By Aashna Charan
We have all had those long drives with our family where a close to world war 3 battle would start on one topic, MUSIC. Being a part of a family of music lovers, the latter was always a heated topic to discuss with my parents.
My brother and I would always take side with the recent music tracks whereas my parents would very often tell us about how the music of their time was way better than ours. Being the rebellious kids that we were, we would always start shouting if any slow song was played.
DRUMBEATS TO DISAPPOINTMENT
But that was childhood, as soon as adulthood neared; all those fast recent songs became history and our minds turned more towards the slow songs with relatable lyrics. Soon it dawned upon us that music had more to it than just tune and beat; it had to have relatable lyrics, a certain to depth to it that we felt was lost in the songs now.
Stereo Like Sadness
A typical drive around with mom and listening to the radio was all it took for me to realise how hollow songs now had become, “what does this song even mean?!” asked mom with a rather irritated look on her face, truth be told, she wasn’t the only one with the irritated face in the car.
Rat Race To Meaninglessness
Somewhere in this rat race to success, music makers and especially writers forgot the true essence of why they are making music. And where commercialization won, music lost. Yes the beats make you groove, bust a move and get the adrenaline pumping, but what of the utter degradation in the lyrics that are shown?
WALK DOWN THE MEANINGFUL LANE
When the lyrics of music had a meaning to it, music was much more loved; it had a reason to be listened to. The words were deep, touching, and the listener could relate to what they were listening to. Lyricists had a passion for their music and their goal was not write to earn, it was write to heal and express. I listen to songs nowadays basically trying to find a single line which does not say how fast a car goes or how cool a party is. It feels somehow sad that somewhere when a guy once wrote us letters is now resorting to Gandi baat to talk to us.
Lyricists like Gulzar write beautiful songs with equally beautiful lyrics.
Sale Promotion On Point
It seems simply stupid that almost every song that we listen to now has a reference to an automobile (Audi or Ferrari, nothing below that) and different types and brands of alcohol (which seems to be very useful for brand selection) and a hot girl (very specific taste in women) who is on the dance floor and keeps dancing, and apparently doesn’t get tired (maybe she drinks Gatorade instead of alcohol).
Because we didn’t know cars and bikes made those sounds. They put it on a poster.
It just seems shocking to see that suddenly from being called as beautiful as the sky or the stars; women are now as beautiful as a vehicle. From astronomy, we gradually moved to automobiles. Looking at the bright side, we will never run out of songs to party on but for matters of the heart then too, we will never run out of songs to party on.
THE AUTHORS SYMPHONY
Let’s not always be negative though, there are still songs with wonderful lyrics and soul-stirring lines in them, only now those songs are called boring by the hot-blooded youth. Yes, I am a part of that youth and I LOVE MUSIC FOR ITS LYRICS MORE THAN ITS BEATS and NO IT IS NOT BORING, IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
The Musical Therapy
Music should more for healing than for propagating the clubbing trend and partying and on advertising cars and booze. It should be for expressing emotions like love, hope and even in some cases, sadness and not in expressing about how the party clothes of a woman turns you on. If I want to express my love for you, I shouldn’t go on about how wearing black glasses makes you look good! I would sing something more meaningful!
The Original Remix
Music writers now just lack originality and have resorted to making remakes of old classics which don’t even closely match up to the original classic, with an all-new EDM touch and a weird rapper degrades the songs even more. In between the pitiful remake of The Humma Song we hear a weird rap artist (not to point fingers but he says he is the KING) single-handedly ruin the whole song, which also made me wonder what the original song makers thought, not good thoughts I’m guessing.
Souled Out Songs
Trust me kids, when the number one song on the chart toppers is dedicated to a girls butt, there is something not right. Have we, on the pretext of being hip and posh been pushed into the mainstream party music and have moved away from music with a soul and meaning to it?
The end note of this article should be a question, to not only the readers but also to aspiring lyricists. What does the music you listen to mean to you? Is it merely a party groove to you or is it a solace for you, something that elevates your heart or calms your soul and not bursts your ear.
While the songs now are great for an adrenaline spike but let us not let the soul-stirring music quietly fade away into history, for the sake of musical art and also for the sake of its ardent lovers.
Image Credits: Google Images
Would you like to share your opinion and discuss more on the matter? Then add us on Snapchat and we could hit up an interesting conversation. Click the link below to add Economy Decoded on Snapchat.
ED – The Youth Blog on Snapchat
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2016/11/12-overplayed-songs-that-you-could-stop-listening-to-right-now/
