"The Day the Music Died" | Teen Ink

"The Day the Music Died"

April 30, 2010
By evelynibarra BRONZE, Roswell, New Mexico
evelynibarra BRONZE, Roswell, New Mexico
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder"


Hip-Hop, Rap, R&B, and Pop, all types of music, are amazing beats and catchy tunes, but what lies underneath all of the repeating rhythms and mainstream glamour?

Lyrics are the extensial component of songs. They tell a story; they allow the listener to feel and to think what the song recites. This is the way it used to be! Now, lyrics are legends, ghosts of what was once real music.

Have you listened to the words of your favorite song, to the words of the most played song on your favorite radio station? If you have, you will find that most of these songs are offensive and not appropriate.

Many of today’s songs are filled with meaningless lyrics. They are bursting with demeaning slurs and profanity. No longer is music used to express, but to insult and humiliate others. What is more shocking is that most of today’s youth enjoy these songs. It seems like the more insults and vulgar words that a song has, the more it sells.

If you look back in history, you will find that music wasn’t always this way. Music was an escape; it was used to help people forget their worries. Take the Beattle’s for example; their songs helped people escape the terrors of the Vietnam War. When you heard their songs, you escaped the world’s troubles, momentarily.

Now, flash forward to today! What are we providing for the future other than foul language and meaningless rhythms? Profanity is what this time in history will mean, lyrically, of course.

All I ask for is songs with real lyrics, lyrics that touch the soul and that make your senses vibrate, and songs that aren’t written to demean anyone, but to inform the world. I also yearn for artists, whose only concern is not their ability to sell their music, but artists who care about their music, the real music that lies behind the hypnotic beats.

For every song that uses demeaning language let there be people, who turn off the radio. For every record sold, which echoes meaningless music, let there be people who won’t be engulfed, controlled, or fooled by the song’s popularity. For every song that actually tells a story with beautiful words that speak to the soul, let there be people who listen. In other words, let there be meaning behind the lyrics and let us listen to the songs!


The author's comments:
This is my way of informing the world, to let them know that this can make a difference by speaking up, even if it is about something like music.

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This article has 22 comments.


tiah said...
on Oct. 9 2017 at 10:48 am
can I use this as my speech for tomorrow

on Jul. 13 2012 at 11:53 am
Maggie Heermann SILVER, Greenwood, Indiana
6 articles 0 photos 4 comments
Yes true and this is one reason I'm not too big on rap music. My dream is to sing Hip Hop and R&B professionaly, but I don't like music that degrades people. Boys at my constantly playing rap music through their ears and most of it is insulting towards women. Rap music is teaching boys the wrong ways to treat women. I mean I like some rap songs but not many because so much of it is degrading. 

on May. 22 2011 at 6:04 pm
ReadingFanatic SILVER, St. Louis, Missouri
6 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Nobody important? Blimey, that’s amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important before.”

Brava!

I clicked this article because it had the lyrics of one of my favorite songs American Pie on it, and I ended up loving the article too! So many songs today are trash with foul language, and I hate it. I love listening to old bands like Fleetwood Mac, because their lyrics have meaning, and make you happy by listening to it... 

Lyrics are on of the reasons why I love being able to relate to songs, and to devour the booklets that have them in it


on Feb. 23 2011 at 10:03 am
GiannaA. SILVER, Chicago, Illinois
6 articles 3 photos 2 comments
I agree with this, posted an article like this myself. Well done.

LilaW PLATINUM said...
on Dec. 19 2010 at 6:14 pm
LilaW PLATINUM, Brampton, ON, Other
21 articles 0 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live. Laugh. Love. Fight. Flight. Get it right.<3

Oh lordie. This has Ke$ha written all over it. Not to bash that artist, but her music is just an example of what you're describing here - meaningless and somewhat disgusting lyrics, simply combined to match the beat in the background. I'm actually sure many people have noticed how music is taking an inevitable downfall nowadays, but its still great to see someone posting an article about it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention! Artists nowadays really need to step up their game; I dread the future of the music industry.

on Dec. 1 2010 at 12:11 pm

This is a great article...!

But...You spelled 'The Beatles' wrong D:


cdemi12 BRONZE said...
on Aug. 9 2010 at 12:25 pm
cdemi12 BRONZE, Grayslake, Illinois
2 articles 7 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” --Mark Twain

You rock! I totally agree! I like rock and classic rock, so basically I love the music before "now": 70s, 80s, 90s. I always get annoyed by the hip-hop, rap, r&b, and pop that is trashy and about inappropriate things. This article hopefully will send a message to people to pay attention to their lyrics!

on Jul. 18 2010 at 9:18 pm
Vexa_Rave SILVER, Mt. Clare, West Virginia
9 articles 0 photos 57 comments
not only are the lyrics bad, but there's no melody in the song.  the main catch of the song is the melody, am i not right?  when you hear a song, in general, you don't remember the bass or the drum beat or whatever, you remember what is being sung: the melody.  and the lyrics contribute just as much as the melody, because it goes right along with it.  i can't stand to listen to rap because THERE'S NO MELODY.  same goes for death metal/screamo type stuff-it's just people screaming, just like rap is basically people talking to a beat.  the lyrics might be good, but what's the point if there's no catchy melody?  you can't go to a piano and pound out the notes to a rap or screamo song, 'cause there are none.  it's sad, honestly, that we consider this real music today.  and lyric content is just as bad-nobody cares that you wanna smack that girl, okay?  it's pathetic.  kids don't understand real music nowadays, but i do my best to find the real artists out there in a generation of autotune and drum machines.  :)

on Jun. 1 2010 at 3:02 pm
feartheuntypical GOLD, Nelson, Other
13 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.
- Thomas Mann

