For my cultural artifact post I wanted to do something music
related, but I didn’t want to go through a cd. Instead I tuned to a website
called 8tracks.com. on this site users can compile playlists of their favourite
artists and songs and share them with other users. The particular playlist I used
is called “Punk Rock Prom Queen”, and is a combination of artist like
blink-182, sum 41 and other punk bands.
These particular songs I found dealt mostly with
relationships. To these artists in these songs evil originates from a
relationship that either breaks, or when the two people don’t end up together. Redemption
is found when one accepts the other back (usually the guy accepting the girl)
or if the relationship is successful. I suppose this says quite a bit about
what the empire wants us to focus on. All these bands are not groups who would
not be considered Christian, nor do I believe any of them to profess to be
either. That being said, the empire likes to put the focus of our attention a
perfect relationship. If the empire can get us to focus on a relationship, then
it is easier for them to trap us with advertisements that show us that true
happiness can be found with two things: a) a woman on our arm and b) whatever
product they’re trying to sell.
However, I think that if we look into some of the songs a
little deeper we can find some Kingdom meaning in them. God desires that we
have a good, strong relationship and I personally feel that these songs can
give a view of what we are looking for, especially if we are not sure ourselves.
For me, being very word oriented, and gifted with a vivid imagination, I find
that I can imagine what these artists are singing about, then more easily apply
that to my own life.
1)
If you have a girlfriend, or girl you would like
to be in a relationship with, is there a song that you can hear, and then you
find yourself thinking about her?
2)
What are other things that songs can help us imagine/get
us through?
Being a pretty big fan of punk rock myself, I found your comments pretty interesting. First off, punk rock has basically two sides to it. There is pop punk and hardcore punk. The two bands you mentioned, Blink-182 and Sum 41, definitely lean towards the pop side of punk. Were all the bands you listened to like this or did it include some more hardcore band (i.e. Rise Against, Bad Religion, The Offspring)? I wonder this because based on your view of these songs it would fit my stereotype of pop punk bands. They usually are more about relationships, while hardcore punk bands focus more on politics and making a difference in the world. I definitely agree with you about how in the songs, guys always ending up apologizing or bending for the girl. Obviously, this isn’t true for all relationships, but when I do hear this, I feel punk rock is kind of insulting by saying that men are the ones who hold the relationships together. I have yet to come across a punk song demonstrating the perfect relationship, but that is definitely what the artists are striving for when writing their music. Overall, I agree with your thinking and enjoyed reading your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteExcellent comments, Matt!
ReplyDeleteWhen examining songs about relationships, it's good to ask the question, "what kind of relationship is being held up as ideal here?" Simply being in a relationship isn't necessarily a good; we need to be in right relationship with one another, mutually respecting and loving one another (whether the relationship is romantic or not). Too often, it seems, songs talk about men or women as commodities to be tried on, discarded or re-tried like a consumer product. I'm pretty sure that kind of relationship isn't what God had in mind for human flourishing.