How far we've fallen: Retro-reading 1980s propriety as Woke -- "Kids Inc" song cover revision retconned. Plus, a bonus track!

"Kids Incorporated" was a live-action kids' show of the mid-1980s and early 1990s. It was about a band of the same name composed of (more-or-less) young people. They would do covers--excellent ones, in my fan opinion--of popular songs (plus a few original numbers). Sometimes, as the Wiki article notes, "'[d]ue to the age of both the performers and the target demographic, lyrics with objectionable content were generally edited out of the songs and replaced with more appropriate language." While such things are always judgment calls, generally the judgment seems to have been good.

However, in our modern "Woke" era, we see that those pushing this agenda will attempt to wrongly construe the motive. Instead of it being about age-appropriate issues (an issue which the Woke community ignores--these are the people giving sex instruction for Kindergarteners, remember), some of the changes are depicted by them as efforts at "gender neutrality." 

Such a comment was made on a posting of Kids Inc's cover of "You're the One that I Want" from the movie Grease. I replied to the comment, and I confess I didn't fully appreciate the intent until after my initial post. In any case, I have after a week not received a reply yet.

And of course, for the record and for the entertainment of a very fine cover, here's the video:

Of course, Kids Inc isn't the only such example of reading Wokeness in where it doesn't exist. Even modern songs are reconstrued thusly. "I Drive Your Truck" has had people seek to reconstrue the lyrics as writer to change the singer from the deceased soldier's brother into his same-sex lover. Thus is the level of deception these people will dive to in order to push their agenda. I give the solution here: Cats, Guns, and National Security: Ban Trans. Simple. (catsgunsandnationalsecurity.blogspot.com)

For some doing this sort of thing, it's simply part of an effort to normalize Wokeness efforts. Others, though, have so thoroughly bought into it that they actually sorta think that was the reason behind the writing. While the former category is arguably more dangerous, the latter category is certainly the more pitiful (if one has pity, that is.)

But for the reverse, and an actual lyrical function and change, here's Kids Inc's cover of Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" (the only song by that group I actually kinda liked -- see HERE for an almost Country cover of it by a group in Argentina, with link going to my comment to that effect). Listen carefully to the bridge.

Discussion of the change:

My separate comment: