Corrupt Music
By Bob Branco
When I was growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, radio and television were restricted as to what went on the air. Songs with suggestive lyrics were banned from some Top 40 radio stations, and graphic language and video were restricted from your television sets. In 1954, you couldn’t say the word “pregnant” on television, but now, they show you how to get pregnant.
Much of today’s music is full of suggestions to impressionable teens about how to have babies, and their heroes, who possess bling, fancy cars, gold, etc., tell them how to get rich. Oftentimes these same perceived heroes lose their money as fast as they make it, which never gets mentioned in these crazy songs that are designed to impress teenagers.
To put things into further perspective, modern music encourages sex and never sends the proper message. In the 1950s, Elvis said “Love me Tender,” which meant simple love between two people in a classy manner. Similarly, the Beatles said, “Love Me Do”; the Platters, “Only You”; and Ray Charles, “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” These are normal things I would say to my girl, and I would be totally satisfied with that. Today, you have 50 Cent telling you how to use your body parts with your partner in the song “Candy Shop,” one of the filthiest songs ever written. Lil Wayne has a song out called “Lollipop,” but I won’t say any more about it out of respect for you. Listen to the song “Hotel Room Service” by Pitbull and hear all the steps required in order to have successful sex. I’m not kidding.
I realize that most of us don’t want government to tell private industry what to do, but there has to be some kind of moral faction that can exercise control over these music companies and make them understand what they are doing to society. Many songs I hear on today’s Top 40 stations refer to sex, gangs, or killing. No wonder we have all these problems. Don’t these companies know how impressionable kids are? Remember Elvis, the Beatles, the Partridge Family, and all these stars that kids simply fell in love with, just because?
How can people ban together to stop this madness before it gets even further out of hand?
(Originally published in The Consumer Vision)
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This essay was taken from my book, Weighing Things Up, Book Two; More Essays on Trends, Technology and Present-Day Society.