I completely agree with you! I'm sick of all the new artists, usually about 1 in 100 of them are actually good and talented. The rest of them just find a catchy beat, then throw some sexist words over the top!

on May. 31 2010 at 11:36 am
MajaOrlowska BRONZE, Cedarburg, Wisconsin
2 articles 2 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Though the sun is gone, I have a light." - Kurt Cobain
"All we are saying is give peace a chance." - John Lennon

Yeah I agree metal is much better than pop/rap.

on May. 31 2010 at 11:35 am
MajaOrlowska BRONZE, Cedarburg, Wisconsin
2 articles 2 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Though the sun is gone, I have a light." - Kurt Cobain
"All we are saying is give peace a chance." - John Lennon

I agree with you. A lot of music that is on pop/rap radio stations is unsuitable for teenagers and kids. Most of the songs have no meaning and are full of swears. The music that was popular "back then" is much more pleasant to listen to. It is really quite sad to see how negatively music has changed. This piece of writing was very well-written. Nice job with choosing the topic to write about.

on May. 26 2010 at 2:35 pm
songofsadness SILVER, Jordan, Minnesota
6 articles 0 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
life is gonna end either way, It takes people with mental illness to build the world.

i listen to metal and lyrics are what i look for i want to relate to the song im listening to

on May. 24 2010 at 9:11 pm
songofheaven BRONZE, East Amherst, New York
2 articles 2 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
I have found power in the mysteries of thought. -Euripides

Sorry. Don't know why that message repeated itself like that.

on May. 24 2010 at 9:09 pm
songofheaven BRONZE, East Amherst, New York
2 articles 2 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
I have found power in the mysteries of thought. -Euripides

Take lyrics from Achilles Last Stand, for example (one of my favorite songs of all time) by Led Zeppelin:

"Oh to ride the wind, To tread the air above the din.
Oh to laugh aloud, Dancing as we fought the crowd.

To seek the man whose pointing hand, The giant step unfolds.
With guidance from the curving path, That churns up into stone."

It's just poetry in song form. Though the song itself sports a deep, heavy, fast metal riff, the lyrics by themselves could have been written by a master. I just wish songs would mean something, and tell a story like they used to. I don't like songs that just try to say: "Baby I love you and always will." Sure, it's sweet. But there's just no story behind it. Bob Dylan created social protest lyrics. Led Zeppelin created mystical ones that could be inserted into a nordic myth at any time. The Doors created that magical, mysterious vibe whenever they played. I just wish music could be like that again...where the music was what mattered; not so much the money or the image, or the gossip.


on May. 24 2010 at 8:12 pm
evelynibarra BRONZE, Roswell, New Mexico
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder"

i understand completely i mean all my friends love those mainsteam songs but not half of them know what the song means. Because this songs dont mean anything.

Thank you for your understanding


on May. 24 2010 at 8:10 pm
evelynibarra BRONZE, Roswell, New Mexico
1 article 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder"

absolutely i think that that is where we are wrong i would love to have music today that accually means something and that makes me feel and think.

on May. 12 2010 at 10:44 am
toxic.monkey SILVER, Tashkent, Other
6 articles 0 photos 210 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Homo homini lupus"

I used to share your opinion, but it's changed wit my definition of music. I also used to put lyrics before anything, but with time I've started to enjoy all kinds of music. I still listen to the songs I used to but I opened other directions in music and I think that they're equally deserving of praise... Rap, as an example, can be extremely expressive. They talk of difficulties of urban life, although the popular ones often are just as you described them... I just think that you're generalizing Hip Hop here. It doesn't have to be the way you say it is- there are plenty of expressionate tracks which belong in the streams you're talking about.

on May. 11 2010 at 6:49 pm
sweetiecow BRONZE, Ramsey, New Jersey
2 articles 0 photos 10 comments
Completely agreeing here, I still listen to gothic and symphonic metal. These are based off of expression. I don't completely think all the music today is COMPLETELY meaningless, although you portray an excellent point. Most mainstream musics today are pretty meaningless, considering most celebs don't even know what it feels like until it happens.

on May. 8 2010 at 8:28 pm
songofheaven BRONZE, East Amherst, New York
2 articles 2 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
I have found power in the mysteries of thought. -Euripides

I really like songs that tell a story, as well. Songs that just ramble on and complain and moan about boyfriends/girlfriends gone wrong is just stupid. There should be more to life than whining about crap no one cares about.

on May. 8 2010 at 8:26 pm
songofheaven BRONZE, East Amherst, New York
2 articles 2 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
I have found power in the mysteries of thought. -Euripides

Yes. A thousand times yes. I think we're stuck. Do I necessarily believe that the music died in the plane crash? No. Real music continued for about 25 years after the fact. And then, analog recording fell out of practice. I think that was truly the day the music died. I know a lot of people like this Bieber fella and Lady Gaga and Lil' Wayne. But if you go back to the 50's, 60's, and 70's, you will see that music meant something to people. It really meant something.