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MUST RANT ON MAINSTREAM MUSIC, SOCIETY, AND EVERYTHING.

fieryangelsouljia
M6rr6g6n
Fire of Insight
United States 2awards
Joined 30th Nov 2011
Forum Posts: 263

okay so my definition of mainstream music is this: turning on the radio every day to hear the same songs played three to four times in a single hour. Let's face it. Much of today's music that is considered "top hits" and "the best of today's music" are downright terrible! Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne, JB, Kanye, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and all the others who's songs pop up on MTV or the radio every ten minutes are just so... fake... unoriginal. Nowadays I can't walk around school without obnoxious girls screaming, "MY ANACONDA DONT" at the top of their lungs. This has been bothering me for a while now. I personally listen to pagan bands and different metal and rock bands, even the occasional classical or folk song. I never was into "popular" music which makes me different from most teens. Every day when I go to my weight training class popular stations are played on the radio and with them redundancy, unoriginal lyrics, annoying vocals and synthesizers, and above all: Brainwashing. it seems many teens today know nothing but what is fed to them by the popular media. When someone asks me about what music I listen to they pull away from me because i'm strange and they can't comprehend the word, "originality". It's as if their minds are shallow and have no real substance. Music and television... a great means to controlling a society and above all, the younger generation. The younger generation who knows little about this world, who are placed under high pressures to succeed, yet are brainwashed to think and be a certain way. Why is it that I see through it? What makes me so different? How come I can sit back and see what's going on while everyone else's consciousness seems to be in this dormant state where they can only focus on what's being fed to them? In all honest truth I'm only 17. But when I look at my generation and then look at our parent's generation I feel... hatred, disgust, pain, injustice. I'm FURIOUS. what have we as humans been degraded to? what kind of trash are we being fed? we are expected to clean up after the older generation and make way for a "better" tomorrow when really we are being groomed to be puppets moving on strings. When I walk into the locker rooms to get changed at the end of the day all I hear is, "oh he said, she said", "let me instagram this" "he liked me selfie omg" and above all "MY ANACONDA DONT..!" Why is it all so.. shallow? meaningless banter? PLEASE tell me that i'm not crazy or stupid for saying or thinking these things.. please assure me that i'm not the only one who's eyes are open to these things... I'm sorry if anything I said was offensive or worthy of objection but this is how I feel. I HATE this generation. I despise the things that are happening before my eyes and I want to change this society but I don't know how and a major part of me believes that it isn't even possible at this point.. i'm  giving up. I really am...

Magnetron
Fire of Insight
United States 6awards
Joined 20th July 2014
Forum Posts: 433

What makes you different from everyone else is your belief that everyone else is different from you and your desire for this to be true.

If this belief was a tint coloring the lenses of a pair of glasses, everything you see when wearing those glasses would be tinted. Distorted.

Now that you have accepted yourself as a unique individual, you need to take those glasses off and re-examine the world about you without those tinted lenses distorting what you see.

The longer you keep those glasses on, the longer you will perpetuate to yourself this notion that you are a lone wolf running free in a landscape of fenced in sheep and it will continue to frustrate the hell out of you.

Those glasses served their purpose in helping you establish your own identity and it is time to cast them aside.

Everyone has to establish their own identity. They do it in their own way at their own pace wearing similar glasses that eventually will be cast aside. Unfortunately, some people will wear those glasses for the rest of their lives.

Right here, right now : That you are one of the few people that sees the world clearly while everyone is wearing blinders IS the illusion and you are the magician.

Changing your perceptions changes the world about you that you experience.

fieryangelsouljia
M6rr6g6n
Fire of Insight
United States 2awards
Joined 30th Nov 2011
Forum Posts: 263

if i see myself as blind as the rest, then i am blind. if i see myself as the one who sees... then i am still blind. what is the truth? what is the lie? i ask myself almost every day, "how free js free?" how free is the American people really? i lost hope for my generation. i dont know how to bring about a change thats for the better in this society and i just dont know why the young people in my generation are so oblivious to just little things. I realize i am an individual... that there are things i need to cast aside in order to be a better person.. i'm still pretty young and, i question everything and then go about the solutions in haste without further thought. but this time  as i see some of the issues in my life i actually want to sit back and think this through. HOW can i help shape the future of this nation? HOW? i seriously should just buy a bunker, hole up in the woods somewhere, and become a hippy.

