Music By Popular Artists example essay topic

In our society today, people are influenced by many different things. The media uses advertisements and commercials to sell us what "we think we need" in order to fit in. This type of media hype is everywhere; in our magazines, on our television screens, on billboards, and in our music. Yes, music does control society in some aspects.

Little girls idolize pop stars, and young men look up to the clever lyricists in our popular culture. Yet, sometimes these role model artists are not sending the right messages to young adults. Girls may judge what a man should be based on her current pop star crush, and guys may judge girls in the same way. Not all boys can be Justin Timberlake, and not all girls can be Britney Spears. This should not be the message to young people in the first place; they should listen to artists who present diverse issues in their music, so the young minds of these teenagers can form their own opinions about the world. The media and the big corporations that own the record companies place such a big hype on certain artists that some people may not take the time to dig deeper and find genuinely good music, or to see what underlying issues are taking place in the music industry.

There is a website called Downhillbattle. org that provides information for music activists; the site shows the world how the big record labels are controlling the radio music play and how artists get paid close to nothing compared to how much the big corporations make. One of the ways Britney and Justin are made into pop idols is through a system in the music industry call "pay-for-play". In an article by Eric Boehlert called "Will Congress tackle pay-for-play?" the issue of Congress finally stopping the big record companies from paying out the radio stations is discussed. .".. It virtually shuts off access to commercial FM radio for artists or record companies who can't or won't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote a new single" (Boehlert). This pay-for-play gives artists under the big record labels and unfair advantage over those who are on independent labels.

This is also a way the big record labels can control what we listen to; they can control what is popular. They can put Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on the radio all day long, but lesser known artists may not get any promotion on radio play. You may be thinking, "Well, what's the problem with the independent artists? Why don't they get on a big record label?" The answer to this is found all over Downhillbattle. org.

There is an article called "The Problem With Music" by Steve Albini that breaks down what an artist makes compared to one of The Big 5 (BMG, EMI, Warner Bros., Sony, and Universal) recording companies. Basically the profit comes down to this: for every $16 CD that is sold, the artist or band receives less than $1. By breaking away from The Big 5, artists may be able to make more profits, but this will not be enough to get them on the radio waves. A way around both of these situations is the internet. Lesser known bands can get out to the masses, and file-sharing is bringing down the big record label corporations (which downhill battle. org says will help the artists and the consumers alike). File-sharing and the internet are "causing a democratic shift, as more phenomena filter up and fans elect their own stars rather than accept the dictates of radio or MTV" (Gundersen).

This is a wonderful concept that can help Americans, teens especially, finally break out of the mold of listening to what the media tells them all the time. The media does not always know what is best for a society, and trends that are created are not always good ones to follow. By making pop stars like Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson, girls think they have to be beautiful, seductive, and sexy to be popular. Boys, on the other hand, look up to guys like Justin Timberlake and Usher, who are lean, muscular, and also seductive. This issue of sex is very apparent through music because of the music videos, the clothes the musicians wear, and their song lyrics. Some of the music videos could probably be considered "soft porn", and is that something that the youth of American should be watching?

In Margaret Atwood's essay "Pornography", the issue of soft porn, erotica, and hard core porn is addressed in a negative way. Atwood questions, "Is today's pornography yet another indication of the hatred of the body, the deep mind-body split, which is supposed to pervade Western Christian society?" (p. 380). Atwood brings home the idea that "porn" in the media is a bad influence on young adults; if they think porn is okay or normal, they will be questioning their self image and their morals for a long time. This is not healthy for the teens, and this will delay them in finding their true "self". Society did not used to be so centered on this issue of self exposure. At first, revealing yourself in a music video was a social taboo; when Madonna did this everyone was shocked.

Now being revealing is a social norm. Britney Spears is half naked in all her videos, and artists like Usher and 50 Cent hardly ever have their shirts on. What message is this sending to today's teens? What are Americans supposed to think of the lyrics in "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent: "I'll take you to the candy shop / I'll let you lick the lollypop / Go 'head girl, don't you stop / Keep going 'til you hit the spot (wo ah) "? This is what the big record companies are promoting; this is what the media is selling to young adults through music. The same underlying concept of sex comes from "Toxic" sung by Britney Spears: "I need a hit / Baby, give me it / You " re dangerous / I'm lov in' it".

