24 January 2009
"Babylon is Fallin'" by Slightly Stoopid
I seriously love Slightly Stoopid! They are a reggae/punk/psychedelic band from Ocean Beach, CA. For the most part their music is a fusion of mellow surf rock with different influences. A lot of their music is inspired by the sounds of Bob Marley, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Dr. Dre, and Led Zeppelin. Many of their songs glorify smoking pot (which is bad) or scorn long lost love, but “Babylon is Fallin’” has a surprisingly spiritual message. This song is pretty much crying out on behalf of the Kingdom. It identifies how messed up the world has become (“everybody losing control/people use and abuse this world/and now they’re just taking a stroll/these times have changed”). In the second part of the song they claim that time will tell when all the wealth is gone and people have to start giving their love. They claim, however, that if you open your eyes to these problems you can end up in heaven. As Christians, we know that that’s not the way it works. Giving your love in the name of the Lord isn't a bad thing, but counting on that alone to get you into Heaven doesn't produce the desired outcome. The song ends with the band identifying that there is hope for us (“there is light at the end of the darkness/why don’t you come out and see…”). I think that this song has a good message (besides the fact that the band claims that Heaven is yours if you just open your eyes and give your love). This song recognizes the problems with this world: people taking without reciprocating, and the fakeness of wealth and power. It shows that there is hope beyond what we know now. This song condemns the falsity, “utopia,” and seduction of the Empire, and cries out for the victory, purpose, and change available in the Kingdom. Finding this song was definitely a pleasant surprise giving that this band is normally totally Empirical and stoned.
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I agree that in today's times a lot of bands write about empirical things. The things that they write about area bout abusing sex, alcohol, drugs and other things. I have heard of bands that tend to sound the same but at the same time they sing about something else. I think that it is always a nice thing when songs display something positive or end on a good note. "there is a light at the end of the darkness/why don't you come out and see..."That is such a good line for a song. When people hear a new song sometimes they end up looking up the lyrics. When people look up the lyrics they start understanding what people are actually listening to and the message that the band is trying to get out.
ReplyDeleteGood choice for a song, Ashley, especially considering our overview of history that looked briefly at the Babylonian empire. In some ways, Slightly Stoopid is doing some of the work we're doing in class--trying to figure out what the contemporary "empire" looks like. I'd be interested to hear more about your criticism of the song, because I'm not sure I'm following.
ReplyDeleteWe may be drawn to songs that are positive or end on a good note, but the most important thing is whether they're telling the truth--and if they force positivity and happiness when they're talking about a very dark subject, the song might be lacking in truth about brokenness.