Fashionable Hatred in Music
Five years ago, fusion rap rock was the trend. Ten years ago, metal was mainstream. What, you may ask, is today's trend? It seems that more and more bands are turning to a new, progressive message. Bands like Green Day, System of a Down, and even Nine Inch Nails are playing into this new style. But, is the style really new?
There are people still alive today who should remember the fundamentalist actions of young people in the 1960s. Even youth born in the 1980s (like myself) remember the timeless tagline "War, what is it good for?" Perhaps a general disagreement with our government has been inborn in us since that time or before.
Wait, now: Isn't it our right to protest our leaders? Didn't our forefathers die for that right, among others? As much as people turn a blind eye to what youngsters believe, it is our choice to believe such things.
Green Day's new album American Idiot is an example of this. The song “Holiday” explicitly portrays our "Superpower Complex" attitude toward all that oppose us. The rest of the CD is laced with expletives and statements against those who govern us.
Another example is System of a Down (SOAD). Who better to protest than a progressive rock band with a lead vocalist who is from the Middle East ? SOAD has been making statements since their first album in 1998. This year, SOAD has release two studio albums, Mesmerize and Hypnotize. The second single from Mesmerize, called “BYOB” (Bring Your Own Bombs), features a repeating chorus of "Why do they always send the poor?" The first single from Hypnotize, called “Hypnotize,” asks, "Why don't you ask the kids at Tiananmen Square. Was fashion the reason why they were there?" It would seem that “Hypnotize” and this article have similar purposes.
MTV prides itself in its Video Music Awards (VMAs) every year. This year, they decided not to allow Nine Inch Nails (NIN) to do a set of The Hand That Feeds in front of a clean, unaltered backdrop of our president. Instead, the Foo Fighters were called in to play the spot. NIN hasn't always been so political, but front man Trent Reznor has recently become fed up with the current state of affairs in our government. I personally never expected Reznor to make such a statement, but I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.
It hasn't always been easy to know where musicians' loyalties lie. Nowadays, could it be fashionable to hate the government? Was this trend brought on by the blunders of those entrusted to protect and lead us? Or is it just the natural procession of freedom that we should stand up against the walls of tyranny? Either way, this situation is one of the hazards of a free nation. We pride ourselves on personal freedoms and try to impress those values on other nations which don’t enjoy them. It is my opinion that peaceable exercises like demonstrating our distrust through artistic mediums like music is the best way to have a voice without harming anyone. At least we don’t take to the streets, burn buildings, and hang people when we don’t think something is right. Well, not anymore…
