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Before you go clicking that ban button: I assure you that I am not going to be disrespectful or anything like that. I am merely trying to understand your perspective on things and have an intelligent discussion about this topic. I will not flame or anything like that.
I've been listening to Rock and Roll since I was 3 years old. Since then: I have developed an interest in Heavy Metal and other rock genres such as Progressive. Heavy Metal: I can understand christians having a problem with: Heavy Metal seems to have a problem with christians (That said: That's only the Black\Death Metal subgenre of Metal, the majority of Metal has nothing to do with christianity. Or anything else for that matter), however the only thing Rock and Roll has in common with Metal is that they use electric guitars.
Today: I am a 20 year old university student studying Media Studies. In other words; I'm looking at how the Media effects Society as a whole. This is why other people's perspectives on topics like this one fascinates me.
Firstly: Let's look at the Rock And Roll sound. Half of it is Electric Guitar (Clean\Overdriven or Distorted) and the other half is Acoustic Guitar. It's loud and energising, encouraging people to get up and "Rock out" and have a good time. Drums and Bass are often buried in the mix and are typically only used to support the guitars and vocalist. The Drums are normally a kit of 1 Kickdrum, 1 Snare, 2-4 Toms and 2-4 Cymbals.
Some people complain that the sound itself is offensive. Be it the guitars or the vocals. Personally: I believe that this does not make Rock Music (For the lack of a better word) "evil" to listen to. Merely it is personal preference. There are some vocalists that make me cringe every time they open their mouths to sing: This does not necessarily make him a puppet of sin.
Other people claim that the drums should not be used because pagan tribes used them in their rituals. In my opinion: That's like saying we shouldn't wear clothes because after all: The KKK wore clothes. There is a saying that a rock band is only as good as the drummer and this is true: The drums are pretty much there only to keep the band in time and playing together.
And since I'm a lead guitarist: I cant help taking a stab at bassist. Nobody complains about bassists because after all: Nobody listens to them anyway
There are also claims that the vocalist screaming is not proper. I argue that it's just another technique and can be used amazingly well to express emotion. Personally I hate bands that do nothing but scream (Despite popular misconception: Not every Heavy Metal band has a screaming vocalist) however: A well-placed scream can really make you "feel" the song.
Despite all this; I'd like to point out that these things combined make a sound. That's all it is. Some people find this sound good fun to listen to: Others dont. I wouldn't say that hearing a jackhammer will convert you to satanism or a car driving past will make you think evil thoughts: So what is it about rock music that christians have a problem with?
The only thing left is the lyrics. There's a saying: "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll" which are 3 of the 5 most covered topics of a Rock song (For reference: These are Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll, Love and Nothing).
Now I can understand why people have a problem with Sexual lyrics as some may find them crude. However: This is commonly linked with a love theme.
I do not understand why people have a problem with lyrics concerning drugs. There are just as many rock songs talking about the evils of drug abuse as there are talking about how much fun drugs are. For example: Metallica: Master Of Puppets talks about how drugs can consume and destroy your life. Listening to a song saying "DRUGS ARE GREAT!" is not going to make you go out and buy kilograms of LSD and start a speed lab. My favourite all-time band is Pink Floyd: Their early stuff is some of the most psychadelic stuff you can get and I've never even had a puff of a cigarette.
Lyrics concerning the genre itself are just encouragement for the audience to "get into" the music a bit and have some fun. Be it to dance, air-guitar, headbang, scream along to the lyrics: Whatever. What exactly is wrong with having a song to get the crowd worked up a bit? I've seen a LOT of Baptist churches use the same technique.
There are more songs about love than anything else in the world. Black Sabbath even did a Love song (but they also did a Pro-Christian song. They're as evil as a huntsman spider: Look like they'd eat your soul but are more content to just bum around). God is Love, therefore a smart-aleck could argue that these Love songs are technically worship songs. Regardless: I dont think there's anything wrong with expressing your affection for somebody.
Finally there's songs about absolutely nothing in particular. Look at practically any Deep Purple song or half of System Of A Down's catalogue and then you'll see what I mean. These songs have lyrics just for the sake of having them. I remember an interview with (I think it was...) Zakk Wylde from Black Label Society. The interviewer asked: "Where do you get your ideas for lyrics?" and Mustaine replied: "Lyrics?"
In summary of lyrics: 2 out of the 5 most popular categories that Rock Lyrics are about I can understand people possibly being offended by. However these are only some of the themes. There's also Anti-War, Peace or just flat-out story-telling like Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven. Admittedly there are also themes about hate and intolerance: But let's not deny that a lot of Fundamental Christians promote the hatred of Homosexuals and sometimes Islam.
Despite all that talk about lyrics: There's one quote from the brilliant Frank Zappa which summarises my beliefs on the effect of lyrics. He said:
There are more Love Songs than anything else in the world. If lyrics could make us do anything: We'd all love each other. - Frank Zappa.
In summary: I do not understand why people (mostly christians) find Rock Music the bane of society and the root of all evil. I noticed that this community has a lot of fundamental\hard-core christians on here so I was hoping somebody could explain what it is about rock music that is so evil.
