The True Danger Behind Modern Music

Tek7 (Legacy)

Tek7 (Legacy)

CGA & ToJ President
I was working out at my college yesterday and heard the song, "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas come on the radio. After making a mental note to purchase noise-canceling earbuds at the first opportunity, I listened the song and experienced an epiphany of sorts. People are outraged over the violence and sexual content of modern music, but no one is addressing a very real but more subtle danger:

Sheer and unabashed stupidity.

Example:
My love, my love, my love, my love
You love my lady lumps,
My hump, my hump, my hump,
My humps they got u,
She’s got me spending.
(Oooo) Spendin’ all your money on me and spendin' time on me.
She’s got me spendin’.
(Oooo) Spendin’ all your money on me,(uh) on me, on me
[...]
If u touch it I’m a start some drama,
You don’t want no drama,
No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama
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Witness the sheer idiocy of 50 Cent's love song, "21 Questions":
I love you like a fat kid loves cake
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These are not amateur tracks recorded by a nine-year old with a computer and a microphone. (One would expect better from a nine-year old.) This is not a joke; these songs are real and they are really stupid.

Parents: I urge you to sit down and explore music with your children. Discuss the effect music has on them. Introduce them to artists and albums their friends may not know. Challenge them to expand their knowledge of and appreciation for great music.

Much of my passion for music can be accredited to my father. He introduced me to artists and albums that challenged my mind, opened my eyes to social injustices, and encouraged me to value those gifts God has given me.

Children: Make the effort to explore new music genres, artists, and albums. Mainstream music may be a vast wasteland, but there is terrific music to be found. The moment you tell someone you like a song with stupid lyrics "because I can dance to it" or "it's got a nice beat," it's a sure sign that you need to visit your local library and check out a few famous jazz albums.

You may not agree with Gil Scott-Heron's harsh criticism of American budget priorities in "Whitey On The Moon," but the song at least encourages discussion of important social issues. The same can not be said of "My Humps," "21 Questions," or any number of mindless mainstream music.

Please discuss, but keep it civil. Feel free to list lyrics that you consider examples of amazingly stupid or wonderfully intelligent.
 
Well, many people would argue that there isn't anything wrong with a song whose sole existence is to manifest headbanging motions from its listeners. For example, at the right time, Thousand Foot Krutch's "Rawkfist" is actually pretty fun song to listen to. Does it serve any purpose? Is there any social message in its lyrics outside of uhm...pump your fist in the air, essentially? Probably not.

As for songs that really resonate with me lyrically, Shawn McDonald has dispensed a considerable amount of ownage as of late, and I can't wait for his latest CD "Ripen" to hit the shelves in March.
 
I didn't mean to imply that all songs should be as cerebral as, say, Sting's "They Dance Alone." I'm not criticizing songs that are not actively challenging minds, but rather criticizing songs that are blatantly stupid.

For example: I enjoy Jamiroquai's song, "Talulah." It's a fun song with a great saxaphone part. While the song doesn't make me feel any smarter, it doesn't make me feel stupider, either.
 
two words:

Steve Taylor.

2 more:

Keith Green.

both Christian artists, both with extremely insightful and challenging lyrics. try not to find meaning in Mr. Green's "Asleep in the Light," or Mr. Taylor's "Smug," "Lifeboat," or "I Want To Be A Clone."
 
as I get older I find myself listening to more and more classical or Jazz (I just adore Norah Jones). Especially,while driving around with my son.
 
i dislike music more n more, just like how i dont watch tv anymore
 
Baron Squirrel said:
try not to find meaning in Mr. Green's "Asleep in the Light," or Mr. Taylor's "Smug," "Lifeboat," or "I Want To Be A Clone."
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Got links to lyrics or audio samples?

I should mention that DC Talk's "What Have We Become?" is one of my favorite songs. I have tremendous respect for any artist who presents an honest view of humanity and says, "Looks at this. Is this what you want to be?" Christian artists should be asking and seeking answers to difficult questions.

Kidan said:
as I get older I find myself listening to more and more classical or Jazz (I just adore Norah Jones). Especially,while driving around with my son.
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Aye, I'm a fan of Norah, too. Most of her music has a similar sound, but I recently heard a song about a crime of passion (I think) that was uncharacteristically upbeat. I rather liked it. I just wish I could remember the name of the song. D'oh!

Oh, and in terms of sheer coolness, jazz is #1. :D

Atown said:
i dislike music more n more, just like how i dont watch tv anymore
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I find that my opinion of humanity has a direct correlation to how much television I watch. The more commercials I see, the less I think of humanity. Much, if not nearly all, advertising is designed, consciously or unconsciously, to breed discontent until you give money to that company for that product or service. When we, as Christians, are struggling to, like Paul, be content in all situations, television can present a serious stumbling block.
 
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I just stay away from main stream music altogether. Local artists and small record companies have the best music imo. I guess it has to do with the stupid group of people/ smart individual concept. If you want to appeal to the most people you have to have stupid redundant lyrics that get stuck in the mass' mind.

When you listen to smaller record companies you'll find intelligence and musical aptitude. Rock/Metal that is untainted and pure. Bands that are out there soley to make music and not money. (no not all the little guys, but alot) Its almost kind of a bummer when a small band you follow gets big because then its almost like its not your band anymore, its everyones.(Underoath, Zao...) You wanna say "but Ive been listening to them since they were nobody" and everybody else says the exact same thing cuz thier posers! Every now and then when I'm in the right mood, I like to raise my fist and fight the power with some local punk music, but I'm mostly into metal/hardcore like a fat kid is into cake. :)

I can't even listen to radio music anymore, and theres always tons of cd's I want to buy, but I never have the money :( Once I even fixed a guys computer for some cd's of local band demos, and some posters. I wonder how far I could get with a "will work for cds" sign
 
I just about only listen to Christian music now for many of the reasons stated here.

