While listening through a few of the old cassettes that were my dad's I've stumbled across some stuff that's made me quite disillusioned with my and any newer generation's music.

Nothing we've got means anything. We have a few political bands, but they're so angry that the music comes across as noise, and then we've got 99% worthless crap. It all means nothing. Artists don't write about important things anymore.

I'm speaking specifically after listeing to some Billy Joel. Save your "Billy Joel sucks" comments for yourself, because this isn't what the thread is about. While listeing to the "Storm Front" album, I've been listening to a few songs, and nearly every song has a true meaningful and important reason for it being written.

Two that stand out in particular are Leningrad and The Downeaster 'Alexa'. The former is about a Russian circus clown, who lost his father to the Cold War. The only happiness that the man had ever known was just making children happy. When Billy brought his daughter back to Leningrad to meet him, she fell in love with Viktor, and Billy wrote a song about the hardships of the Russian people during and after Soviet control.

The latter is about the hardships facing fishermen on the eastern bays of the US. With all the new legislation and environmental acts in place, a culture that's existed for 300 years in the same place gets choked out of existance because they can't catch what's legal to sell and earn a decent wage.

Nothing we've got compares to the weight of songs like these, and that's depressing. We've all become so desensitized and trained to accept what we have going on. I don't know if many of you realize it, but if you're around 18 or older, you've now lived through a minimum of two and a maximum of five wars depending on how you count things.

*The Cold War
*Desert Storm
*The Korean War
*The "War" in Iraq

Stand out as the most prevailant. Most generations get one, but we've got at least two. But you don't see any of our songwriters making music about any of it. Because we're so damned used to killing and killing and not caring that we don't see that all of this is sick.

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-=I'm the wang of this here site, and it's HUGE! So just imagine how big I am.=-
1337Yectiwan
OSC Returns!!
10 of 14 -- 27 Lives On

I have to completely agree. I really can't think of anything more to add right now. Maybe that's why I've caught myself listening to older rock more and more recently...

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Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me,
You told them all I was crazy,
They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, God damn you.
============
Frogblast the Vent-Core!

I mean, I like the stuff that I listen to. But when comparing it to something with real substance. I feel more compelled to tell DMB (my favorite band) to shove it.

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-=I'm the wang of this here site, and it's HUGE! So just imagine how big I am.=-
1337Yectiwan
OSC Returns!!
10 of 14 -- 27 Lives On

Very good post Yecti.

I remember getting into Iron Maiden when I was six years old, and I really had it going for the bass guitarist, Steve Harris. Obviously, I wanted to learn bass too, so I picked up guitar when I was seven.

What then... I've been into punk, dozens of variations on metal, techno, pop, ... And after spending literally hundreds of hours on those, and still do a lot, it means NOTHING anymore. I think it never meant anything.

Right now I listen to classical stuff (Bach), jazz (Django Reinhardt, Louis Armstrong, ...), ethnic/world music(flamenco, the stuff muslim guys sing on their towers, tango, Tuvan throat singing, ...), old school rock and/or roll, ...

Do I think I'm superior because I moved on to deeper stuff? NO.

I still listen to the stuff I 'moved on' from. I woke up from a little tent on a pop festival just last week.

But in the end, all that is just... brief diversionary entertainment. Like eating a waffle or something. IT DOESN'T MATTER.

I think it's time to go back to music as a way of emotional expression, and not as a way of shallow entertainment.

I mean, nothing that is being talked about here makes me cry. You'll list all these things in the 'listening to right now' thread, and it's nice and all, but...

IT DOESN'T MATTER.

Only really counts if you put a lot of thought into listening to lyrics.

Personally I disagree, I don't think lyrics should always have a particular focus on any sort of event.... they're only words added to the music, sometimes they even get screamed if the angst is running high enough.... what i'm getting at is that some people will be more interested in writing about things you don't care about and vice versa.

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Drugs & Stupidity, Tons of it.

I find that lyrics in newer songs still have as much meaning as they did 20 years ago, only now they seem more directed towards personal issues rather than society or the world. That's just the trend right now. Give it a while, it might come back. Personally I'd like a mix of both.

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WAITER: Here’s your green salad, sir.
ANAKIN: What? You fool, I told you NO CROUTONS! Aaaaaaargh!