Magnetron
Fire of Insight
United States 6awards
Joined 20th July 2014
Forum Posts: 433

You have only recently established yourself as an individual in a very large crowd of bazillions of people.

Try being yourself for a while, rather than fixating on what everyone else is doing.

Being yourself is having an impact on society.

You already write poetry. Try writing some song lyrics. It wouldn't take much effort to write lyrics that have more substance than Anaconda. And someday these might be played on the radio and sung by young adults.

BoFantastic
Thought Provoker
7awards
Joined 24th Apr 2014
Forum Posts: 333

well you could give my music a try. I have two albums online. I created all by myself, it's all instrumental, all original using varied instruments such as piano, guitar, flute, trumpet, drums, violin, cello, and other. As for your rant, I love all kinds of music but too much music does make me feel funny. So I take music like I take medicine, in moderation every now and then and I know when to stop. For a long time, I never had any musical ability. But I just start dabbling around, and composed over 2 albums and scores of mp3s. I did only one vocal song. I didn't like how it sounded, so I deleted from my collection, but it's out there in the internet. I hope nobody finds it, I'm so embarrassed. I think my voice sounds too timid. But I never tried singing, so it was my first ever attempt. I'm getting more comfortable with my voice and my record more original songs, but I don't feel like it right now. Music is a wonderful thing, life would be so boring without it. Find YOUR music.

naathalie___
moongirl
Twisted Dreamer
United States
Joined 22nd Sep 2014
Forum Posts: 23

Hold up.
I totally understand what you're trying to say here. I believe I am like you. I see & question things that other people don't care about. I too, listen to rock music. & I dislike the music they play on the radio. My mother & my brother always put the radio on hip hop stations & I hear the same songs play again & again. The lyrics in the hip hop songs now a days are so irrational & stupid. Yet again all these teenagers party too them & say it's their favorite songs. Lol. I think those people don't see reality like we do.
This generation is too hung up with technology & they need their phones all the time because if not "they're going to die without it."
Sometimes I get really mad about the fact that there is teenagers that love the stupid music that's on the radio like "anaconda" because like you said, were suppose to be better than the past generation & apparently we keep making it worse.
I believe that I was born in the wrong generation. I hate how teenagers now a days think.
But believe me when I tell you that you're not wrong in thinking the way you do.
You think differently & better than the rest of us.
I am also 17 & i totally agree with you.
You are not blind. You have your mind & eyes wide open.

Viddax
Lord Viddax
Guardian of Shadows
United Kingdom 31awards
Joined 10th Oct 2009
Forum Posts: 6672

Well it is sure as sure that you are not just a sheeple or blind consumer or any other fancy shmancy pseudo word for mainstream. I think what you have experienced is a desire for more, for something real and earnest rather than full of pretence and unoriginal.

Personally I like to listen to what the mainstream media has to offer and then try it and see if I like it, and listen to or watch the older stuff. The bits before they were famous, not just what is popular. Then again I could always ask what my sister is into and get ready for that to become popular soon. She is not a trend-setter, more a trend anticipator.

Anyway, my point is don't give up. You are not alone. You show the sign of someone who does not want to be/ cannot be part of the mainstream and be content with it purely for it being mainstream. If you are tired of your generation then try ot branch out to the other generations, rumour has it DU is not full of the younglings and has a few mature people rattling about!

More importantly, now that you have ranted, do you feel better? Otherwise there is still some way to go.

fieryangelsouljia
M6rr6g6n
Fire of Insight
United States 2awards
Joined 30th Nov 2011
Forum Posts: 263

my ranting is complete, Viddax. thank you for asking. I will most likely end up ranting about more things soon.

edead
Thought Provoker
United States
Joined 9th Mar 2014
Forum Posts: 47

Stay away from pop culture. It's fucking poison. Keep looking for good people. They are out there. You may have to meet a lot of knuckleheads in life before you meet people you really click with but why force friendship for "friendship"s sake. And when you do meet and make good friends in life value them! As far as changing the world...good luck I hope they blow it up soon to keep the poor creature from dying a slow painful death!

