Literally made me lol, dangerous music haha.
Fucking hell! What a hilarious piece of crap that article is...where did you find it? I can only really guess at the real intentions of this without the context of its source.
Sadly it could be a religious pamphlet - or equally plausible, one of our high quality Australian newspapers nowadays.
It sounds like the sort of study commissioned by a fringe interest group, cult, or simply something to print on a slow news day.
What about this:
Hank Williams died of an overdose of chloral hydrate, alcohol and a shot of morphine (administered by a phony doctor) in the back of of his chauffeur driven Cadillac on New Year's Day
1953!
Drawing a conclusion that people will listen to his music and live a similar life of pain an sorrow - of heartbreak and alcohol abuse - would be a big stretch.
Sure, some folk
may have gone down that road, but to blame the music ignores all the people that enjoy it for what it is - music!
Hank's music is some of the darkest, most sorrowful music I've heard to this very day - but the nature of art is that you see in it what you will. There is joy and excitement there too.
Careful - it might increase your heart rate - like
sex and
drugs - everybody just stay calm!
This is nothing new, it's just ludicrous bunch of wild assumptions that have been bandied around for
decades - be it in the media regarding a local rave scene, some kind of metal or a fucking art exhibition depicting representations of the human body or something - and someone always has to take offence at it; unfortunately these people oddly seem to have a nationally syndicated column - or a religious congregation of furious letter-writers.
Whatever gets ratings, I guess. Or parishioners through the doors...
The subtleties of contemporary music styles are clearly lost on the researchers - at least the as the article makes out.
Just as (white) parents were outraged at 1920s jazz, Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed (may he rest in peace), Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, the Sex Pistols, the Dead Kennedys, NWA, Marilyn Manson or whatever - in their respective times - some people are going to grow up and be
horrified at what the kiddies are listening to!
It's just an annoying cliche now though - how many of the original punks or ravers must have grandchildren by now?
If you're one of these concerned parents, I would recommend subtly introducing any of those bands I just listed into your children's lives at appropriate times - well, the Elvis is up to you, but there is so much good music parents can turn their kids onto. Rather than say "no hard trance" "no death metal" - show them something they might appreciate.
If it's too late, then maybe you missed your chance Music can be a really powerful art form, and there are songs, performers - and I guess
sounds that evoke childhood memories; and I treasure this music; but I also really get off on loud, wild, hectic music.
My taste is dictated by mood - not the other way around!!
Some of what i enjoy with my folks happens to be "relaxing" or sedate - but these can also be tales of pain and heartbreak. More so than a grinding noise track or punk rock racket; it's so subjective.
Are they serious in suggesting that;
a) depressing music
causes depression? this is so logically flawed.
b) people will actually start listening strictly to music suggested by their
physician. (seriously???)
c) people will actually start listening strictly to music dictated by their parents! if we're talking the kinds of kids with "uncool" (or percieved uncool) parents,
forget it! (I know plenty of super cool parents - my own certainly weren't [to me], but we have a handful of musical tastes in common) but people will enjoy what they enjoy. Lots of parents into so-called "dangerous music" end up with kids who listen to the complete opposite. In other cases they all party together.
The idea that we start telling anyone what sort of music they should listen to for "health" reasons is just silly.
This is like a weird 80s Tipper Gore/Nancy Reagan flashback nightmare.
I agree that there is some dangerously shit music being peddled to the kids these days, but these people need to face the facts; the corporate "music industry" has been dying an unpleasant death for the past decade, people either dig what's presented to them or seek out alternatives. Or both, or whatever. The Internet makes accessing practically
any music possible.
If you're worried about the music your kids might be listening to - or your friends - you can
try to engage with them, try to find some common ground. But people will like what they like; trying to forcefully change that - with such laughable arguments and conclusions - is just bizarre.
Almost every social change of note - be it in arts, human societies, foods and/or drugs consumed - has been met with some kind of resistance or shock (be it genuine or media generated) but surely we've grown up as a culture to see the futility in trying to direct people to consume the media they consider "healthy".
Jazz music had a fairly extended era of being considered wicked - turning people mad - and making people overtly sexual - a hundred years ago. It doesn't seem so shocking to people any more - there are new folkdevils!
I might not think much of a lot of the music pushed by the (few remaining) big labels - auto tuned, generic, derivative or whatever it happens to be - but the idea of telling people what music they should be listening to ought to be left to music press IMHO.