By Josh Williams

Two decades ago, the world of music was a completely different landscape. Instead of computers controlling what music sounded like, and instead of creating catchy lyrics that have the sole purpose of making people dance, music had meaning. Real people played real instruments and made real music. Compare this to what people listen to today and you might be shocked. It is hard to take an artist seriously when one of her lyrics is: “Moving my hips like yeah!” No offense to Miley Cyrus, but exactly how does one move their hips like yeah? What does that even mean? Although I have to admit that this song, and its many other white noise brothers and sisters, is catchy, music has lost its meaning.

In generations past, many artists sought to attach meaning to the words that they so passionately sang. This was especially prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s, when many bands sang protest against the Vietnam War. Bands such as The Beatles sang about peace and love, imploring all who listened to give up their hatred for others and to try to live in a more peaceful world. It sounds like The Beatles had the right idea of how to live. In their music there was no war, fighting or inequality – just what they would call love. Black Sabbath, although not as peaceful as The Beatles, released a song called “War Pigs” in 1970. It told of leaders who made war because they knew that others would do the fighting for them. Listening to all of these lyrics and how deep their meanings are, I cannot help but to miss the time in which music still had meaning.

Also, today’s music relies almost heavily upon audio effects and technology. Artists such as Ke$ha and Lady Gaga, along with other contemporary bands, have background music that is created using a computer. Bands of the past created their music from the instruments they played. Only a few still do that today. No one could rival Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass guitar, and no one even compared to Neil Peart from Rush on drums. This differs from today, when almost all background music derives from a computer.

All this being said, not all aspects of contemporary music are bad. Lady Gaga has been No. 1 in record sales for a reason: Her music is good. The fact that it comes from a computer – and that she wears odd clothing – is not necessarily a negative thing because her genre of music is made mainly from computers. Plus, these songs are extremely fun to cut a rug to. And not all current bands are completely techno either. Artists such as Wolfmother, Kings of Leon, Mumford & Sons – all of these bands have talented musicians who play real instruments. The only complaint is this: Music is power. Our music empowers us. When our music is fake, what does that say about us?

Let’s keep it real in the world of music.