Thoughts on Who Knows What

I’m just gonna start by saying thank God I’m not the only one who doesn’t like the Beatles. Too many people think they were the greatest thing since sliced bread (actually that may have come after I don’t know). Anyways, this was an interesting class and it gives me a platform to talk about my theory on music taste. I forget if I’ve written this one before so I’ll keep it short. I think people seriously shorthand themselves when it comes to music genres. Too easily people are swayed to listen only to pop and rap music because it’s what plays most on the radio. I also think people lie to themselves when they say it’s their favorite genre: Now let me clarify and say I’m definitely biased in I really don’t like either of those two genres in case it wasn’t apparent through this class and blog so far, at the very least I will say some songs in those genres are exceptions but it’s rare. It isn’t until people reach out and broaden their horizons that people realize there may be other better genres out there. It may only take one song and more than a little effort to look into the responsible band and others like them, but from there you can discover a whole new musical world. I wonder what else drives people to listen to new types of music, is it because they get bored of the old stuff and want something new? Or is it the traditional human obsession with creation that pushes people to make new things/genres? (Humans a fascinating… too bad a lot of them suck.)

We talked about some specific songs in class, mainly Mambo Italiano which is a strange one and Louie Louie the story for which I love. The first brings into question what it means if the original singers was an Irish immigrant. Also what makes it sound so Italian? I would guess it’s the beat that dictates the “Italian” sound.  There’s some real displacement for you. As for the second song, how is it fair for the FBI to investigate distasteful lyrics when you can’t understand them. No matter the speed the lyrics were nonsensical so clearly we need to investigate this national favorite. It makes me think about that who subliminal messaging psychology craze that was investigated a while ago. People thought there was subliminal messages controlling their thoughts and actions so a bunch of studies were done and nothing came of it. Even more it reminds me of that time a bunch of metal and rock bands were investigated for incorporating satanic words and rituals in their songs. There’s so many problems with even investigating that like freedom of religion and speech, also separation of church and state. Unless their songs were actually talking about some heinous crimes they were planning on committing or already had then there was no reason to try and censor or investigate them. Also, it was clear the only reason that was a problem was because old people didn’t like the fancy new-spangled music kids were listening to. I love oldies, it’s a great genre, but there’s definitely a lack of deep  meaning or real problems being sung and written about there. Some people are contented to be lied to about how great life and everything is, but genres like punk, rock, metal and generally just modern songs nowadays actually discuss real problems. It’s the best metaphor for generational gaps and why thankfully the future lies in the hands of younger generations.