Now, “bear” in mind, that everything I write is JUST MY OPINION and you are certainly entitled to your own. I don’t say things to intentionally rile anyone up but sometimes I just like to jump in with my own thoughts.
There have been a couple of posts lately about old music. Jerry had one last night and Al has mentioned more than once how much he appreciates the old tunes. He even made a comment to that effect on Jerry’s blog last nigh along with a few other commenters. Now Rick, (ya know I love ya!), had a somewhat different take on the subject and summarized his feelings with a succinct “Phewey”.
Rick goes on to say, “You, Jerry, and a few of your 'commenters' are once again stuck in 'things were better in the old days mythology'.” Well, since I was one of those other commenters I guess I was included in that group so I just HAFTA get in a rebuttal.
First of all, I don’t think there is a mythology of “things were better in the old days” – some things actually WERE better and some things were not as good. Music is the only one I will address tonight as that is my theme. You don’t want to get me started on the rest!
As far back as Biblical times, music was used to soothe and calm a troubled soul. In 1697, William Congreve, in The Mourning Bride, coined the phrase,
“Music has charm to soothe a savage beast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.”
An article by NPR, dated June 1, 2011, states that, “Science all but confirms that humans are hard-wired to respond to music.” Read the short but interesting article here. There is much more than that one article that has been written regarding the power of music if you care to do the research.
My point is that music has an entrée into the human psyche that is like nothing else. It seeps into your very being and finds residence in the deepest chamber of your soul. What you listen to affects how you think, feel, and remember.
That music has changed and will continue to change is inevitable. That parents of each new generation decry the new “modern” music is indisputable. However, I do not agree that the music our generation listened to was in any way, shape, or form, comparable to what the kids are listening to today.
I DO enjoy some of the modern songs; specifically some modern country or pop tunes, but it is the cesspool of some forms of rock that I am concerned about. I am talking about hard rock, heavy metal, black rock, whatever it is called nowadays. This is not a declaration that all young kids are evil or drug addicts or anything else. It is simply that more kids that you may want to realize are exposed to this kind of negative input from modern musicians on a daily basis, and I believe it is damaging in a viscereal way that the music of our generation never was.
One has only to go to the FB page of a young person involved in this type of music to understand what I am talking about. That is precisely what I did to research some of the lyrics to songs this young person was listening to and recommending. Here’s a sample of what I found on my young relative's page (and NOT the worst ones I read – those I will not give screen time to):
Thorns In The Planet's Side
I am a destroyer, a channel of satanic wrath.
My brothers are me, and I am them.
I stick thorns in the planet's side.
Planet of pestilence, refuge for the weak.
Kneel before satanic might!
With dishonor - there is only one way out.
The Suffering Of Others
The suffering of others is not the goal but simply a means to an end.And here’s a little gem that I would not print the words to but you can check it out for yourself. Rollin Balls Can anyone honestly call this “MUSIC?”
Although, it certainly brings temporary pleasure into my soul as well.
Contrast that with the words to one of the songs I loved as a teenager:
Theme From a Summer Place
There's a summer placeWhich words do you prefer?
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care
Of course we had nonsense songs too…who can forget “Alley OOP?” or “Papa OOO Mow-Mow” or “Flying Purple People Eater”? But the songs I remember did not glorify murder, rape, drugs, and all manner of filth. I wonder what it will be like in another 30 years. What is left to desecrate?
This change in words and melody did not happen overnight. It is like playing “Limbo”…the bar gradually gets set lower and lower until soon listening to that crap is like mud wrestling with pigs – Pretty soon the pigs aren’t the only ones covered with filth!
So I say, AND IT’S JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION, listen to what you want but just the fact that I appreciate old music with good words and melodic tunes, does not mean I am stuck in the dark ages, nor does it mean I abhor all things modern, nor does it make me an old fogey. Nostalgia can be a good thing and the memories of young love and a simpler time can be comforting. There is NOTHING wrong with that.
One final thought on ages past…who would you rather your daughter or grand daughter emulate….
