Musical Fruit

Rich and I were talking the other day about music, actually we were beating the crap out of the dash board to some good old Rock and Roll while we were Flyin' down the Highway. Anyway, during slow songs we talked about how much fun it was to listen to some of the songs we grew up with.

I think back and recall how there were (and still are) some folks who claimed that Rock and Roll is the spawn of the devil, that nothing good can come from it. I guess it's all in how you look at it or hear it in this case. So let's break it down.

Is it it the tunes that people take offense to? Not really, take away the lyrics and musically speaking some of the songs are very complex pieces. Sometimes using the same instruments and the like as classical music. How many times have you stepped on an elevator and heard an old rock tune (redone without the words of course) playing? Did it bring a smirk to your face? usually does to me.

So then, it must be the lyrics that offend so many people. Is it fair to say that if one Rock song has lyrics that are offensive that it's all bad? On the other hand is this an endorsement for all Rock music? No to both. As with anything it's a case by case basis. If you're not operating that way it's called discrimination and I think most of us agree that that's wrong.

Here's an oldie but a goodie:

Now if you're feelin' kinda low 'bout the dues you've been paying
Future's coming much too slow
And you wanna run but somehow you just keep on stayin'
Can't decide on which way to go
Yeah, yeah, yeah

I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind.

Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can'tcha you see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone

I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People li vin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind.
Take a look ahead, take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Now everybody's got advice they just keep on givin'
Doesn't mean too much to me
Lot's of people out to make-believe they're livin'
Can't decide who they should be.

I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People li vin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind.
Take a look ahead, take a look ahead. Look ahead.

What do you think the composer was thinking about when he wrote this song? Honestly I could care less what he was thinking, I know what it means to me. It's all about how you look at it. These lyrics would feel right at home in a song that we have been been given the green light to listen to.

What about a song that the lyrics aren't so "uplifting" so to speak? Can anything good come from a song like that? Can you listen to song and ignore the message? People do it with TV all the time. Ask a musician if he/she has ever heard something in a song that they liked and used it for something else. A drum fill, a guitar lick or a particular way a vocalist performed a song. It's been done over and over again. Take the good, discard the bad.

"I like rock and roll, put another dime in the juke box baby"

Make up your own mind, I did.