Music is one of the biggest influencer's in the world, especially upon younger generations. People often dress a certain way because it is what other fans or artists that perform that genre of music dress like. If big enough artists sings about a certain type of alcohol, it becomes the new "it" drink. They sing about the clothes they wear....so guess what? Yep, you now have flocks of sheep...oops, I mean people...wearing that brand. Do you think the same would happen if these "shepherds" sang about something that actually encouraged people to do something positive in their lives or in the world? If any of the current hip-hop mega stars began extolling the benefits of driving a hybrid car or taking public transit rather than rollin' on 22's in gas guzzling Hummers or Escalades, would it make a difference? Does it even matter to them? Do they know they can make a difference? Hell yes, they know. They know that you will buy what they say is cool, so why don't they make environmentalism cool? Why don't they use the power they have to make a difference? It's an obvious answer......environmentalism is not "cool" to sing or make videos about. No one gets laid in the music industry because they are environmentally conscious, it takes jewelry, fancy cars, expensive clothes, hip slang and dope shoes. Ahhh.......you have got to love this material world of ours. Too bad it won't be around much longer.
I'm not saying don't listen to music if it doesn't have a positive message about saving the earth....hell we all need to have fun and listen to mind numbing stuff every now and then, but we don't need to follow like sheep the messages that the mind numbing stuff spews. Just think to yourself every once in a while, "who benefits from the message?" If it is car companies, liquor companies, jewelers, shoe companies, etc...it's probably not best to buy into what they are selling.
I really do believe that we will see more and more musicians begin to use their influence for good. Not to say there are bands that don't do it now, Marvin Gaye was not the last to care about this world of ours, you just don't see it very often in the popular music of today. Look outside of the top 40 and the stuff you get fed over and over on the radio and you will find many bands out there with positive messages of change. Hell, pretty much the entire punk movement in England stemmed from the youth of that day being fed up with the government of the time. Hardly any of them were even musicians (and it was easy to tell), but they knew that music could influence people and was a great way to share their frustrations and messages about the need for change with others. That same message carries over into much of the music that was born from early 70's punk right into today. The wave of politically charged, socially conscious music which they gave birth to will hopefully one day sweep into the top 40 stuff that influences the vast majority of people in the world. There are bands out there now, you just don't hear them on the radio...environmentalism and social responsibility doesn't sell apparently. The record companies don't see money to be made in environmentalism and until they do, why do what's right? I guess there isn't much money in doing what is right.
"So popular music is destroying the world...right?"
Nope, not at all....
Music to me is life. All kinds of music. Music inspires everyone and that is why people are so adamant and defensive about what they love. We need the purely fun stuff but we also need something positive to balance it out and we need to be able to recognize the difference. If you are going to buy into what musicians are selling you, then at least buy into ideas that make you a better person or the world a bit better place. We need the music industry to realize that they have to stop feeding us purely crap and we need to show them that we aren't going to buy into it anymore. We need musicians to realize the power they wield and start doing something positive in their music with that power. Let the music you love actually inspire you to do something good for a change. Believe it or not, we can control the music industry rather than them controlling us. If we tell them that we are tired of teenage bimbos and 5 mpg Escalades, they will listen.
The first song to really make me think about my footprint and the impact that we have on this earth? It's a little bold, but it gets the point across.
"...We call earth mother, but we are all mother *expletives*. We drink her blood, eat her flesh, take her love for granted. We feed her poison and in return we'll reap what we've planted, rest assured."
The song is "I'll be Damned", the band is Into Another. The entire song is actually about men and the horrors that we have forced upon the world as a whole. We take and take and take and take, not thinking about what will happen when there is nothing left to take. Every end result has a cause.
In the words of another of my favorite bands
"You are guilty by your ignorance...ignorance is not innocence."
Get out there and learn, educate yourselves, the world is not going to fix itself. Don't continue to support industries or companies that don't care and aren't embracing change. Learn which companies these are and do something to encourage them to change or take your business elsewhere.
It all starts with you, it all begins with the smallest action, the faintest thought of "what if?".
Don't wait for someone else to start the revolution.
Do something and do it now.
JD
