Commercial Radio Stations, The End of Civilisation?
This is not as stupid a question as it first appears. At least, not if you think that music is important. I believe that music is one of the foundations of society. It predated written communication and probably the spoken word. Rhythm and melody is with us before we are born. Babies in the womb respond to music. They respond to the rhythms of the heartbeat of their mothers. We assimilate basic rhythms as we grow up, music becomes part of us.
Our lives are dominated by sounds and music almost as much as they are by light and images. We pay musicians and singers a fortune to use their skills and talents to reflect and sometimes change our lives. Well, some of them get paid a fortune. In history balladeers were feted and valued, and this is how it should be. Music has developed from the streets be it Blues, rock and roll, Punk, Folk etc. In the modern world there is a disease. It is that growing and spreading scourge of all thinking human beings, disposable, irrelevant, musical pap.
Bubblegum for the ears has always been around. One of the main culprits responsible for the growth of this rubbish has been the MOR commercial radio stations. These radio stations use music is the filler between inane quizzes and adverts. These stations provide a diet of extended jingles and tell us that it is music. They demand shorter tracks to play, they ignore any music that may make us think (they do not want us to do that). They ignore any music that may make us upset. Their prime requirement is to have a safe platform for their adverts.
Music, real music, must challenge and excite. The purpose of music, of all art, is to reflect, challenge and change. The growth and development of civilisation goes hand in hand with questioning. One of the prime sources of that questioning is music. Real music exists but it is under threat from the dumbing down of the broadcast media. That way lies the end of civilisation as we know it.
Phil’s British Heart Foundation Donation – you know it makes sense
1 Comment
I do like the bubble music. It provides a moment of trivial entertainment. However, I agree with you that we need the classical forms which have been born within the time period and through people who wish to convey their strong opinions/thoughts. I am one who loves the wide variety of music to be heard. I think we still have many great composers within Rock and Roll, Country, Rap, Rhythm, Blues, even some Metal. It’s too bad we cannot have strictly highly talented composers played on the radio. In any case, if I don’t particularly like a song, I ignore it. I have a tendency to listen to internet radio stations and I pick and choose what I really want to listen to. Commercials are just the financial end of the keeping themselves up and running.