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May 29, 2004 A long time ago, in a land seemingly far, far away from the America we all have come to know now, music was all about the specific notes put to meaningful lyrics; about the feeling you had cruising down the street with all your friends, blasting your favorite song; about that night you spent under the moonlight with your high school sweetheart while a velvet-throated crooner sang the only things needed to be said. Somewhere along the line, however, we became more enraptured with things that needed to stay far away from record sales. Suddenly, it is more important what Britney Spears wore to the awards show last week, about the cool "IT" haircut that the Strokes are sporting, about being labeled a "punk", "goth", "emo" or any other of the thousands of social prisons we create for ourselves by excluding others, or lifting ourselves to a higher platform, because of what is in our CD player. What happened to that magical time when nobody cared how many underground-imported- special edition CD's you owned? When you were a fan just for the love of the sound from your speakers, and not from the clothes you have to wear? We have trapped ourselves in these walls of fashion trends, gossip columns, and haughty attitudes that somehow got attached to the music industry like a blood-sucking leech. Records sales depend no longer on quality of songs, but by how much controversy an artist can stir up, or how many new looks they can generate. To the naked eye, these problems seem to only hit the wallets of American youth as we squander every penny of our paycheck to buy high- priced punk gear, claiming individuality, as we buy it from a mass-produced Fortune 500 company. We preach anarchy, when most kids don't realize the true aspects of the claim. But it effects so much deeper in mainstream society. Kids are being forced even more to hide who they truly are, afraid of being ridiculed or singled out when they are a fan of a less than popular/underground band. Teens have made new orders of cliques and exclusion to make the already difficult task of adolescence even more of a trek. What the youth of America doesn't realize, is that society exists only as an illusion; there are only individuals, no matter how part of a group or scene they seem a part of. No longer is it daring to listen to hardcore music, or wear outrageous clothes; now it is even more unusual to find a teen with a sense of self, with an aura of individuality in our new cookie-cutter version of music fandom. I dare every teen out there to step out of the crowd, even for a day, and realize that it is more about enjoying what you listen to than it is what you wear. That sex may sell, but it doesn't make what is being sold any better. That no matter what kind of trends the future may bring, being yourself and being true to what's in your heart will always be controversial in the self-strengthening way it deserves to be. Forget the haircuts. Forget the clothes. Make a new soundtrack to your life you're proud to listen to. ------------ About the author: Megan Turner is a twenty-year-old writer and graphic artist from Salt Lake City, Utah. When she's not busy with her creative work, she enjoys saving the world from a zombie apocalypse, watching cartoons and eating macaroni and cheese. You can find her most current writings at her online archive, Not Breathing (http://www.notbreathing.org) Email: ravyn_ryan@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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