I don't think anyone should see any performer peeing or pooping on stage, let alone in public; it's indecent and disrespectful to both oneself and others. I remember seeing somewhere on the internet that the heavy metal band Rage Against The Machine once stood onstage completely nude, with their penises showing. I really don't think they should have been allowed to do that.
I also think that decency and respect have fallen by the wayside in recent years within the music business. Many of these musical acts tend to rely on shock value and controversy in order to see their records, and I'm sick of it. I think it's rude, but many seem to think it's cool to curse in your lyrics and talk about sex, drugs, and alcohol. While music started shedding its innocence back in the 1960s, using blatant shock value in music began in the 1980s. Back in the old days, "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" was a common saying, but today, sex, drugs, and alcohol are permeated throughout all genres of music today, to varying degrees; in fact, sex and drugs do not seem to be as close with rock music as it was in the past, instead moving on other genres. I suppose now the new saying should be "sex, drugs, alcohol, and music in general." I still don't get why the music business even supports this trash; sure, it sells, but still. (I should also note that there is a distinct difference between "industry" and "business," which was originally noted by sociologist Thorstein Veblen; "industry" is about inventing new things that improves our quality of life, whereas "business" is solely about making money, and of course, money is the root of all evil. I learned this in a recent sociology class that I took last semester, named Development of Sociological Theory; as I also previously noted in one of my earlier posts in this thread, Thorstein Veblen also coined the term conspicuous consumption to refer to spending large amounts of money on lavish, extravagant possessions, and then flaunting those possessions, which many recording artists, as well as other celebrities and big-money businesspeople, tend to engage in today.)
Another thing I've noticed about today's music is that it's not about how good you can actually sing; rather, it's what you sing about (specifically, the lyrics you write) that determines your popularity. This is not to say that those who resort to this are untalented; they do have some singing ability (if they really couldn't sing at all, they wouldn't even have this career in the first place), but if it's not a total "wow" by itself, then they have to resort to over-the-top stunts in their performances, raunchy lyrics, and raunchy music videos. Unfortunately, even with good voices on their own, what's popular today is a combination of sex, drugs, alcohol, all-night partying, and extravagant possessions and lifestyles. These lyrics tend to act as "seducers" who lead their listeners astray into following those kinds of things and emulating that lifestyle. There's an actual motto for this, YOLO (You Only Live Once); it means living live to the fullest, even if it means taking risks (many of which are foolish and completely unnecessary, which is why I hate that "truth or dare" game because they will dare you to do outrageous things). Guess what: I have another motto for you: YODO (You Only Die Once), because you could very well die young from living that kind of lifestyle; Ke$ha even glorified it with a song appropriately titled "Die Young," which fully embraces the YOLO ideology. (The song was banned for a short time following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, because many of its victims were only 6-7 years old). The YOLO motto was coined by rapper Drake in his 2011 song "The Motto." Honestly, I'm sick and tired of it. (Of course, even before YOLO, there were "carpe diem" and "memento mori," which were Latin terms that basically meant the same thing.) I think the people who live this kind of lifestyle are fools; I do not wish for them to die young, but rather to realize that they are being fools and change their ways.
And while I do like some songs with mildly suggestive lyrics, I think some of them take it too far. Many songs in the 1980s and 1990s were somewhat sexual, but never overly erotic, which is why in this day and age, just being "sexy" isn't enough; you have to be sleazy and shocking; thus, I believe that it is not so much sex in itself that sells in this day and age so much as sleaze and shock. I try not to listen to it as often as I can avoid it, but there are times in which I am forced to listen to it, such as when I'm walking down the street and I hear people in their cars blasting their music so loud that everyone else outside the car can hear it, or when I'm in a public place that is playing this kind of music.
Yes, that would certainly be bizarre, so it would make sense for her and others to try to reach out to an older audience. However, I don't like the way they go about doing it; I'm not saying don't be sexy; I'm just saying don't be sleazy. The real problem, however, is the system that brings children into show business; it is broken and corrupt, exploiting them, which causes some of them to go bad as adults, whether on stage or off stage. This is why so many child stars go bad as adults, and that is why the system needs to change. (See more about this in my Justin Bieber thread.)Originally Posted by Jiro
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