I haven't posted anything for a long time, maybe because I was looking for something meaningful to write and I think I found it.
Once again I find myself going back to music, and how music has become more of a way of selling product then selling music or art if you will. I say that meaning that more and more music is becoming commercialized and without true meaning. An example of this would be located in the biggest offender of product selling and that's the hip-hop genre. Now this isn't meant to be a digg on rap music or rap artists, as a lot of them make music that has meaning and that deals with issues that reflect our society (many underplayed). I'm talking about the ones who sing of money, excess, and sex. The ones who flaunt excess and sell it to the consumer with sex, knowing all too well that sex sells! It's not right.
Now I'm using this post to shine a light on the bands who write music for the art or for a purpose. So lets begin shall we?
Band - Song Name
1. (Flyleaf - Cassie) This song was wrote about a girl named Cassie Bernell. Cassie was a victim of the Columbine shooting, it was said that when one of the shooters (Eric Harris) asked her, "Do you believe in god?" and she replied, "Yes" that he shot her in the head. The lyrics, "Do you believe in god? Written on the bullet. Say Yes to pull the trigger.", reflect that very moment.
2. (Alexisonfire - Happiness by the Kilowatt) This song is based on the story, "The Euphio Question", which is a look at societies way of looking for the easiest way to acheive happiness (like buying it) or in this case a device called the "Euphoriaphone". The lyrics, "So this is continuous happiness / You know, I always / Imagined it something more / With the right drapes, the right paints / The right frames, this could really work / What a great day to spend indoors",
is a reference to the 2 day euphio test that takes place in the story.
3. (John Lennon - Imagine) This song is probably one of the best examples of songs with meaning. In the song Lennon ask's us to imagine a world without possessions, religion, or government. A world without war or poverty, and furthmore a world with peace. Imagine.
These are just a few of the many out there, and I could write pages upon pages. However I believe my point has been made.
Peace
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Is Music Dead... or Just Dying?
Today I decided to post something different then a review. It has nothing to do with movies/games per se, but with music and a generation that seems to be killing it.
Now when it comes to musical tastes I'd say I have a broad range of musical interests, ranging from Metal to Country. If you suggest it, I will listen with an unbiased ear, however music is on a downfall, and the anchor it seems is mainstream media. I seem to remember the days when you could flip over to MTV and actually see MUSIC! Yes I know, I know, it's hard to imagine watching MTV without seeing your favourite episode of "Room Raiders" or the smash hit "Paris Hilton's New BFF", but at the time MUSIC was the "show".
Now I've watched "MTV" and the watered down lineup of "Reality" shows, and I have one question... "Do they think we are stupid?" Half of the shows are clearly faked, and passed off as reality shows, and the other half have as much intelligence in them as a waterlogged stick. Have we really dumbed ourselves down as a generation that we find this entertaining? Or is this the future of entertainment? It's the old addage, "As boring as watching paint dry." Maybe MTV will have a show called "Celebrities Painted Walls" and hour long look at paint drying in some of the top celebrity homes. I really believe that this is the fate of television, and if so I think I'll go read a book.
My biggest fear is that originality is dead, that everything muscially has been done, that we are doomed to drown in a sea of covers. The men and women who made music, and I say "made" because that's what they did took their respected genres and made them what they are, are dying. They are dying and it seems like nobody is picking up their flag, and the one's that are, are being pushed down by Music Televison. Kurt Cobain once said, "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." and what I think he meant was that he'd rather make music that he liked and have nobody like it, then make music that was widely accepted at the price of selling out. Musician aren't writing music for themselves anymore, but to appease the masses, and this is wrong. "All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland. " a quote by Jimi Hendrix pretty much sums up my point, "Write what you feel, not what others want you to feel".
I realize this is a pretty big rant, but as a musician and a person who loves music it had to be said. I would just hate to live in a world where someone says, "Hey you remember that band The Beatles?", and society responds, "Who?".
Now when it comes to musical tastes I'd say I have a broad range of musical interests, ranging from Metal to Country. If you suggest it, I will listen with an unbiased ear, however music is on a downfall, and the anchor it seems is mainstream media. I seem to remember the days when you could flip over to MTV and actually see MUSIC! Yes I know, I know, it's hard to imagine watching MTV without seeing your favourite episode of "Room Raiders" or the smash hit "Paris Hilton's New BFF", but at the time MUSIC was the "show".
Now I've watched "MTV" and the watered down lineup of "Reality" shows, and I have one question... "Do they think we are stupid?" Half of the shows are clearly faked, and passed off as reality shows, and the other half have as much intelligence in them as a waterlogged stick. Have we really dumbed ourselves down as a generation that we find this entertaining? Or is this the future of entertainment? It's the old addage, "As boring as watching paint dry." Maybe MTV will have a show called "Celebrities Painted Walls" and hour long look at paint drying in some of the top celebrity homes. I really believe that this is the fate of television, and if so I think I'll go read a book.
My biggest fear is that originality is dead, that everything muscially has been done, that we are doomed to drown in a sea of covers. The men and women who made music, and I say "made" because that's what they did took their respected genres and made them what they are, are dying. They are dying and it seems like nobody is picking up their flag, and the one's that are, are being pushed down by Music Televison. Kurt Cobain once said, "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." and what I think he meant was that he'd rather make music that he liked and have nobody like it, then make music that was widely accepted at the price of selling out. Musician aren't writing music for themselves anymore, but to appease the masses, and this is wrong. "All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland. " a quote by Jimi Hendrix pretty much sums up my point, "Write what you feel, not what others want you to feel".
I realize this is a pretty big rant, but as a musician and a person who loves music it had to be said. I would just hate to live in a world where someone says, "Hey you remember that band The Beatles?", and society responds, "Who?".
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
New beginnings.....
Hey so I've decided to create this blog as both a way to keep my sanity and a way to share MY opinion with the world.
So with that said I've made IMO REVIEWS or "In My Opinion" REVIEWS as a way of venting my love and blinding rage with everything from Video Games, Movies, Music and other pop culture phenomena.
If you like what I'm saying let me know, follow my blog, stalk me if you will (er..scratch that). If you hate me, TELL ME, Tell your friends.... Either way keep coming back... and furthermore enjoy!
Peace
Merc Shadow
So with that said I've made IMO REVIEWS or "In My Opinion" REVIEWS as a way of venting my love and blinding rage with everything from Video Games, Movies, Music and other pop culture phenomena.
If you like what I'm saying let me know, follow my blog, stalk me if you will (er..scratch that). If you hate me, TELL ME, Tell your friends.... Either way keep coming back... and furthermore enjoy!
Peace
Merc Shadow
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