Music allows us to express ourselves and criticize society, but because its music, people tend to be more receptive. In this single song of Jack Johnson's he points out our societies' blind following of the media, neglect of major world issues, and constant warfare. But you can't help but be soothed by the music.
Johnson points out some very interesting aspects of our culture. Through lines like "You could watch it instead from the comfort of your burning beds …Or you can sleep through the static", Johnson points out that we tend to ignore worldly issues and just watch them unfold from our own homes. All the while, we fail to realize the impact on our own culture and lives the events can have; we don't realize that our beds are burning. We just "sleep through the static" or we ignore important things and cast of warnings as "static".
Songs like these are extremely important for our culture. It is a way of getting opinions out there, that might otherwise come off as the whining of a passive generation. Since we let our guard down when we listen to music, we open our minds. Once we have open minds we can listen to interesting ideas without being exceptionally critical. In a subconscious way, we can begin to accept the faults of our society and culture.
Music can also affect our culture negatively. Music with intense violence, sexuality, and music that objectifies women is not a positive subconscious influence. I am not advocating a worldwide clean-up of popular music, I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn't listen to this kind of music, but we should be careful with how openly we accept it. We should embrace eye-opening music and cautiously digest more vulgar music.
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post. Very insightful! I especially enjoyed your angle on music allowing us to realize the mistakes of our very own society. I agree with you when you said that the usual critical analysis of our society comes off whiny and repetitive. However, when we hear such a criticism from something we more closely connect with, these criticisms hit closer to heart. Like Johnson says, most problems with society we put of as 'static', small irritable noises in the back of our mind, but never actually being dealt with. A source such as music, that displays this message has a greater effect on me, than let’s say reading it in the newspaper or on the internet. And why? Taylor, you perfectly answered this question. Because when we listen to music, we open our minds. The mere lyrics of the song replay over and over in our mind, until they become 'subconscious'. This blog post gave me something to think about. Great job Taylor.
Taylor, you have an interesting post here. I wholeheartedly agree that society is more receptive of music probably more than any other form of communicative expression. The power of music is often not taken for its full importance, but it is much more powerful than some believe. When you have a good artist writing a beautiful song with passionate emotions and meaningful lyrics, the strength of their message is much more powerful, and listeners can feel that. Fans of music and even those who are not are reeled in by the rhythm that makes your head nod and opens their ears to listen to the words with a clear mind. People tend to listen to views they normally wouldn’t when it’s in the form of music.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that people are often unaware of the issues going around them; I find myself a victim to this from time to time. Sometimes we hear or see tragic events, and all we do is make a small comment and then push it out of our minds. People don’t want to think anymore past that. People don’t know about the importance that events in other countries can have on their lives. Maybe it’s fear that’s holding them back? The fear of exploring into an unknown territory. Maybe it’s ignorance? Maybe it’s something more than that?
All in all, nice post! Also, nice song choice!