Yes

by Riley Johnson III

Created on: January 22, 2010

I would argue not only has American rock music created a negative affect in societies worldwide it has also served as a means to promote dangerous attitudes.  You have to look no further than punk rock music in the late seventies to see what I am talking about.  English bands such as the Sex Pistols got their start idolizing American music.  From the old R&B to the Ramones, American music galvanized the bands in London.

The results were a marketing dream and a nightmare of violence, fueled by pent up frustration, drugs and alcohol.  The mastermind behind the Pistols was Malcolm McLaren, a London based businessman who discovered the New York Dolls, a New York band that mainly dressed in drag.  McLaren completely admits to promoting the chaos that surrounded all of his projects.

The rock music industry routinely exploits situations such as what was happening in England during the mid to late seventies.  High unemployment and the basic lack of trust young people had in their government provided a fertile environment for McLarento launch a band that based it's entire approach on anarchy.  Call it English punk rock but it definitely had its root in American rock. The message was based entirely on hate.  The band members were poor and preached violence towards those who had any sort of wealth.  The cash rolled in.

This sort of social upheaval has occurred repeatedly in history but what is different here is musicians deliberately using their message to make money.  They can disguise it any way they want.  They can attend a million charity events.  At the end of the day, if you take away their drugs and endless supply of women they are going to quit and find something else to do.

Neil Young was possibly the only musician of the sixties era who seemed to care people were dying from heroin overdoses and that was after one of his close friends died.  Members of the Momma and the Papas actively promoted the use of LSD.  We all know the terrible story of John Phillips and what he did to his own daughter for years.  David Crosby deserves an entire book on his indiscretions but he has spent a career "advising" the American people on what they have been doing wrong.  Needless to say this is not the message society at large should get from musicians who claim to speak for their generation.

The Haight Asbury scene, which has been looked to as a model of musical freedom and love for many years, was never nothing more than a group of junkies living hand to mouth in conditions that would make post earthquake Haiti look civilized.  Unfortunately, these junkies got their direction from rich rock stars.  One sad note: George Harrison visited the Haight Asbury area in the late sixties and was appalled with the poverty level of the "junkies".  Ironically, these junkies were only following the message Harrison was preaching.  LSD was the way to englightenment.  At least, if you were a rich rock star.  These fans were, well, "junkies".  To his credit I do believe Harrison eventually stopped using LSD but it was after the damage had been done.

That is the way it has worked for years. Rock stars act like they have no responsibility for their actions or the lyrics to the songs they write.  As long as the money flows everything is alright.

Hip Hop is one of the new offenders. This particular genre has its roots in the same R&B that influenced every other form of rock music. The lyrics for these songs are typically about drugs, murder, lawlessness, hate and general violence.  There is really nothing new here.  The whole genre is about how much money you can make and how fast it can be spent.

Heavy Metal, and now Death Metal, preaches the destruction of everything.  Death, the occult and Satan worship are all part of the product they are selling to our youth.  At a time when these kids need a positive role model they get an introduction to Lucifer and how cool it is to kill.

This is the way the whole rock music scene has operated for years.  Sure, every big name performer will show up in Europe for a concert to combat global warming.  Their means of transportation is usually a private jet.  They rarely ride together.  Of course I'm a criminal for driving an SUV.

The concern I have as a parent and as a citizen is somewhere out there in some small poverty stricken country there is a ten or twelve year old little girl who only knows America from what she has heard from Jay Z.  At the moment she hears his music she has been given one more obstacle in a world of obstacles she can never hope to overcome.

If these rich rock stars actually made something of their lives it might be a different story but most of the time they just end up dead from drugs or suicide.  This is the message the children of the world hears.  I wonder what kind of world it would be if rock musicians actually cared more about their audience than their audience's money.

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