Music and Influence

Music is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world. It is something every age group can enjoy. Music is very influential to teenagers in our new millennium, yet many of the new and most popular forms of music advocate violence degrade women, others even promote sadism. With teen’s new need for music poses the question of how does popular music affect their well-beings. Columbine is the most popular example of when a negative message in music can backfire and innocent lives were lost. Popular music is very powerful because of the notoriety of the artist and how he or she is seen as a role model, can a negative message in music play as entertainment or does music diminish their conscience and cause them to involve themselves on senseless acts of violence and debauchery.

Even in children music poses as a building block in their mental development, as they reach adolescents it begins to form media exposure and identities. Although most of popular music is considered violent and sexual it is till a major part of teenage development. Demo (1981) connects teenagers expose to popular music as an outlet to the media. While listening to music is also a major part of the way they live. Teens listen to music while, doing homework, driving, and even as substitute for television.

The Press today sees music lyrics as ways of provoking people into doing things they aren’t supposed to. Hip hop or rap music is the most popular music to the urban and black youth in our present time. Rappers serve as role models who were in the same position as the audience they are speaking to; teens in ghettos around America see them as examples of how you can make it positive and become wealthy. However, Rap can be very explicit music with fowl language, murder and objectifying women. One example is in the lyrics of the song “The Heat” by Lil’ Wayne “Dressed in all black and my gun the same color ,Murder my enemy love thy brotha, and I ain't never gave a sh*t about a motherfu**er .Hit him up and watch the guts come up out a young’n stomach.” There is a high level of violence in a lot of songs. Is this making money off of sex, money, and murder or just an accurate image of life in the ghetto and survival? Not all rap music promotes homicidal thoughts; there is also a club form of hip-hop promoting dancing and having fun.

Many Rap lyrics seem to focus on violence, drugs and women, however even early country music trends focus on barroom fights, gay beatings, and general violence. There are many things that come to mind when thinking about the words rock n’ roll. There is vintage Elvis Prestley or the more recent punk rock with mosh pits and all black clothes. Rock music serves as outlet for the many of the Caucasian youth in suburbs around America almost as rap does to urban areas. Many forms of rock advocates murder, sex, drugs, satanic references and can be linked many suicides. This can lead a lost teen to go even more astray. In rock they speak about anarchy and rebellion and this message was taken too literal by depressed and angry students whom one day shot up their school in Colorado. This incident became a nationwide tragedy and went down in history. The incident happened in columbine high school when a couple of students were tired of being bullied and took it into their own hands with senseless violence. A brief example of a song listened by the students by KMFDMF called “Anarchy” “I made a god out of blood not superiority, I killed the king of deceit weak me up in anarchy… born of revenge, raised on cement chaos created government.” Marilyn Manson, a well known rock n’ roll artist was took heat for the incident as people needed a person to point the finger at because of his music.

Hate can also take the form of music with neo-nazi rock bands that make songs about their terrible beliefs and the slaughter of other races. One example is the group Landser. The band was kicked out of Germany for trying to start another nazi sweep and bring back the Aryan nation. Another form of hate is against homosexuals, like in the many of the songs of Eminem for example “Criminal” “My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge