Controversial Lyrics Essay

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Controversial Lyrics by: Uzair Kazmi Music can be so powerful it can affect your mood, brainwaves, and even your heartbeat! Music is everywhere around us, it’s a part of our daily lives and it is an important agent of socialization, however it may have some unseen consequences. Behaviour is strongly influenced by song lyrics because it has a lasting effect on the listener’s subconscious, because violent music lyrics increase aggressive thoughts and feelings, and because music may effect society’s ability in decision making. Song lyrics may not be listened to, but they may still be heard. Music nowadays is listened to for the instrumentals, so many people listening to music don’t even pay attention to the lyrics. However unheard lyrics may be heard by the subconscious. It is important to note that lyrics have lost meaning in the modern music, especially in the rap/hip-hop genre. Often times when a song artist writes lyrics, some words may be used just to complete a rhyming sequence. A popular music producer was asked about what kind of music is preferable for his audience, producer Pharell replied, "All they wanna do is dance. That's all they wanna do." This implies that people listen to music for the beat and rhythm but not the words. However the lyrics of a song may not be the only factor that affects behaviour. Just the overall beat and melodies of a song have the potential to influence a listener’s mood, and therefore behaviour. In some places classical music is played to deter adolescents from loitering in that area, the adolescents are not aware that the music is there to make them leave, and in many cases they do not make a conscious decision to leave because of the music, but something about the music triggers something in the listener’s subconscious that makes the area undesirable. The deterrence that classical music provides is a great example
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