Essay about Music in This Generation

Submitted By burdettee
Words: 1872
Pages: 8
Open Document
Elizabeth BUrdette

Music can definitely be a beautiful thing; it has the power to truly influence our outlook on life. In my generation, music is a huge part of our daily lives. It can be heard in stores, on TV, on the computer, and just around everywhere else we can go. The lyrics we are exposed to can vary to getting drunk each night to having existential worries. What makes a band like the Beatles influential enough to last through many generations of music? They are timeless groups that have influenced the generations that followed in more ways than music. These influential groups change our way of thinking through their lyrical abilities by going against the norm. The rhetoric of these lyrics strikes us at a greater level than the lyrics of a more forgettable band. I would argue that the postmodern band Modest Mouse should be seen as one of these said influential bands because of their use of lyrics. I will be using the rhetoric and postmodern paradigms to back up my claim. I will analyze how their lyrics transfer meaning and what sets them apart from the “normal” bands. If we as a culture were constantly being exposed to music with a greater meaning, music would play an even more vital part of our lives. We would be exposed to things our brain would never have been exposed to otherwise. From a communication perspective, analyzing the rhetoric from a postmodern band like this could be a benefit in being able to analyze other postmodern works. It would also be much easier in decoding the rhetoric behind other musical or literary works. The first PARAGRAPH I will be focusing on is the postmodern paradigm. The problem of postmodernism is that it does not have a solid definition. As “The postmodern in music” by James Wierzbicki puts it, “’Postmodern’ is an elusive concept that embraces a wide range of critical theories and attitudes.” Postmodernism can be seen as the opposite of modernism though. While modernism is more serious and linear, postmodernism is a more playful and random art. One thing that can be sure about postmodernism is that it takes old and puts a new twist on things. I believe Modest Mouse would fit this postmodern category because most of their songs involve taking classic sayings or themes and adding their own twists to them. I would describe most of their songs as artistic social commentary. My first example would be their song “Gravity Rides Everything”. I believe the message of their song is very postmodern in saying that we shouldn’t let life worry us and that everything will work out in the end. “And on spilt milk, sex, and weight; It all will fall, fall right into place”. This line sums up the theme of the whole song. The song is putting a twist on the music industry by going against the mainstream messages. The band is using double coding by hoping that we have heard these main stream songs that are all about “sex and weight”. Artists like Taylor Swift, Adele, and Kelly Clarkson highlight the necessity for relationships, but this song is telling us to not worry ourselves on the little things and life will work itself out. For example, Kelly Clarkson’s song “My Life Would Suck without You” gives the message that we should find someone to become emotionally dependent on because we need another person to find meaning in our lives. As Christopher Butler puts it in his book “Postmodernism – A Very Short Introduction”, postmodern work “resists the master narrative of modernism, and the authority of high art which modernism itself takes from the past, and it worries about its own language” (Bulter 64). In this sense Modest Mouse resists using the same message as the more “popular” bands and just worries about writing about what they want. As I’ve said before, the band relies on our knowledge of society to effectively make these social commentaries. The song “Guilty Cocker Spaniels” is another perfect example of their social commentary. The song talks about “exchanging comfort for more
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Music in This Generation

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Grunge Music Grunge Essay

Grunge Music Grunge music is the most controversial types of music. There are many people who love it, and many people who dislike it.my older brother who grew up in the 90’s is a huge fan, whereas my mom who grew up in the 70’s, not so much a fan. My mom, Shelly, was born in 1968. She grew up with, and was exposed to lots of earlier forms of rock. She listened to lots of stuff like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Janis Joplin. During the 70’s time period many controversial things where taking place…

Words 370 - Pages 2

Essay on Music Progression

Banning music for the purpose of enforcing morality is called Music Censorship. Banning or censorship of popular music began in early 40s to about the 70s with the progression of Rock and Roll and R&B. Music inspires a form of emotion that at a simple level helps to provide amusement and the power to cause major innovations in culture. Music’s influence frightens some individuals that are scared of the change to morals and attitudes. Censoring of music has made a form of expression banned. Some…

Words 899 - Pages 4

Edm Research Paper

Electronic Dance Music or Electronic Death Music? As our generation grows older with technology continuously evolving, we drift into a futuristic world with no limits on creativity. Since the dawn of human time, our very ancestors developed the first type of music with their “modern technologies”. This development of music has paved the way for many different new genres throughout history. Each generation has an identity and this identity can be found in the music made by each generation. From the…

Words 1712 - Pages 7

Generation Y Research Paper

Generation Y Everyday there seems to be something new in our lives, it could be from the newest flavor of coffee to the newest technology device.Generations are what embrace new products, bring new attitudes, personalities and much more to the world.Generation Y(Gen. Y), which is also known as the Millennial Gen.,is the generation that I am part of, it includes people that were born approximately from the 1980’s to 2000. Gen.Y is viewed in negative ways by older generations nevertheless,also has…

Words 1368 - Pages 6

Dont stop the Pop Essay

Don’t Stop the Pop We all belong to this global city called the world. Change and progress are taking place in all domains and music is one of those. The music entertainment industry is playing a major role in this revolution. The youth of today should be exposed to all genres of music instead of being forced to listen to only one genre. We are desperately in need of a democratic culture whereby each and every individual has freedom of opinion. Pop music is one of those genres that has positively…

Words 1584 - Pages 7

Two Generations Essay

Two Generations Throughout history the generations of elders and teens have, it seems, always been at dispute. Whether it is music, fashion, or the way you behave both generations have evolved into their own style. So how much have these two generations changed? When you look at it both generations have not changed that much, in some areas they are the same and in others they have drastically developed. Music is an important part of teenage fundamentals. The taste of each generation varies…

Words 391 - Pages 2

Essay about Anjali Bhakta

Anjali Bhakta Engl.305/306 12-2-‘14 Rapping Nasty Music should be censored because the profanity in it models children to use fowl language and goes against people’s moral values and religion. Context Music mainly concerock, metal, hip hop and rap genres are constantly under controversy because of their lyrics which regularly contain either sexual, violent, racist or offensive language. While arguers claim that it is unsuitable for the general public, observing that it has the potential…

Words 653 - Pages 3

Analysis Of The Lost Art Of Listening Anna Goldsworthy

classical music. She claims that classical music is becoming irrelevant in today’s society. The minimal number of those who enjoy classical music are senior citizens. They outnumber the number of young adults, who enjoy the classical music. Her argument was very valid and I agree with her statements. Classical music is considered outdated and is taken for granted. Insomniacs or newly blessed parents listen to classical music in hopes for a night of rest without any interruptions. “Music wants to be…

Words 536 - Pages 3

Essay on Music: Music and Younger Generation

My choice of music is Changes by Tupac Shukar; Compsed by Shock G. This song is about him trying to make changes in his life. The message that he is relaying is that it is hard growing up poor and black and commenting on the fact that the police does not seem to particularly care one way or another what happens within the black community. The song also mentions how he was considering suicide as a viable option to the hell hole and that his life had become surrounded by drugs and gangs. Changes…

Words 622 - Pages 3

The Politics Of Self-Construction In Status-Based Social Movements

“Are You an African?” The Politics of Self-Construction in Status-Based Social Movements. Summary: This article specifically states that they are speaking upon the issue of social movements. The realism that they only influence negative imagines to the generation. Instead of spending time sending bad images try to make the next generation knows this is the right way to live life truthfully. This why the authors speak about how there are two different types of social movements. The first is an offshoot…

Words 696 - Pages 3