"Yeah... The fourth branch of the government, AKA the media, seems to now have a retirement plan for ex-military officials as if their opinion was at all unbiased. A machine shouldn't speak for men, so shut the **** up you mindless drone!
And you know it's serious when these same media outfits are spending millions of dollars on a PR campaign to try to convince you they're fair and balanced, when they're some of the most ignorant, and racist people giving that type of mentality a safe haven. We act like we share in the spoils of war that they do, we die in wars, we don't get the contracts to make money off 'em afterwards!" - Immortal Technique

The messages are still there, you just got to look.

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[="Rememeber that history isn't how the corporate controlled media made it look like. Read between the lines and free your mind. Evolution is the birth of equality and the anti-thesis to opression." - Immortal Technique=]

Massassian since: March 12, 2001

Don't forget Bosnia--that makes six. And yes, I agree completely.

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Map-Review | My Portfolio | The Matrix: Unplugged

Blown away by the force of the word, woken up by the sound of the siren. It's genocide.

[This message has been edited by Thrawn42689 (edited July 11, 2004).]

But a point I was trying to make that I don't think I've gotten across is that you never hear outright anger in most of these older songs.

I agree that the lyrics shouldn't always be the main focus, but if you're going to set your music to words, you should make your lyrics as meaningful as your music.

Like I said, we have our political bands, but for the most part they don't speak out against anything in a means that's globally approachable. You don't see concerts for "Immortal Technique" (? is that the band or a song? I'm not familiar) in Russia or any other country where thousands of people will flock and embrace the music because it speaks equally to everybody. When you have such anger and hatred in music, it doesn't come off as approachable. Punk is a perfect example. A lot of punk music has a message, but it comes across as mindless noise to anybody who doesn't like punk.

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-=I'm the wang of this here site, and it's HUGE! So just imagine how big I am.=-
1337Yectiwan
OSC Returns!!
10 of 14 -- 27 Lives On

Yeah I understand that, but you can't down play the message just because its not reknown worldwide.



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[="Rememeber that history isn't how the corporate controlled media made it look like. Read between the lines and free your mind. Evolution is the birth of equality and the anti-thesis to opression." - Immortal Technique=]

Massassian since: March 12, 2001

I don't know. I agree and disagree with your post.

Sure, there isn't the same amount of political bands that are out there, writing about stuff that is 'global'.

But if you look at the music industry, it has changed. Now, what becomes worldwide known is the usual "I have a crush", "My life sucks!", etc. Sure, there's stuff people can relate too but it's not like the past.

I think back then, people used music as a form of protest, as a form of expression for these thoughts. Now it has drifted in that people use music to escape whats going on in the world - just like a movie or video game.

But there still are bands that write important songs - that could apply globally.

Take the metal band Dionysus with their song "Anthem for the Children"

Chorus:
"Save a prayer, for the innocent
Their childhood's been taken away
It's an anthem for the children,
They're always the ones who must pay"

The song can relate to war, poverty, violence, or anything. The whole song is on the idea of that no matter what happens, the children get hurt the worst. This is a concept seen globally.


So like this, bands still exist writing songs like that - but its not as frequent as it used too.

I think that's what you were saying - or I just completely missed your point.

If you want a band with a political message that doesn't sound like just pure noise or abrasive, look into Godspeed You Black Emperor.

I agree with you on pretty much everything you've said. There are a great deal of political bands, but the majority of them don't appeal to most people, which is a reason why they've stayed underground.

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I have a signature.

Waffles can be very entertaining. I mean, just look at them...

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"Look at me! I'm Tracer! BLAHBLAHBLAH!"

-MBeggar

I like lyrics that were written about a specific event but can be adapted to any situation. One of my favorite songs right now is Requiem by Jump. It was written after the lead singer attended a funeral for a member of his friend's family and how his friend was disillusioned by his family's religion and couldnt mourn the death of his parent the way his family did because of the differing views. One of my friends got hit by a car and died Thursday night and his funeral was today. It was the first song I listened to and it was totally accidental because my iPod was on Shuffle.

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free mp3 ~Jump - Young America

new album Between the Dim and the Dark available now

Not all of the newer bands are just loud noise. System of a Down is rock music with political vocals, they speak out about war, famine, suicide, spirituality etc.

