Country Music
This afternoon I spent an hour reading the lyrics to what are currently the 40 most popular country songs. I then tried to objectively analyze them for moral content (really, the lack thereof) and compiled the data with Excel. After doing it myself, I would not recommend that anyone else waste their time in the same way!
I really like country music, as a style. I like the sound of acoustic guitars and lyrics sung in the dialect I grew up hearing and speaking. I like the way the male singers rarely try to show off their voice by climbing into the upper registers, which allows me to belt it out in the same octave (contra Boston, Michael Jackson, One Direction, et al. (sorry to anyone offended by those being classed together)). Country music just feels good and makes me feel at home. I think a lot of people, especially in the South, feel the same way.
But over the past year or more, I've started realizing that SOOO many country songs are just filled with garbage. I started paying attention to the lyrics and as a result, frequently found myself having to find another radio station. It's at the point now that in the car I almost exclusively listen to talk radio (here in Auburn, AL, either 106.5 FM or 1400 AM; ESPN and conservative political radio respectively), unless others are riding with me, in which case we usually listen to country, or, I confess, One Direction. :)
But here's the meat of it: the stats which were compiled from the 40 most popular country songs right now. I'll give it to ya straight.
At least 40% included sexual themes.
40% had bad language. I'm only including "cuss" words here.
50% presented drinking and other substance abuse in a good light.
10% glorified illegal activity (You guessed it, speeding and trespassing).
At least 10% presented a very warped or negative view of Christianity. One song generalized good-ole-boys as "Cussing on them Mondays, Praying on them Sundays".
Maybe some "glass-is-half-full" people are still saying, "Hey, that's not too bad. None of the categories is over 50%."
But the cumulative effect is not good: only 27.5% of the 40 most popular country songs this month did not include any overtly objectionable content. In other words, as we listen to country music on the radio, we will be lucky to hear one relatively clean song out of every four songs that are played.
And even that one song is not likely to make us want to be better people, or to develop meaningful relationships or to live morally better lives.
But a few probably do meet that goal. Miranda Lambert's "Automatic" encourages "waiting your turn" and reminisces about the days when "Staying married was the only way to work your problems out". Dierks Bentley's "I Hold On" mentions the way his faith and his mate's love sustain him. He talks about the value of the relationship between a father with his son and pledges fidelity to his mate. Hunter Hayes' "Invisible" is written to a young person who's having to endure feeling like an outcast.
But these were the only three songs out of the 40 which I felt had any significant meaning. If someone's motivation for listening to country music is the desire to hear meaningful songs, they are looking for biscuits in a dumpster.
What is the conclusion? I don't believe all music or entertainment has to be really thought-provoking or motivational. Probably most of the time, we're just wanting to have some fun. But what is the standard? How do we decide whether something is valuable enough to enter our mind, the temple of God? Honestly I have fallen so short in this area. I've been careless and as a result I've been corrupted. Maybe you're there too. We can change. Our "Top 40" doesn't have to be the same as the world's. We can be selective, and we're gonna have to be, even when it comes to individual artists. Miranda Lambert's "Automatic" might be good, but her "Heart Like Mine" presents one of the most off-kilter pictures of Jesus imaginable.
Here's the Holy Spirit's will for us:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." -Philippians 4:8
I really like country music, as a style. I like the sound of acoustic guitars and lyrics sung in the dialect I grew up hearing and speaking. I like the way the male singers rarely try to show off their voice by climbing into the upper registers, which allows me to belt it out in the same octave (contra Boston, Michael Jackson, One Direction, et al. (sorry to anyone offended by those being classed together)). Country music just feels good and makes me feel at home. I think a lot of people, especially in the South, feel the same way.
But over the past year or more, I've started realizing that SOOO many country songs are just filled with garbage. I started paying attention to the lyrics and as a result, frequently found myself having to find another radio station. It's at the point now that in the car I almost exclusively listen to talk radio (here in Auburn, AL, either 106.5 FM or 1400 AM; ESPN and conservative political radio respectively), unless others are riding with me, in which case we usually listen to country, or, I confess, One Direction. :)
But here's the meat of it: the stats which were compiled from the 40 most popular country songs right now. I'll give it to ya straight.
At least 40% included sexual themes.
40% had bad language. I'm only including "cuss" words here.
50% presented drinking and other substance abuse in a good light.
10% glorified illegal activity (You guessed it, speeding and trespassing).
At least 10% presented a very warped or negative view of Christianity. One song generalized good-ole-boys as "Cussing on them Mondays, Praying on them Sundays".
Maybe some "glass-is-half-full" people are still saying, "Hey, that's not too bad. None of the categories is over 50%."
But the cumulative effect is not good: only 27.5% of the 40 most popular country songs this month did not include any overtly objectionable content. In other words, as we listen to country music on the radio, we will be lucky to hear one relatively clean song out of every four songs that are played.
And even that one song is not likely to make us want to be better people, or to develop meaningful relationships or to live morally better lives.
But a few probably do meet that goal. Miranda Lambert's "Automatic" encourages "waiting your turn" and reminisces about the days when "Staying married was the only way to work your problems out". Dierks Bentley's "I Hold On" mentions the way his faith and his mate's love sustain him. He talks about the value of the relationship between a father with his son and pledges fidelity to his mate. Hunter Hayes' "Invisible" is written to a young person who's having to endure feeling like an outcast.
But these were the only three songs out of the 40 which I felt had any significant meaning. If someone's motivation for listening to country music is the desire to hear meaningful songs, they are looking for biscuits in a dumpster.
What is the conclusion? I don't believe all music or entertainment has to be really thought-provoking or motivational. Probably most of the time, we're just wanting to have some fun. But what is the standard? How do we decide whether something is valuable enough to enter our mind, the temple of God? Honestly I have fallen so short in this area. I've been careless and as a result I've been corrupted. Maybe you're there too. We can change. Our "Top 40" doesn't have to be the same as the world's. We can be selective, and we're gonna have to be, even when it comes to individual artists. Miranda Lambert's "Automatic" might be good, but her "Heart Like Mine" presents one of the most off-kilter pictures of Jesus imaginable.
Here's the Holy Spirit's will for us:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." -Philippians 4:8
These labels that they give you just 'cause they don't understand
If you look past this moment, you'll see you've got a friend
Waving a flag, for who you are, and all you're gonna do
Yeah, here's to you and here's to anyone who's ever felt invisible
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/invisible-lyrics-hunter-hayes.html#qpKClWxGWXK4gPHs.99
If you look past this moment, you'll see you've got a friend
Waving a flag, for who you are, and all you're gonna do
Yeah, here's to you and here's to anyone who's ever felt invisible
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/invisible-lyrics-hunter-hayes.html#qpKClWxGWXK4gPHs.99
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