You are what you eat, but are you what you hear?
We watch a specific television show or movie, because of its quality, but the discernment of good music is based on a different set of principles. As music becomes more and more tasteless, these governing principles become more and more vague.
At what point does a song stop qualifying as “good music” simply because it’s entertaining? “Hey, that’s what sells” is an overused excuse. It only locks us in a never-ending cycle of us buying music because it is made, and artists making it because we buy it.
It is not to say that people are tasteless and do not possess morals, but they are lured by the common devil that attracts almost all cultures. The beat.
That’s right – the beat is the devil. Or a devil, at least. It may be the most enjoyable part of most songs, but it allows us to ignore what should be the most important part of the song – the words.
No matter how unintelligible, confusing or degrading a song is – if the beat is tight then, “That’s the jam!”
Well – that’s a shame. We may say we are not listening to the words, but one day while listening to the song in the car, we’ll start reciting the words like we were getting paid.
But wait – wasn’t it about the beat? How did we memorize what we were ignoring?
Whether you like it or not, these words become a part of you. You know them like you know the poem you practiced all night in grade school.
Women are being called out of their name – but, “Hey, let’s dance.”
Men are being encouraged to be promiscuous – but “that beat is tight.” Our children are watching music videos and listening to this music -but, “dawg, did you see that video?”
Something is wrong.
Why continue to listen to this music so it’s meaning, or lack of, can be in our thoughts?
If your thoughts become your words, your actions, your habits and eventually your values – what, in the end, do you value?
Danielle Wright, 23, is a senior theatre student from London, England. She is The Famuan’s managing editor. She can be reached at managingeditor@hotmail.com.