For lyrics, I think Sixpence has some of the best lyrics out there. I could probably list more all day, there's really a lot of good stuff. Jars and Switchfoot, for example.
 
The places I could go with this thread....Mainstream music or pop music has become a great tool to numb the mind to anything holy. I recently had an employee who listened to nothing but rap. His manner of dress, his walk, his speech (atrocious and hardly recognizable) and mostly his attitude, were all affected by his choice of music. Granted the music did NOT make him this way, but it DID help to re-enforce his behaviour as acceptable. God gave us music as a form of worship. When we dont use the music to worship Him, then what are we doing with it? Glorifying other things, sex, drugs, violence, false gods, the list is long. I seem to remember that Lucifer, before his fall, was in charge of musical worship. Keeping that in mind doesnt it make even more sense that Satan would use secular music as a tool to try and further remove us from God?
 
I don't like much modern stuff today, i'm more into 70's and 80's rock. The music was a lot smarter then, to an extent. 'Specially instrumental wise.
 
Steve Taylor's stuff is awesome. You have to understand that Steve Taylor uses sarcasm and humor to get his message across in most of his songs.

Here's the lyrics to "I want to be a clone"

I Want to Be a Clone

i'd gone through so much other stuff
that walking down the aisle was tough
but now i know its not enough
i want to be a clone
i asked the Lord into my heart
that said that was the way to start
but now you've got to play the part
i want to be a clone

chorus
be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight
clonlieness is next to Godliness, right?
i'm grateful that they show the way
cause i could never know the way
to serve Him on my own
i want to be a clone

they told me that i'd fall away
unless i followed what they say
who needs the Bible anyway?
i want to be a clone
their language was new to me
but Christianese got through to me
now i can speak it fluently
i want to be a clone

chorus

send in the clones
ah, i kinda wanted to tell my friends about it, ya know...
WHAT?
you're still a babe
you have to grow
give it twenty years or so
cause if you want to be one of His
got to act like one of us

chorus

so now i see the whole design
my church is an assembly line
that parts are there
i'm feeling fine
i want to be a clone
i've learned enough to stay afloat
but not so much i'd rock the boat
i'm glad they shoved it down my throat
i want to be a clone

everybody must get cloned
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I like a lot of electronic dance music; that is, music intended primarily to make you want to dance. Most of this doesn't contain any lyrics, and of the EDM songs that DO contain lyrics, they're generally pretty bland.

However, I like all electronic music, including the kind that's not meant for dancing. There are some of these artists which will go to great intellectual lengths to design effective music.

Boards of Canada is probably the prime example of this. Their landmark album, Music Has the Right to Children, is a statement of their intention to affect their audience using sound. They are very much like the classical composers of the Impressionist period (late 1800s) in that the aim of their tracks is to create a specific image or personal memory in the listener's mind.

An in-depth analysis of their music reveals a startling amount of precision and depth in their music. They use the Golden Ratio to space moments in tracks; this ratio occurs often in nature and is thought to be aesthetically pleasing. A lot of classical architecture makes extensive use of the Golden Ratio. The Parthenon in Greece is famous for having its height-to-width ratio match that of the Golden Ratio.

Additionally, the vocal samples they use are often chosen not for their direct denotation, but rather for the individual connotation that the words and inflection may have to the listener, as well as for a melodically-pleasing pitch. Some of their percussion is not comprised of actual drums (although it sounds very much like actual drums), but instead of fricative consonants or percussive noises present in human speech, modulated to sound like drums.

You can listen to the album using the Warp Music Player on the Warp Store on Warp Records. You'll have to keep clicking play every 30 seconds though, as they have an anti-theft device in place. I highly recommend listening to Aquarius as an introduction to their work.

How's that for intelligent music? :)

P.S., as a warning: I enjoy listening to BoC's first and third albums, but I will not listen to their second one, Geogaddi, because it contains a reference to a pagan god. BoC themselves are nonreligious, but they have included themes from several religions in their compositions, including Christianity, branch davidianism, paganism, and Judaism.
 
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Jango said:
I don't like much modern stuff today, i'm more into 70's and 80's rock. The music was a lot smarter then, to an extent. 'Specially instrumental wise.
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I only listen to classic rock, I hate all new music especially rap.

List of who I listen to;

AC/DC
Aerosmith
Alice Cooper
Blackfoot
Brother Cane
Bryan Adams
*Darn* Yankees
Dan Baird
The Edgar Winter Group
John Mellencamp
Kiss
Led Zepplin
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Pink Floyd
Rick Derringer
Rush
Ted Nugent
Tesla
Van Halen
Van Zant
ZZ Top
PLUS MUCH MORE
 
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apocalypse said:
Most of what I listen to now falls under the genres of Bluegrass/Folk/Indie/Instrumental.

Old Crow Medicine Show is one of my recent favorites.
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Bluegrass is good.
My neighbor is the banjo player and the gal was my son(s) music teacher.
I know its tough esp when they sit in the backyard and put on a mini concert with these guys whom come through once a year enroute to a Winnipeg Bluegrass Festival.
Makes for a pleasant time every summer.
:cool:

But as for everyday music whatever I hear listening to this station works for me.
 
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