first of all, since my paper needs to be argumentative in nature, i need to figure out which "side" i will take. i can easily come up with a "gray area" sort of answer, but it needs to be black and white...
here are my thoughts/ideas, as well as some toss-ups about which side to take:
- if lyrics are not made clear to the audience, the could easily be misinterpreted
- if someone is going to take the time and effort to write a song with meaning in their life, it is lame that people will inevitably take it in the wrong way and the author will be misinterpreted and misunderstood. in a way, he/she is having other people's words put in their mouth when lyrics aren't taken the right way
- lyrics are very contextual
- if a song isn't written to please an audience, who's going to listen to it?
- lyrics still need to be deep and have meaning, but they should be somewhat easy to understand
- if lyrics are too simple, they could cause people (especially younger generations) to think less and essentially do less on a worldwide level (to use this bullet, i would need to be able to quickly, but persuasively prove that music/lyrics have that level of an effect on young people...hmm)
i'm really excited about this paper, i just hope i can pull it off with some good arguments. i will most likely be posting more ideas and stuff as i come up with them. and if you're at all interested, i'll post some kind of outline when i have one...
on another note:
i hope to put some pictures up in a couple days. i've been using my camera a lot lately and i'm starting to get some shots that i like. hopefully i'll get some really good ones soon that i can post.
8 comments:
a possible way to link the effects of lyrics on a society's decision making, is the dramatic change in the music of the 60's, and as a result (one could say) the change in the nations youth. the bringing of drug culture, and protesting against established ideals out of a taboo area and into pop culture. just a thought.
also...my thoughts on writing to an audience. to that i say, what is your motive? a mass marketable piece of fluff that the multitudes can enjoy zoning out to? (not an unessessary thing...i own my share of mindless music) or a lyrical piece of you, and your revolations, an expression of something that made you think, so now it makes others think. Maybe you have a smaller audience, but maybe you also have a profound affect on a few rather than becoming white noise to the masses. If a song is to be a true piece of art...than it needs to be raw. not everyone likes raw, or maybe your variety of raw.
there are countless composers (this is a total bunny trail...classical music has no lyrics...), who are now regarded as the genius of their time were completely unnapreciated by their peers. True music pushes boundaries, and breaks ground. It doesn't sit around all mamby-pamby to lull the masses. or at least it shouldn't.
um...i didn't intend to say that much. i'm not trying to write your paper for you. haha :)
1. becky has too many good thoughts running around in her head.
2. you should check out the book "this is your brain on music" which could give you some good info.
1. post some pictures.
2. i agree with becky but would add to it that you will also find a large majority of people who don't even pay attention to the lyrics. most of the general public will attribute a liking or disliking of a song to the musical accompaniment that makes up the rhythm/beat which then creates a mood of emotion. for them, lyrics would simply be icing on the proverbial cake.
i think you have a solid topic and ideas to support it. i look forward to reading it when it's done, and hope you can incorporate blues into it as well and get another final out of the way!
I think the answer to your question depends on the goal of the music.
1: if the goal is money alone - do what sells. Take one homely and "talented enough" songwriter and manufacture a song with appeal to a specific target audience. Then get a pretty person (dude or chick) that can "sing/play well enough" but looks stunning, and have them perform the song that the other person made. That is the bulk of pop and country music today. Think Hannah Montana, Beyonce, Toby Keith, etc. Ultimately, its not about the message or the lyrics, even if there is a good message there. Its manufactured entertainment. Most people dig the catchy tune and the good looking performer. Example - "she thinks my tractor's sexy." cheap but catchy tune, slightly funny, and a scandalously raunchy video on CMT.
