Sunday, October 2, 2011
Lyrics vs. Beats
It was very clear that although we talked about other hip hop artists who had a message to their music, the class agreed that the majority of artists sing about violence, wealth, and women. I was thinking about these messages, because I don't agree with any of them, but I still listen to the music. I assume that most other casual listeners are like myself as well. Why, then are these lyrics still so violent and sexist? In my opinion, it's the beat that makes a song popular in mainstream these days, rather than the lyrics. Many people don't even really listen to the lyrics, because these songs are most often used in dance or party settings, or to just get pumped and have a good time. Hip hop songs in the mainstream almost always have a fun, dance beat. Lyrics certainly seem to be secondary, but since all the previous songs concern money, violence, and sex, and they are still selling, that is what is still being created. I do think that a song with a message could be widely accepted, if it had a good beat, albeit the artist might not like if their song were popular only for the beat, when they were trying to get a message across.
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That's an interesting point about rappers not being happy if their music just became popular for the beat and not the message. You might be right about that.
ReplyDeleteBut it actually makes me think of a song from another genre. I'm a fan of Third Eye Blind, a band that most people think just writes a bunch of fluffy pop songs—but remember the song “Semi-Charmed Life”? It was all over the radio in the '90s because it SOUNDS like a fun little pop song. But listen to the lyrics and you'll find it's actually about the decay and eventual destruction of a relationship due to meth addiction. Pretty dark topic. Apparently the band wrote the song the way they did, in a happy upbeat way, so that it WOULD become popular, and then their message would get heard. Now, I'm not sure they were very successful because most people remember the song but STILL don't realize what it's actually about. But that's certainly one way to attempt to spread a message.