I've been listening to Rock and Roll since I was 3 years old. Since then: I have developed an interest in Heavy Metal and other rock genres such as Progressive. Heavy Metal: I can understand christians having a problem with: Heavy Metal seems to have a problem with christians (That said: That's only the Black\Death Metal subgenre of Metal, the majority of Metal has nothing to do with christianity. Or anything else for that matter), however the only thing Rock and Roll has in common with Metal is that they use electric guitars.
Today: I am a 20 year old university student studying Media Studies. In other words; I'm looking at how the Media effects Society as a whole. This is why other people's perspectives on topics like this one fascinates me.
Firstly: Let's look at the Rock And Roll sound. Half of it is Electric Guitar (Clean\Overdriven or Distorted) and the other half is Acoustic Guitar. It's loud and energising, encouraging people to get up and "Rock out" and have a good time. Drums and Bass are often buried in the mix and are typically only used to support the guitars and vocalist. The Drums are normally a kit of 1 Kickdrum, 1 Snare, 2-4 Toms and 2-4 Cymbals.
Some people complain that the sound itself is offensive. Be it the guitars or the vocals. Personally: I believe that this does not make Rock Music (For the lack of a better word) "evil" to listen to. Merely it is personal preference. There are some vocalists that make me cringe every time they open their mouths to sing: This does not necessarily make him a puppet of sin.
Other people claim that the drums should not be used because pagan tribes used them in their rituals. In my opinion: That's like saying we shouldn't wear clothes because after all: The KKK wore clothes. There is a saying that a rock band is only as good as the drummer and this is true: The drums are pretty much there only to keep the band in time and playing together.
And since I'm a lead guitarist: I cant help taking a stab at bassist. Nobody complains about bassists because after all: Nobody listens to them anyway
There are also claims that the vocalist screaming is not proper. I argue that it's just another technique and can be used amazingly well to express emotion. Personally I hate bands that do nothing but scream (Despite popular misconception: Not every Heavy Metal band has a screaming vocalist) however: A well-placed scream can really make you "feel" the song.
Despite all this; I'd like to point out that these things combined make a sound. That's all it is. Some people find this sound good fun to listen to: Others dont. I wouldn't say that hearing a jackhammer will convert you to satanism or a car driving past will make you think evil thoughts: So what is it about rock music that christians have a problem with?
The only thing left is the lyrics. There's a saying: "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll" which are 3 of the 5 most covered topics of a Rock song (For reference: These are Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll, Love and Nothing).
Now I can understand why people have a problem with Sexual lyrics as some may find them crude. However: This is commonly linked with a love theme.
I do not understand why people have a problem with lyrics concerning drugs. There are just as many rock songs talking about the evils of drug abuse as there are talking about how much fun drugs are. For example: Metallica: Master Of Puppets talks about how drugs can consume and destroy your life. Listening to a song saying "DRUGS ARE GREAT!" is not going to make you go out and buy kilograms of LSD and start a speed lab. My favourite all-time band is Pink Floyd: Their early stuff is some of the most psychadelic stuff you can get and I've never even had a puff of a cigarette.
Lyrics concerning the genre itself are just encouragement for the audience to "get into" the music a bit and have some fun. Be it to dance, air-guitar, headbang, scream along to the lyrics: Whatever. What exactly is wrong with having a song to get the crowd worked up a bit? I've seen a LOT of Baptist churches use the same technique.
There are more songs about love than anything else in the world. Black Sabbath even did a Love song (but they also did a Pro-Christian song. They're as evil as a huntsman spider: Look like they'd eat your soul but are more content to just bum around). God is Love, therefore a smart-aleck could argue that these Love songs are technically worship songs. Regardless: I dont think there's anything wrong with expressing your affection for somebody.
Finally there's songs about absolutely nothing in particular. Look at practically any Deep Purple song or half of System Of A Down's catalogue and then you'll see what I mean. These songs have lyrics just for the sake of having them. I remember an interview with (I think it was...) Zakk Wylde from Black Label Society. The interviewer asked: "Where do you get your ideas for lyrics?" and Mustaine replied: "Lyrics?"
In summary of lyrics: 2 out of the 5 most popular categories that Rock Lyrics are about I can understand people possibly being offended by. However these are only some of the themes. There's also Anti-War, Peace or just flat-out story-telling like Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven. Admittedly there are also themes about hate and intolerance: But let's not deny that a lot of Fundamental Christians promote the hatred of Homosexuals and sometimes Islam.
Despite all that talk about lyrics: There's one quote from the brilliant Frank Zappa which summarises my beliefs on the effect of lyrics. He said:
There are more Love Songs than anything else in the world. If lyrics could make us do anything: We'd all love each other. - Frank Zappa.
In summary: I do not understand why people (mostly christians) find Rock Music the bane of society and the root of all evil. I noticed that this community has a lot of fundamental\hard-core christians on here so I was hoping somebody could explain what it is about rock music that is so evil.
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