I read an article the other day that really blew my mind. It went something like this:
The purpose of popular music is to perpetuate the capitalist system. It exists only to pacify the general public, to give them something pleasant to listen to that is not challenging or offensive in any way. This gives people the sense that they have some meaning in their life, when they are really just being distracted from the harsh reality of things. Each year, people work longer hours for less pay and benefits. Therefore, the purpose of popular music is not only to make money directly, but to keep people in line, comfortable, and satisfied with their own job of keeping the capitalist machine running.
Of course, this is a highly condensed summary. You can read the full article here. The article itself is incredibly complex and difficult to grasp (it doesn't help that it's been translated from German).
You might say it's a very polarized argument. Certainly, the man who wrote it was very anti-capitalist. I'd like to think that what he said isn't true, but I have a feeling that it is. I thought about it for a long time, and I realized that every single piece of music I have ever "chosen" to listen to wasn't a choice at all. Somewhere along the line, somebody before me listened to it and made a decision to market it. All the music I love was pre-chosen and pre-digested for me. I think maybe in 1 or 2 cases I have heard a group first hand, a group that didn't have any record label support or anyone telling me to go listen to them, and in those cases I might have made a choice.
It's a little depressing, isn't it? But at the same time, I can think of it from another angle and realize I have made choices, and just because a band is signed or has a ton of airplay or is marketed to my demographic, that doesn't mean ... well, it doesn't mean anything, really. Just thinking about this has made me incredibly cynical. Which brings me to my next point:
People are full of shit. I'm surprised this axiom hasn't superceded Newton's laws of physics by now. It's not equally distributed - some people have a lot more than others - but everybody has some. I'm getting real tired of people arguing about stupid and petty things. Here's a short list:
1. Voting. It's stupid. Do it if you want to, but I certainly don't have to, and I'm not any less of a person if I don't. (I mailed my absentee ballot in last week, just so you know.) Democracy is not about one person making a difference. It's about everyone choosing together what they want to do. So ideally, nobody would be telling anyone else who to vote for. We'd just each make our decision and vote and that would be it. Oh, by the way, if you're a so-called "voting organization" that pretends they are raising "voter awareness" but really are campaigning for a particular candidate (I'm looking at you, Rock the Vote!), please accept a formal invitation to the theological place of eternal damnation. Yes, I'm talking about a John Mayer concert.
1a. Politics. YOU ARE NOT RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING. YOUR WAY IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY. I don't care who you are. I don't care how well-reasoned your argument is. The fact that you want to convince me you are right immediately lets me know that you are insecure in your beliefs, because if you truly believe something, you don't give a damn what anybody else thinks. Don't argue with this. It's true. I'm right.
I hate fusion, I hate contemporary Christian music, I hate just about everything metal, and I absolutely despise Andromeda.
That's about it. I need to chill out. Leave me an encouraging comment if you like. I'm going to go distract myself from the inhumane barbarism of the capitalist system.
The purpose of popular music is to perpetuate the capitalist system. It exists only to pacify the general public, to give them something pleasant to listen to that is not challenging or offensive in any way. This gives people the sense that they have some meaning in their life, when they are really just being distracted from the harsh reality of things. Each year, people work longer hours for less pay and benefits. Therefore, the purpose of popular music is not only to make money directly, but to keep people in line, comfortable, and satisfied with their own job of keeping the capitalist machine running.
Of course, this is a highly condensed summary. You can read the full article here. The article itself is incredibly complex and difficult to grasp (it doesn't help that it's been translated from German).
You might say it's a very polarized argument. Certainly, the man who wrote it was very anti-capitalist. I'd like to think that what he said isn't true, but I have a feeling that it is. I thought about it for a long time, and I realized that every single piece of music I have ever "chosen" to listen to wasn't a choice at all. Somewhere along the line, somebody before me listened to it and made a decision to market it. All the music I love was pre-chosen and pre-digested for me. I think maybe in 1 or 2 cases I have heard a group first hand, a group that didn't have any record label support or anyone telling me to go listen to them, and in those cases I might have made a choice.
It's a little depressing, isn't it? But at the same time, I can think of it from another angle and realize I have made choices, and just because a band is signed or has a ton of airplay or is marketed to my demographic, that doesn't mean ... well, it doesn't mean anything, really. Just thinking about this has made me incredibly cynical. Which brings me to my next point:
People are full of shit. I'm surprised this axiom hasn't superceded Newton's laws of physics by now. It's not equally distributed - some people have a lot more than others - but everybody has some. I'm getting real tired of people arguing about stupid and petty things. Here's a short list:
1. Voting. It's stupid. Do it if you want to, but I certainly don't have to, and I'm not any less of a person if I don't. (I mailed my absentee ballot in last week, just so you know.) Democracy is not about one person making a difference. It's about everyone choosing together what they want to do. So ideally, nobody would be telling anyone else who to vote for. We'd just each make our decision and vote and that would be it. Oh, by the way, if you're a so-called "voting organization" that pretends they are raising "voter awareness" but really are campaigning for a particular candidate (I'm looking at you, Rock the Vote!), please accept a formal invitation to the theological place of eternal damnation. Yes, I'm talking about a John Mayer concert.
1a. Politics. YOU ARE NOT RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING. YOUR WAY IS NOT ALWAYS THE BEST WAY. I don't care who you are. I don't care how well-reasoned your argument is. The fact that you want to convince me you are right immediately lets me know that you are insecure in your beliefs, because if you truly believe something, you don't give a damn what anybody else thinks. Don't argue with this. It's true. I'm right.
I hate fusion, I hate contemporary Christian music, I hate just about everything metal, and I absolutely despise Andromeda.
That's about it. I need to chill out. Leave me an encouraging comment if you like. I'm going to go distract myself from the inhumane barbarism of the capitalist system.
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posted by Brandon at 2:45 AM
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