The Slow Fade

" Lets have some fun this beat is sick,  I wanna take a ride on your disco stick. I wanna kiss you, but if I do then I might miss you babe, It's Complicated and stupid, Got my ass squeezed by sexy cupid, Guess He wants to play, wants to play, A love game, a love game."
I wish someone could tell me that these lyrics are not a reflection of today's society, but that would obviously be a bold faced lie. What is music now, but just  rythmical, catchy beats with empty, pointless lyrics, that communicate false illusions of love. Seriously, it is so sad to see the state in which the music industry has ended up. I blame the decline on so many things, but I want to zero in specifically on two reasons why it is in the pitiful shape it is in now.

  Number one, is that solid lyrics are a thing of the past, they have ceased to exist. Bands and Artists alike aren't writing with feeling or attempting to make an impact with their music anymore. It's all a cut throat competition to see who's song or albums can reach fame and popularity first. It's as though there is no thought put into making an album anymore, the words seem to take second place, they are second rate to the music, when in all honesty it is the lyrics that make the song. Do Artists even realize how much power and influence they hold over people's minds? That what they sing about in one way or another will affect people's thinking, choices, and moral standards? Instead of using their voices to spread truth, to positively leave a lasting impression, to encourage them to stand apart from the crowd, they urge their audience's to conform to lies, and follow their broken, pathetic examples.
I remember one, cold Tuesday evening I was relaxing, sitting in my living room, on my comfy couch, flipping through the television channels when I came across  the Top Twenty Music Countdown. I am a lover of music, and music videos so I automatically tuned myself in, and as I sat listening to these "Hit" songs, I was amazed at the fact that any of them were in the top twenty. Almost every one that I heard were full of repetitive, simplistic, meaningless lyrics. Let's have a good time, Party hard, Shake your bodies, behave promiscuously, dance in the club, disrespect authority, I'm lusting after your body, are all the most common themes among a majority of lyrics. To think these are the messed, mixed messages that are being sent to the next generation; that its okay to dress imodestly, attract the wrong kind of attention, to live a wild life with no responsibilities and no consequences for our choices. I will admit there are some songs out there that are genuinely fun and half decent, but a majority are robbed of all innocence, are chalked full of hidden or most often times, open sexual meaning. Most of what I have found though is shallow, degrading and an all round lack of creativity.
  Current music is not only lacking intriguing, stimulating lyrics but also diversity. I dare you to turn on the radio and discover a " new sound" so to speak. Its sad to say but it is next to impossible to find something raw, and fresh, something that has never truly been accomplished or created before. There are hundreds of bands that are just constantly re-using the same melodies,tunes, and beats. Now I must say, there is beauty in simplicity. I am a guitar player and I admit some of my favorite songs consist of only three or four chords, so I really don't see a major problem with this. Now what I do have a problem with are bands and artists who consistently use the same chords over and over again, only mixing up the order in which they are played. No one wants to listen to an entire record of songs that all sound relatively the same do they? It is the specific job of the artist to search for the piece of music that best compliments and fits the lyrics; It is the artists responsibility to take the time to create variety with melodies they choose. I know its hard to find something that has never been done before, but nobody, and I mean nobody said that writing music was easy; it takes hard work, and it takes loads of patience and dedication. That is why I think that current bands/artists are without excuse when it comes to picking out music to accompany their lyrics.
  So what is music now days? Well it is simply an industry dedicated to making money, not quality. It is simply slapping some cheap words to some overused rhythmical beats, and calling it a brilliant master piece album. It is the band/artist quickly rushing through each step in order to get an album out right now, instead of taking their time to make something that is actually worth listening to. It is the Peoples fault for continuing to send the message that this is acceptable, for supporting the garbage that shouldn't pass as good music. I suppose I cannot speak for everyone, if others enjoy this then they have freedom over what they ultimately choose to listen to, but for myself I ache at the fact that this is what it all has become.