2: Then you have the artists who are purely expressing themselves. Their content comes from their heart and may or may not have a message or make any sense to anyone at all, but they are an artist and they are expressing themselves. Some people will want to hear it, some wont. If the goal is pure expression and not selling a product, the mass appeal of the content is irrelevant, though people who are into art appreciation and/or trying to figure out why this piece of art exists will likely enjoy pondering the song, and may grow to like or dislike it as they figure it out. BTW, this is typically the "best music" in my opinion. Its real. And if the composer is skilled, you get masterpieces of human achievement. Here is where you get classical composers, as Becky mentioned. Here also, i see folks like Jon Mayer, Eric Clapton, Eagles, and so on. They may be popular/mainstream artists, but their appeal is not in eye candy but brilliantly crafted and performed music.
3: Music in worship is (or should be) different. [this opinion is from the Christian perspective, obviously] In this case, the lyrics SHOULD be written for an audience - which would be Jesus. It should be the writers heart overflowing in love, respect, thankfulness, etc for the intended audience - Jesus. I would expect the songwriter to compose the music to be culturally relevant to that person's age/geo/language, etc. Ideally, you have an artist like i discussed above, crafting masterpieces for Jesus. NOT stuff like "shine Jesus shine" and cheezy stuff like that.
Sorry that was long. im, done
i pretty much agree with jeremy and the rest of the comments here..it comes down to motive. although i'm not a songwriter, nor a musician, just a band geek in high school; i love to listen and sing to music, and i think that different types and genres of music appeal to different emotions and situations. need to pay rent? well, a pop, bubbly tune may do the trick and make you lots of bucks. in a sense, you're writing it for yourself, to benefit your pocket book. on the other hand, those tunes generally aren't remembered after a few years, yet something timeless, that is truly for you, may be more true to your heart and make you happier in the long run. as far as worship songs, although most musicians seem to feel a disdain for catchy tunes, and want true-to-the-heart lyrics, i really don't mind something upbeat and simple. If it helps me to feel the joy of the Lord, and helps me to put my heart and mind in the right place, I'm all for it, even if it is cheezy. But then, like I said, I'm not a musician, so my point of view is very different from theirs.
lauree, what a great topic! where did you come up with that?!
becky: i've heard/read many differing thoughts on whether "the revolutionary music of the 60s" came from the shifts in culture, or prompted the shifts of culture: what came first, the chicken or the egg?
since this is YOUR paper: i would recommend looking at two examples i pop culture:
1. john mayer's current thoughts on "your body is a wonderland". just google it. he hates it, and wishes he never wrote. but we wouldn't have the john mayer icon that we do today had he not written it.
2. the pale pacfic's "urgency" record. from what i understand, it is a conceptual album based on the many many BROKEN FAMILIES/HOMES that young people live in and are plaguing our nation. most of us know bill and lois archer [gabe's parents/ gabe = lead singer of the pale], and i can't think of BETTER PARENTS for a kid than them. they are seriously some of my favorite people, and i just witnessed bill and gabe's relationship on sunday in the studio, and you can tell that it is genuine love and mutual support. but the album speaks of brokenness and problems. not a reality/experience from gabe's history, but definitely from the history and experience for their many many listeners. also to note: gabe is?/was? a teacher, and i imagine that gave him lots of content to write about.
and don't get me started on cheese-factory worship songs...
or maybe, do get me started on them...
great question.
i think "the blues" will be easy to tie in. you've got a lot of people who are singing about crappy things happening to them, most of whom have sweet-easy lives! [assumed] but with the blues, it seems that the genre [musical licks, voicings, scales] drive the content of a song. ie. it's hard to sing a blues song with your minor chords about how much you love your amazing and faithful wife!
those are my opening thoughts, and hopefully will give you some more to chew on.
and again, i didn't even touch the "worship song genre", but i'm not sure your paper is/should be about that.
justin:
yeah, the sixties thing is a deffinately cliche way to go about that point...and sort of just a constant preamble.
better thoughts:
black jazz and the harlem renassance of the 30's, really, any depression era music.
check out the book "spirituals and the blues". i think my only suggestions come in the form of books, but yeah. :) i'm excited to hear the outcome/possibly read the final paper.
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