EM20XX
Just a Puppet
Thought Provoker
United States 5awards
Joined 22nd Oct 2014
Forum Posts: 88

Society is always comfortable with what’s perceived as normal. Sometimes things are popular because it’s the norm. I would like to think there are just as many people that aren’t the norm and are ready for something better. With that said I always try to respect people’s opinions and taste in music no matter how wrong I think they are. Respect is very important and so is understanding.

littlePrince
pallormortis
Twisted Dreamer
Canada 2awards
Joined 16th Mar 2014
Forum Posts: 67

honestly, i think its pretty stupid to say this generation is shitty. because if you look back, every generation has been. good luck being gay 50 years ago. lol good luck being black then. hell, good luck actually going to school in certain eras. do you really want to romanticise the generations that basically screwed us money/govt./ect wise? to me, its pretty stupid to complain about mainstream music and stuff. im not into it really, but i will defend Niki Minaj.  if you've ever seen her music videos, (which im assuming you havnt) youd see alot of shit where shes empowering herself as a woman. dancing for drake, but hes not allowed to touch because /she/ said so ect.

if you really want to do something about the music, make your own. if ypu really dont like the radio, find a good indie internet station or whatever.
i do agree with the brainwashing thing to a certain extent. but music and art is just a way of expressing yourself. if someone wants to express themselves in a loud and bass-y way, then why not?

basing a personality and weather pr not you like them on someones music tastes isnt very nice. my boyfriend likes taylor swift and kesha, and hes the sweetest, nicest, most caring person a boy could ask for. (im into mcr, fallout boy, ect)

this is just my point of view. keep being you, diversity is great. ::)

alyssa338
Strange Creature
Joined 7th Nov 2014
Forum Posts: 1

Hey, my whole entire life I told everyone that I was born in the wrong generation. I hate most music and sometimes they get stuck in my head and I feel like I am just brainwashed into loving the song. I try to listen to as many different styles of songs. I want to be a musician, a singer, and my motto is bringing to old school to the new school. because I believe that the world is going to end soon and I don't want the last thing musically to be this smut that were here on the radio or see on t.v. so I totally agree with this post and if anyone got offended it really doesn't matter.

Indie
Miss Indie
Tyrant of Words
Australia 34awards
Joined 3rd Sep 2011
Forum Posts: 3209

Nicki Minaj is a joke on humanity. Empowering women?... I call bullshit.

Viddax
Lord Viddax
Guardian of Shadows
United Kingdom 31awards
Joined 10th Oct 2009
Forum Posts: 6672

Indie said:Nicki Minaj is a joke on humanity. Empowering women?... I call bullshit.

Empowering them to act as eye candy and idols of barely hidden desire: maybe. Empowering them to be reliant upon their own skills devoid of male interaction or devotion: highly unlikely.

mjs211
MikeTheEngineer
Dangerous Mind
United States 20awards
Joined 22nd Aug 2010
Forum Posts: 1572

My apologies for the incoming wall of text.

To be fair, mainstream pop music is meant to be popular. That's... kind of why it's called pop. It's engineered to be catchy, feel-good, headstrong, and evoke common yet powerful emotions. It satisfies as wide an audience as possible by starting in the middle of the bell curve and working as far as possible in either direction. Frankly, I don't really see anything wrong with that. It serves its purpose for the majority of the group.

I'm a diehard rocker, but Miley's "Party in the USA" and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" are two of my guilty pleasures whenever they come on. They're fun, dopey, brainless, and give me bleary-eyed, grinning visions of sweaty basement parties.

And pop has always been that way. The chorus from the top song of 2013:
"I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is fucking awesome"

Now from 2003:
"You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub
Look Miami, I got the X if you into takin' drugs
I'm into havin' sex, I ain't into makin' love
So come gimme a hug, if you're into gettin' rubbed"

And from 1993:
"And I... will always love you
I... will always love you
You, ooh"

Back to 1983:
"Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you."

While in 1963:
"I've got to get back
To that sugar shack, whoa baby
To that sugar shack, yeah honey
To that sugar shack, whoa yes
To that sugar shack."

Even back to 1943:
"I'm gonna buy a Paper Doll that I can call my own
A doll that other fellows cannot steal
And then the flirty, flirty guys with their flirty, flirty eyes
Will have to flirt with dollies that are real"

Pop hasn't gotten more mindless, trust me. The other singles from the era are just as dumb.



Mainstream TV, on the other hand, has its own issues that are only tangentially based on popularity--one of my favorite recent takes on it: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/sitcom-tv-comedy-abc-cbs-nbc-fox/

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