What's in the music

Much like the car we drive, or how we do our hair, it is said that music says the same about us.

Music gives us a sense of identity and belonging, creating common grounds between you and the other supporters of the same bands and singers. However over the years, it has become too easy to get any kind of music imagined, which is now taken for granted. Gone are the days of the Walkman, where you would listen to a CD entirely, now we flick through our iPods from song to song, artist to artist, in a matter of minutes.

Along with the status over which genres and bands are popular, this too is always changing. As Levy explains that people define themselves and are judged by what they listen to. With explicit images and themes in music videos, this too is changing our ideas of music. The rise of YouTube has created these aspects which are more heavily weighted now, than ever. People have started judging music by what they see, and the value of music and lyrics has dwindled. Young girls are singing along to music like Rihanna’s- S & M song, yet not understanding truly what they’re singing, view video here(warning MA15+) . So if they are listening to this kind of music, does this still then reflect their identity and beliefs too?

Losing attention faster and faster, this is the ‘Net generation’, as society is trying to keep up by delivering what they want, in some situations it seems not always for the best.



References
Levy, S. (2006). The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture and Coolness, New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 21-41.

Singh, M. (2008). Bollywood's Viral Video in Time International(Canada Edition), Vol. 171, Issue 14.

YouTube Video, S & M by Rihanna, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=452JBsXCqfM.