Wednesday, October 8, 2008

   LOL MY PAPER.
Megan Royer
English 11 – CP – Period 1
Mrs. Wagner
October 8, 2008

Problems in Popular Music
Terry Modica from St. Victoria's Catholic Church says, “Although metal, rock, and rap fans often say they listen to the music for its sound and not the lyrics, a study shows that 90% of them admit to knowing the lyrics; 60% agree with the message of these lyrics.” This quote shows that popular music in the twenty-first century is slowly going downhill. Artists are promoting rape, premarital sex, drug use, chauvinism, and close minded views. Where has all of the good music gone and what kind of garbage are they trying to feed us?
A majority of popular music in this day and age focuses on material possessions, which in the long run doesn't matter. Music should be focused more on the trials and tribulations of life and on things that the average person can relate to. Think of your favorite song and why you like it. You like it because it makes you think and feel what that artist is trying to say, correct? Most pop songs played on radio stations consist of catchy beats and repeated choruses, not true written and organized talent. It takes more talent to write a song about a rough patch in your life, or something that you feel strongly about. It doesn't take much talent to repeat a chorus four times and throw in some catchy lyrics. Actually, a lot of the popular rappers in the music scene today are manufactured by their label to have street appeal and thug-like qualities so that they'll appeal to today's youth. Some of these mainstream rappers don't even right their own material. They pay professionals to write their rhymes for them. I'm not only singling out the rap community, though. I can say from experience that there are decent rappers out there who rap about the difficult times that they've been through and gang life in their neighborhoods. I can say that I truly respect those artists. Sadly, I can't find myself respecting these fabricated images of rappers that the mainstream is trying to sell to me. Rock bands in the modern media have taken a step backwards as well. A lot of songs that I hear on popular rock stations such as 105.7 and 103.1 sing about the 'sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll' lifestyle and portray it as something glamorous. I'm no fool. I can say after reading about Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna, Jr., more popularly known as the Nikki Sixx, the bassist from the rock band Mötley Crüe, that 'sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll' is what ruined his relationships with his band in the end. According to an online biography of Nikki Sixx, Sixx once stated that after a near death experience with heroin abuse he took it lightly and returned home to only do abuse illegal substances even more. A few years later, Sixx and his band mates went into rehab. After the time in rehab, Mötley Crüe produced their most successful record and Sixx declared himself sober. Sixx wrote about more of his experiences in his biography, The Heroin Diaries. I think that Sixx is an wonderful example towards the point that alcohol and drugs aren't the key to success. Overall, the focus on money, drugs, sex, and fake image shouldn't be the main focus of today's most popular music.
Have you ever monitored what your children listen to? Children who own or have access to the radio or Internet may pick up the wrong set of values because of popular music. The Internet is very broad and any music video or song, edited or explicit, is at their fingertips. Several of these songs are racy, violent, and sexist and may lead to those types of behaviors later in life. Children often look up to their big brother or sister, right? Sometimes they even want to copy them and be like them. Older brothers and sisters may perhaps listen to the radio, which is polluted with garbage, the younger sibling might see this and want to be just like the older sibling. My French teacher, Pamela Kennedy even says, “There is no need for vulgarity in popular music. Younger people listen to these songs, and using vulgarity sends the wrong message.” I completely agree with this quote, popular music makes suggestive references to drug use which may lead impressionable minds into thinking that that kind of behavior is acceptable. These songs also talk down women and degrade them into being objects of sex and basically, pieces of trash. Speaking for women as a whole, we've worked hard for years to be accepted into society as an equal to men. With music portraying us as sexual tools and degrading and stereotyping us is like taking a step backwards. Today's youth is already being tainted by things in society like school shootings and drug overdoses, do we really need the music encouraging this behavior? I can say one thing, it's impossible for me to do anything about this. I know that there are intelligent individuals out there who can tell right from wrong and can listen to this kind of music without doing anything drastic. Still, there is still a majority of people who will hear these messages and take them into the wrong account.
Lastly, recent popular music seems degrading towards minorities, women, and other small groups. We live in America, and I know that it says in our amendments that we have the right to say, sing, or rap about whatever we want. Though, I don't think it's very American to degrade others either. We're the home of the free and brave and we should welcome and embrace all cultures. Popular music promotes hate towards minorities and women. They talk down to these groups as if they're an elite race. These songs basically sell sex and stereotypes as if they were the newest clothes. They talk down to races such as African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and other immigrants by using racial slurs and degrading terms that haven't been used since before the Civil Rights movement. As an American, we should accept and cherish all other citizens in our country as individuals, we shouldn't look down at them from an elitist point of view and discriminate. It's not right, no matter what era we're in. Women are also a target in popular music. If you look at any popular video on television today, at least six out of ten probably have some woman dressed in provocative clothing. Lyrics ever portray women as lustful, seductive, and in essence sexual deviants. Mostly in all of these videos, the singer or artist is a male and the woman is putty in his hand. This view is un-realistic and sexist. Most videos when the singer or artist is female, men are hardly portrayed like this. These songs also promote that money, which is the so called 'root of evil', is the key to success. Music, in no way, should be about making money. Music should be about expression, since it is an art form after all. This is basically the last thing our media needs. My art teacher, Sara Sutton said that, “Popular music exploits negative behaviors for shock value! Ideally, young individuals should not listen to vulgar music, however I believe other factors are the root of society's issues.” I can't help but agree with her, though vulgarity in music definitely isn't the main cause of society's issues, it still is effecting today's youth and polluting the airwaves.
In conclusion, our music industry needs to become more focused. Music should be beautiful and inspiring, not full of negative slurs and mindless choruses. This rubbish isn't doing us any justice as listeners, all it's doing is polluting our minds. Most popular music isn't deep nor thought provoking. It's simple and all the same. Music shouldn't be made for money or fame; it should be made for us, the people. Music should be what brings us together, not what tears us apart.


THIS WAS SO JENNY CAN READ IT.
PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR BEING INTELLIGENT FOR ONCE.
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