Radio.

I'm a huge fan of this song by Dead Prez called "Radio Freq." The chorus says "Turn off the radio. Turn off that bullshit."

The 2nd verse is wonderful:

"What's on the radio? propaganda, mind control

and turnin it on is like puttin on a blind-fold

cuz when you're bringin it real you don't get rotation 

unless you take over the station

and yeah i know it's part of THEIR plans

to make us think it's all about party and dance

and yeah it might sound when they're spittin their raps

but in reality, don't nobody live like that...

...platinum don't mean that it gotta be hot

i aint gotta love it, even if they play it a lot

you can hear when you walk the streets

how many people they reach

how they use music to teach

a radio program aint a figure of speech..."

It's wonderful.

The other night I was on my way to Manayunk to play poker (which, by the way, I won) and had the radio on in the car. The song that came on had a title that I forget specifically, but was literally something along the lines of "I'm gonna smash out your windows." The song is a first-person account of a girl whose boyfriend cheated on her, so she got him back by smashing the windows out of his car. The whole time it goes on and on about getting him back. How bad he made her feel and how she's going to "make it hurt" for him is the focal point of the whole song. It speaks in full support of violent revenge (whether physically, verbally, or emtotionally).

Growing up I got a lot of flack for punk bands sounding the same. I understand this. What was frustrating was that the people that condemned me for this were avid supporters of radio music. Go put on your radio, tune it to a top-40 station and tell me how many songs actually sound unique. Today the whole thing is this weird echo sound that's in almost every song. Seriously. Let Daft Punk do their thing, but let it be their thing.

But that's beside the point. The point is that people are hearing songs with lousy messages as soon as they turn on the radio. Put yourself first. Satisfy every urge as quickly as possible. Having money and sex is all that's important. Only criticize your "leaders" when it's trendy and will make you money (see Eminem and Green Day). Nonsense from start to finish.

I understand the idea of it "sounding good" and stuff. But that's pure preference. And another issue. Whether people actually prefer what they're told to prefer is completely debatable.

This could go on and on. Maybe someday I'll write a book. The point is, think about what music is saying. And as is the case with just about everything, when it sounds really great, one should be immediately skeptical as to why. Be critical of what people are trying to sell you. And if it's nonsense, reject it. Don't buy it. Don't pay to see it. For every "artist" you hear on the radio, there are at least 10 (and I'm being painfully ignorant putting it as low as 10, it's probably closer to 1,000) artists you've never heard of that are doing a better and more authentic job at it.

Turn off the radio. Turn off that bullshit.