The appeal to be sexy and sexual is pushed onto youth at a very young age. Is this a trend teenagers should really be following? Hopefully teens will learn the truth about this main stream music, and they will find music that will help them enhance their inner selves, not transform their "self" into something they think society wants them to be. There is some music by popular artists that has a much more positive message, although most of these artists are not main stream, or they also have songs that fit into the category above. Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera both have empowering songs for women, and they are both pretty mainstream. A little less main stream is Michelle Branch and Bad Religion, both of which are very supportive of doing your own thing and being your own person.

Michelle Branch takes the dominant role in her song "All you Wanted" when she sings, "If you want to / I can save you / I can take you away / From here / So lonely inside / So busy out there / And all you wanted / Was somebody who cares". Branch is stepping up and saying she can save this guy; she is comfortable enough with herself to do this. This is a positive message for young women to grasp. This song relates to the essay called "Wonder Woman" by Gloria Steinem. The message that Steinem presents to the readers is that women need to "remember our power" (p. 290). Wonder Woman was a feminist icon for young women starting in the 1940's.

Before Wonder Woman, girls were supposed to be the "damsel in distress" and let some strong man save them. Young women needed a super hero like Wonder Woman to empower them; we can see in brave women like Michelle Branch that women no longer need to rely on a man. Another artist who has lyrics to empower young women is Christina Aguilera in her song "Fighter". Aguilera sings, "Made me learn a little bit faster / Made my skin a little bit thicker / Makes me that much smarter / So thanks for making me a fighter".

This song is a very strong song for women, and the lyrics just reach out and grab you. The song mixed with Aguilera's powerful voice makes you never want to be sad about a guy again. Ella Fitzgerald had this kind of radiating voice, and her wonderful melody is described by Sonia Sanchez's "A Poem for Ella Fitzgerald". The message in this poem is to strive to find a meaning in your life as great and as powerful as the meaning Sanchez got from Fitzgerald's singing. "Queen Ella had come / and words spilled out / leaving a trail of witnesses smiling / amen -amen-a woman-a woman" (p. 334). Sanchez got so much happiness from Fitzgerald's songs, just like young women today can find strength in Branch's or Aguilera's songs.

We must search for meaning beyond the obvious, and find a place in ourselves where the lyrics can rest. Music affects society in many different ways. The unfortunate thing is that music can affect us in negative ways; music should only be a positive and uplifting experience. Lyrics should not have an underlying message that the media and big corporations are trying to sell us. People should not question their inner selves just because they are not a "Britney" or a "Justin". People should not change their moral standards because of what is said in lyrics, or what is seen on music videos.

Music like this is the kind people should run from. 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" song is disgusting and degrading, and there are many other songs out on the airwaves like this, and the big corporations are commercializing them. Young adults should dig for deeper meaning and find real music. Real, meaningful, empowering music... and this is readily available to everyone on the internet. Anyone can go online and download a program for free music, then the options for a listening experience are endless.

No more main stream, watered down, degrading crap. Finding the music that makes your heart flutter because the lyrics relate to you so deeply is what counts. Music that makes you want to be you, that makes you want to love you for you... this is the music that should be played on the airwaves.

Bibliography

50 Cent. "Candy Shop". 2050: Before The Massacre.
Interscope, 2005.
Aguilera, Christina. "Fighter". Stripped. Universal, 2003.
Albini, Steve. "The Problem With Music". NegativWorldWideWebland. 21 March 2005 web Boehlert, Eric.
Will Congress tackle pay-for-play?" Salon. com June 25, 2002.
21 March 2005 web congress / print.
html. Branch, Michelle. "All you Wanted". The Spirit Room. Maverick Recording Co., 2001.
Gundersen, Edna. "Music fans reach for the stars". USA TODAY Mar 10, 2005.
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Music Activism. 2003.
Downhill Battle. 04 March 2005 web Shr odes, Caroline, et al.
The Conscious Reader. Pearson Education Inc., 2004.
Spears, Britney. "Toxic". In The Zone. Jive Records, 2003.