible that having Green Day on during my formative years influenced my later love of punk that persists today.

“I’m a Slave 4 U” by Britney Spears

This is one song that none of us should have been listening to when we were listening to it. “I’m a Slave 4 U” came out on Britney Spears’ 2001 album Britney, which was the follow-up to Oops! I Did It Again from 2000. I had Oops! I Did It Again on CD at the time, and it’s possible that my mom let me get Britney because the previous album was pretty innocuous, all things considered. This one, however, was a little bit more grown up with songs like “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” and definitely with “I’m a Slave 4 U.”

Trapped in the Closet by R. Kelly

I have distinct memories of my friends and I being obsessed with the drama of R. Kelly’s saga “Trapped in the Closet.” We would listen to every installment of this song, shocked and elated at what we were hearing. It was funny, dramatic, and raunchy, and as middle schoolers we were hooked without knowing quite exactly what we were listening to. Still, even as R. Kelly has fallen from grace, “Trapped in the Closet” remains a strong memory from my younger, more innocent and clueless years.

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