? Kenny Chang Oh if only that were the case.
You can e-mail Kenny at kchang@media.ucla.edu, but
he’ll probably be staring wistfully out the window wishing he had
some rock star’s life.
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I wish today?s story could be more merry and cheerful, but oh
well. Someone once told me that we are what makes society, oh wait
… that?s obvious. Let me rephrase this: someone once told me that
society and our surroundings influence and make us.
When I turn on the radio today, I hear a lot of atrocious filth.
Don?t get me wrong ? it?s not all atrocious filth. I enjoy
crap-rock, er, rap-rock as much as the next guy ? hopefully the
next guy hates it ? but a large portion of music and the music
industry?s image today bothers me.
Now I?m not much on morals and ethics ? come on, look at my
lecherous picture ? but this does seem to be a dominant problem. I
don?t want to sound like an angry mother, or a militant whatever,
but we do attend a ?higher education? institute and I guess we
shouldn?t allow apathy to run rampant. (Get it? I used ?I guess?
when speaking of apathy. It?s some sort of contradictory literary
device, I think).
Since I don?t have a defined standard of morals, I?ll just base
my arguments on a predefined set ? the seven deadly sins, made
popular by the David Fincher film ?Se7en,? and the Parson?s Tale
from ?The Canterbury Tales.? Buy them today.
First, sloth. Remember the popular Afroman tune, ?Because I Got
High?? Lots of high school and junior high kids got a kick out of
this song because they thought they were badasses for smoking pot
every once in a while. Indifference is the way of the future and
the only way out of a general malaise, isn?t it?
Second, wrath. A lot of gangster rap songs come to mind, those
being ?Hit ?em Up,? by Tupac, and ?Dre Day,? by Dr. Dre. Wonderful
tunes about killing old ?homies,? having sex with others? wives,
all a wonderful frolic through the underbelly of anger. Makes me
want to kill someone.
Then there?s greed. Hmm, where to begin? I guess an appropriate
tune would be ?I Want it All,? by Warren G. ?I want it all ? money,
fast cars, diamond rings, gold chains and champagne … Shit, every
damn thing? in that song is teeming with the wants of all the
horrendous burdens of material possessions. Damn, I want it
all.
Fourth and fifth go hand in hand. They deal with pride and
gluttony, the pretentiousness and overindulgence of our wonderful
musical artists as the leaders that help define our culture. I
don?t need to bring up any particular songs, but when an artist
uses their name more than three times in a song, or act like some
sort of Golden God, they seem to have some complex with themselves.
And let?s not forget about the whole ?bling, bling? dominating
hip-hop today. When people have platinum teeth, a certain Jaws
(Richard Kiel) from the James Bond films ?Moonraker? and ?The Spy
Who Loved Me,? comes to mind ? an unquestionably attractive quality
(syke).
Bringing up sixth, there?s envy, and songs like Rick
Springfield?s ?Jessie?s Girl,? and Three Doors Down?s ?Be Like
That? help give a nice wrap up of wanting your friend?s girlfriend
and starstruck fans. This, in addition to all the R&B songs
that deal with wanting girls that are taken, help promote the
wonderful ideals of longing for things we can?t have.
Ahh, last and certainly not least, lust. Do I even need to say
anything? Alright, I will. Sex sells. Sweating, dancing, grinding,
semi-naked girls sell. The excellent standards set for today?s
youth will create a whole generation of sweaty-palmed,
anxiety-filled males, lusting for the low-riding-pants blonde
bombshells that all try to emulate their heroes on the music
videos.
The best part is that it?s all ?entertainment.? It?s not meant
to be taken seriously, but as something to listen to while you?re
driving in your car. Of course, it will have no influence on you,
nor will it affect your speech, way of thinking, or anything
significant. But, has anyone ever really listened to what this
?entertainment? is saying?
Well, if you?ll excuse me, now I (KCeezy) has got to go and kill
an ex-friend, take his girlfriend, dump my girlfriend (or better
yet, not), miss classes, not finish this article (because I got
high), get some bling, and walk around pretentiously because I?m a
Golden God. Fo? sheezy my neezy.