The Importance of Music

Music, a cultural expression, a personal outlet to the world. It's all around us, in films, on television, commercials, video games, ringtones, but what is the significance of the music? Can a song change the world? Arguably the greatest song writer of all time, Bob Dylan doesn't think so. In the 60's, protest was the word associated with Dylan and his music, he was deemed the voice of a generation. Since no dramatic eruption of change happened that would mean his protest song's failed, no one likes being a failure, I guess. Unlike Dylan I believe music can change the world.

Song can be used to inform the other wise, ignorant majority of the world. Not inform, the way CNN takes an epic event, and changes it into a seven word sentence that scrolls along the bottom of the screen as to not interrupt Larry King and his ridiculous so called 'interviews'. Musicians make an event or an idea into a song, a prayer, a statement that will be around for thousands of years, not the 8 second clip that news creates.

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” originally by U2 is about The Troubles in Northern Ireland, specifically The Remembrance Day bombing (Enniskillen bombing) when a bomb was detonated by the IRA, a radical Provisional Irish Republican Army, during a Remembrance ceremony honoring those that had died serving the British military . During the filming of Rattle and Hum, U2's frontman Bono says, “ I'm not sure that song should be in the film, Sunday Bloody Sunday, because that day the day of the Enniskillen bombing will soon long since be forgotten. People will not understand the way we felt on stage.” Well Bono's fear has not yet become a reality. To this day that song has been covered by a dozen bands, it has become a protester's anthem, and was even named on Rolling Stone's top 500 songs of all time. Songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” have created an image of 'brothers, sisters, mothers torn apart' by war. It has given people who weren't alive at the time, the chance to relive and learn that horrible day and learn from their mistakes in hopes to not recreate history.

Bob Marley the godfather of all Rastafarian music as we know it today has probably the most love-filled and religious message of all popular musicians. His message reached further than marijuana and the black oppression. As a half-white, half-black man growing up in Jamaica he was faced with a struggle between both races. “I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.” He believed that music could destroy racism and hate. His most important songs such as “One Love” deal with the racists stating ' Let them all pass their dirty remarks.. Is there a place for the hopeless sinner, who has hurt all man kind just to save his own?' His message has stood the test of time and today his son Ziggy Marley continues spreading the message of love and hope for the oppressed.

Music gives the people who aren't born with a silver spoon in their mouth a voice. Where else in history has the son of a Black Panther and a crack head become anything more than another black male in prison. Well with the help of Interscope Records, Tupac Shakur got a chance to tell the rest of America what it was like in the inner city on the west coast. Giving four boys from Liverpool, England a chance to become the best thing since sliced bread, music is the most important part of our modern society. The one aspect of media where people can be truly honest, not being scared of being taken the wrong way. In 50 years people won't be reading our papers or watching our shows, but they sure will be listening to our music, the most honest account of the world as it is today.

John Mayer: Heartbreak Warfare

John Mayer is back, well he was back a few months ago but this album was so great that I thought it was worth saying something about. The 00' guitar god is back with a new album called Heartbreak Warfare. A very touching title but really has nothing to do with the book that the name is derived from, Battle Studies. This album, similar to Kanye's influences for 808's & Heartbreak, some of the most intimate songs John has ever written. This is really the anti-Room For Squares, replacing very juvenile and naive songs like Your Body Is A Wonderland with songs like Friends, Lovers, or Nothing, a song influenced by a song about the struggles of trying to be friends with an ex. Battle Studies being the follow-up album to '06 Continuum, which is considered his biggest accomplishment, is a hard act to follow. This album was dark and daring, hinting at subjects that most celebrities shy away from like getting stoned, forgetting peoples names, having sex with random women just for the hell of it. John Mayer strolling around town, hating paparazzi, flirting with girls in hot-tubs in Mexico, and arguing with Perez Hilton via Twitter, seems like a very distant person than John Mayer the song writer. His lyrics are intense and poetic, lines like "I want you so bad I'll go back on the things I believe, I just said it, I'm scared you'll forget about me." To stay tuned to his usual status as Slowhand Jr. all of John's songs are tuned with experience and rich guitar, getting back to his acoustic roots during a few songs on the album. John Mayer hit the ground running with his first album and single, "Your Body is a Wonderland", so we had to endure that 'poppy' music on radio for a year, well now that year of poppy pain has paid off, with the final result, Battle Studies.

Kanye West: VH1 Storytellers

Kanye West's fifth album, first live album hit stores the 5th of January 2010. After a drunken rant during Mtv's Music Video awards, which are a joke anyways because everyone knows that Mtv doesn't show music videos anymore, Kanye has been crucified by the media and the public ever since. His acting out and outrageous behavior at award shows have defined him more than his music. Vh1's release of his live performance at VH1 studios adds Kanye to a list of amazing artists like Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie, both of whom performed for Vh1 in the earlier years. Storytellers, similar to Mtv's Unplugged, gives artist the chance to descibe the history or inspiration of the songs that made them great.

Kanye's set list consist of five tracks from his latest cd, 808's & Heartbreak along with his Grammy winning Good Life and a few other crowd favorites. 808's & Heartbreak was largely influenced by the death of his mother, after plastic surgery, and the split between him and than fiance designer Alexis Phifer. It features more intimate songs that have been far and few between on his albums.

Armed with a live orchestra, a scratch happy dj, a full band, and an energetic crowd Kanye puts on quite a show. Something that can also be visually experienced with the accompanying DVD that comes in the two disc pack. He acts as a maestro at times during the songs composing, changing the tempo, sound, and arranging instruments.

The albums more suprising moments involve his song RoboCop and his love for comedian Jack Black's band Tenacious D. At one time stating "I know I'm supposed to talk about what these songs mean but some of these songs are so personal. The things I've been through are so real.. Certain things are just hard for me to talk about, certain things are too serious." That really gives the listener a vibe of how honest and painful some of the newer Kanye songs are. His most touching and personal 'rant' during the entire album is during Amazing when he says " I apologize for acting like a d**k at award shows, but its an award show, I mean I didn't kill anyone. I still apologize for my ungraciousness."

This album is a touching addition to Kanye West's already steller list of albums, having three of his four albums on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 00's top albums, along with his beats accompanying Jay-Z's Blueprint album, and two songs on RS's list of top songs of the decade, the future is looking bright for Kanye West in the new decade. A great, honest, revealing, truthful album kicking off the 2010 music year.