What is wrong with lyrics today....

[Evil D]

I'm not old enough to remark on how kids viewed things 30 years ago in regards to the music they listened to, but I can tell you, as a teacher, part of the reason for the strong dissapproval of lyrics today is how much kids emulate them. You wouldn't believe some of the things I hear come out of an eight year old's mouth. There is a deeper understanding today of things that kids shouldn't know anything about, and part of it is tied to the music they listen to (and the videos that are connected to that music) and what is constantly being told/shown to them is "cool," "normal," and "right."

I get all that, but as compared to movies...you don't see kids running around with chainsaws just because they saw Chainsaw Massacre. I guess the reason is in part because music has people to idolize, whereas movies tend to be about fictional characters.

The real irony is that many of the bands i listen to are actually Christian bands and the lyrics are about God and positive things, even though you may not understand what they're saying.

[Studey]

I think it's easier to make the dissasociation with movies...kids are used to movies being about things that aren't real, cartoons, make-believe characters, etc. No one runs around thinking Shrek is real. Music, however, tends to be about real life (or real life experiences), so it seems easier to identify with music and continue propogating the same things that they hear.

[Minibear453]

"They say music can alter moods and talk to you, will can it load a gun up for you and cock it too? Because if it can, than the next time you assault a dude, just tell the judge it was my fault, and I'll get sued." ~Eminem

I think it's sad to be influenced by music in a way that allows you to commit violent acts. I mean, if that's the case, president candidates should probably pay some singer to sing about voting for them. Maybe it's the other way around- violent people like to listen to that kind of music, and those who listen to it as well get the bad press.

[Evil D]

The truth is just that there are bad people in this world, and if you're the type who's sitting around plotting a shooting spree, you're probably not sitting at home listening to easy listening music. When bad things happen, scared people look for something to blame and if there's any possible way they can make a connection with some musician then they'll make it. 40 years ago it was Alice Cooper, in the '90s it was Manson. We haven't had a good shock rocker come around for a while now...which is why you haven't seen any of the recent school shootings being blamed on anyone.

[jabba359]

Some people just don't understand the deeper meanings of the lyrics. For instance, if you really read into Justin Bieber's Baby lyrics, you can see how it's really about drug abuse and how it destroys families and society, while simultaneously decrying the growing class gap as the middle class disintegrates into a poor working class who become financially enslaved to the top 1%:

Baby, baby, baby, oh
Like baby, baby, baby, no
Like baby, baby, baby, oh
I thought you'd always be mine, mine

Baby, baby, baby, oh
Like baby, baby, baby, no
Like baby, baby, baby, oh
I thought you'd always be mine, mine

I'm all gone
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Now I'm all gone
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Now I'm all gone
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Now I'm all gone, gone, gone, gone
I'm gone

Pretty profound, huh?

[Monocrom]

So why do we continue to dig once we reach rock bottom?

Honestly, because that's just the sort of thing dumb folks do.

[razorsharp]

Hate pop. Hate rap. Like old music, like orchestral music, like old rock, like some newer rock...for me, metal is where its at. Look into lyrics from hard core metal bands like killswitch engage and the lyrics are meaningful, not just baby baby baby baby baby baby baby I also dont think music influences how some behave. I dress up as average as can be but listen to very very heavy bands (meshuggah, lamb of god etc)

[D1omedes]

Sad, but true. Seems like an almost de-evolution in progress.

I disagree. After researching open source software and Linux, I am shocked at the level of technical knowledge and expertise that is booming around the world. Internet cafes in Africa, and elsewhere, have young people that have never set foot in college, setting up computer networks. Factor in the level of science and math requirements in schools nowadays (Grandma never needed a friggin graphing calculator in ninth grade) and it's clear that the growth of technology has led to an overall increase in knowledge.

It is a double-edge sword, however. There has always been "stupid" amusement in the world and the internet has just made it incredibly accessible. The supremacy of technology has come with another cost: the written word. I believe there is an incredible decline in peoples' ability to read and write. We still have great writers around the world but it seems like more and more people rather tweet "I c u at the movies, lata...." than read a good book or learn how to improve their grammar. I know linguist scholars are looking at slang and technology with interest. They want to see how the English language changes over time - much like Latin was shaped into French and Spanish.

[c.joe]

That's why Shostakovitch, Tchaikovsky, Mahler etc is still burning strong. Because when modern material fails us, we simply resort to the oldies.

I have also been listening to nothing but talk radio. I have never missed an episode of the Tim Conway Jr. Show :)

[phillipsted]

My little 4-year-old nieces were dancing around their parents' house the last time I was there to the tune of "Tik Tok" by Kei$ha. When I listened to the lyrics, I first had a good chuckle - I'm pretty progressive music-wise, but I realized how out-of-touch I am with kids' music today... :cool:

TedP


"Wake up in the mornin' feelin' like P- Diddy
Grab ma glasses I'm out the door I'm gonna hit the city
Before I leave brush ma teeth with a bottle of Jack
'Cuz when I leave for the night I ain't comin back
...
Aint got a care in world, but got plenty of beer
Aint got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here
Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger
But we kick em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger

I'm talkin' bout - everybody getting crunk, crunk
Boys tryna touch my junk, junk
Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk..."

[Evil D]

My little 4-year-old nieces were dancing around their parents' house the last time I was there to the tune of "Tik Tok" by Kei$ha. When I listened to the lyrics, I first had a good chuckle - I'm pretty progressive music-wise, but I realized how out-of-touch I am with kids' music today... :cool:

TedP


"Wake up in the mornin' feelin' like P- Diddy
Grab ma glasses I'm out the door I'm gonna hit the city
Before I leave brush ma teeth with a bottle of Jack
'Cuz when I leave for the night I ain't comin back
...
Aint got a care in world, but got plenty of beer
Aint got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here
Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger
But we kick em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger

I'm talkin' bout - everybody getting crunk, crunk
Boys tryna touch my junk, junk
Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk..."

Yeah. I'm debating about intentionally destroying my daughter's hearing lol.

[Monocrom]

Kei$ha is ugly, drunk half the time, and can't sing. (Main reason why she's mostly auto-tuned.)

Makes you wonder what she did for someone high-up in the music industry to land a recording contract.

[tr4022]

lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala...
lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala...
lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala...
lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala...

Is that the Banana Splits theme song?

Tod