Music is one of the biggest communicators in the world. It expresses emotion, culture, and honestly whatever feeling one could have. Because of the chaos happening in the world this year, this may seem not as important of a topic to bring up, but it really is. When you have a big platform, like a lot of musicians do, why not use it for something more inspiring? Use it to even start the idea of a revolution, or to spark a new conversation.

  When you listen to the radio today you hear a lot of pop songs that inevitably sound quite familiar. A lot of songs’ lyrics also have no meaning, sexualize women, and encourage drug use. 

“It’s fun to listen to, to turn up in your car when you’re in traffic, but there’s no substance at all. It’s devoid of any meaning. I’m not just saying that as a 45-year-old rock musician, I’m saying that as a human being. If the Number One song is about your butt, that’s a problem.” Dave Grohl stated in 2014. That was somewhere between six and seven years ago which shows how long this music style and lyrics haven’t been confronted or changed. I’m definitely not saying let’s change all music to have the deepest most emotional feeling, but artists should really think about what they are putting into the world, who their listeners are, and create something more original. 

I’m definitely not saying let’s change all music to have the deepest most emotional feeling, but artists should really think about what they are putting into the world, who their listeners are, and create something more original. 

Think about it though, imagine you’re in a grocery store and you hear a 5-year-old singing Savage by Megan Thee Stallion. Does that not seem to be a problem for kids to be singing that? Granted they probably don’t know what it means, but it’s the fact that they’re singing it. You definitely shouldn’t shelter kids from specific music, let them listen to what they want. But make sure what they are listening to has a point and teaches them something or gives them emotion. 

Jackson Solleder, a junior at Boise High, had this to say. “ I think people realize that music doesn’t have to have any meaning whatsoever. The beauty of music is that it’s always changing, it flows. Music that is about politics and war can fall. Music that is about politics and war can push people who aren’t interested in that stuff away. In my opinion, music is something that can revolve around anything you want it to. Much happier things, and while it can be good communication for world problems, I don’t think that many people want influence from rather upsetting themes in music. At least for me anyway, I want to go out, put on some tunes, and relax and not worry about world problems all of the time.” This is a captivating view that shows a whole different perspective on this topic.  It’s for you to decide what you want to listen to and what you consider important. Music is art and pretty much the definition of freedom, so you use it to express yourself. The question many might be asking is, why aren’t songs being written about what is going on with climate change, race, sexism, and anything else that is happening all over the world? Songs like For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield or Ohio by Neil Young. Those songs are speaking diligently on shootings, the president, protests, and there are many more songs just about those topics, that were written in the ’60s and ’70s. Are people scared? Is it really just about money and views? Why aren’t we creating something more meaningful about events happening right now or at least acknowledging it in some way?