Saturday, March 31, 2012

American Music's Idol

I was listening to an eclectic music mix in the car today, and I guess I was in a philosophical frame of mind, because I suddenly found myself thinking about the focus and worldview of different types of music. It's a fascinating thing to think about while driving!

The focus of most modern music is ourselves or other people. Think about a typical love song. The lyrics usually talk about how amazing the main character's love interest is, and then transition to talking about how sad they are because they can't be together, something has negatively affected their relationship, etc. Other lyrics speak of how the main character "needs" his or her love interest, how they'll "only be happy when we're together," and so on. This kind of attitude and worldview tends to cause listeners to focus on other people for fulfillment and happiness in life. This does not make love songs evil. I believe that these kind of emotions and desires have been given to us by God, and that there are legitimate situations for these kinds of things. However, the fact that there are so many love songs and ballads being written every day is evidence that our culture has made relationships and "love" into an idol. We have set these things up as the ultimate fulfillment, instead of God. I enjoy listening to some of these types of songs, but if I listen to too many "lonely" or "unfulfilled" love songs I start to get lonely and think that maybe I need some kind of romantic relationship to make me truly happy. It's amazing how much music can affect your mind and worldview, even temporarily.

Writing songs that focus on people is not bad in and of itself. It only becomes a problem when we put people and relationships above God.

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