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I made a thread, that turned into the debate, so I made a second thread, that turned into a debate, then I made a third thread, that caught on fire, burned down, got flamed, crapped on, bashed, then turned into a debate...but the fourth one, the fourth one stayed on topic!

Lots of shouting = noise.

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-=I'm the wang of this here site, and it's HUGE! So just imagine how big I am.=-
1337Yectiwan
OSC Returns!!
10 of 14 -- 27 Lives On

Rock is dead.

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If you can read this you're
TOO DAMN CLOSE!!

Not everyone wants to listen to songs with political connotations.

The current trend in pop-music seems to be the angsty-whiney rock equivalent of a country song (don't take this personally, people-who-like-country).

I don't think rock is dead. I think that the trendy rock of the past is dead. And yes, I consider it a dead trend. But obviously, people still dig it, so the albums keep on selling. But how many artists do you hear writing the same type of music?

What people often fail to realize is that music is a direct product of the issues our world faces at any given time. But with MTV and the media-machine, it becomes very hard to filter through all the crap that gets thrown on the radio. Alot of the music that is genuinly good, and was written with purpose in it's lyrics, has remained underground simply because of all the people willing to accept what they see on TV as "the best they're gonna get".

I know this sounds like some conspiracy theory, but it's something I honestly believe is ruining the music industry. I don't watch TV or listen to most radio anymore because it's all the same crap.

Rock isn't dead. It's just hidden under a big layer of s***.

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</sarcasm>

Lots of shouting = noise. <-- have you heard SoaD's last 2 CD's? There is like one or two shouting songs. That's about it.

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I made a thread, that turned into the debate, so I made a second thread, that turned into a debate, then I made a third thread, that caught on fire, burned down, got flamed, crapped on, bashed, then turned into a debate...but the fourth one, the fourth one stayed on topic!

I think it's disturbing that people have to absolutely see music as something with a message. Music is something very personal, but that also reaches many persons in that personal sense. Music conveys the emotions, the moods, the ambience. Lyrics convey whatever is easily caught, whatever you can easily relate to. It's sad that nowadays people forget about Music and only look at the lyrics. Lyrics that would be absolute bull**** if it wasn't for the music behind.

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Wake up, rise and shine, Gotta take another pint, Dig heads and watch out for the night.

The lyrics aren't always the message. To paraphrase what someone said to me, "we may not like to talk about slavery, but we can still deal with the issue by playing a blues."

It's totally true.

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"Look at me! I'm Tracer! BLAHBLAHBLAH!"

-MBeggar

Exactly, there are so many things you can't put into words, and that's the beauty of having an instrument to play. Another language.

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Wake up, rise and shine, Gotta take another pint, Dig heads and watch out for the night.

Your exactly right, whatever makes it onto TV has to be a "certain way" so artists can't fully express themselfs.

"And now they say they wanna get me signed to the majors;
If I switch up my politics and change my behavior;
Try to tell me what to rhyme about over the beat;"

"Fulla hatred, pressin a button trying to inject me;
But I ain't got no mother****in deal with Pepsi;
No corporate sponser telling me what to do;
Asking me to tone it down during the interview;
Tryin' to minimize the issue, but I'm keeping it large;
I love the place that I live, but I hate the people in charge;
Speakin is hard when you got strings attached;
So I'm a say it for you 'cause I ain't got none o' that;"


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[="Rememeber that history isn't how the corporate controlled media made it look like. Read between the lines and free your mind. Evolution is the birth of equality and the anti-thesis to opression." - Immortal Technique=]

Massassian since: March 12, 2001

I agree completely, Yecti. While some have made valid points that it's the thought that goes into the lyrics, that can be true. Unfortunately most all of the stereotypical "angst" bands just churn out crap because they want to be stars. I highly doubt they put any real thought into it; and if they did, well they suck. A lot. There aren't many artists in the past decade (excluding those who were around before the decade) that have produced really good, meaningful lyrics. Or good songs for that matter. To me, the 90s is basically a bunch of crap, most of it anyway.

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Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.

Wait, Korean War? How could you have lived through that if you're around 18??

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Bassoon, n. A brazen instrument into which a fool blows out his brains.

I wonder if the immense apathy of our generation affects our music... *cough*

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