A Lyrical Breakdown Of The World’s (Current) Best-Selling Music Tells A Terrifying Story
Tags: opinion
Just about every song (predominantly aimed at children) glorifies alcohol consumption, objectifies women and promotes revenge and hatred.
Success in the music industry is not measured by talent, but the ability to speak in line with the current narrative, and while there are some great artist in the mainstream- they are few and far between.
Mainstream music keeps the idea of misogyny, violence and racial stereotypes alive with its dumbed down style of music. It also plays into separation, the revenge culture and the need to get one up on each other.
The words to hit songs usually have little to no meaning, which are added to a repetitive catchy beat which makes for easy, passive and subliminal listening. The biggest consumers of the music in the charts are children and as we look through the current top 10 it tells a disturbing story:
The current number 1 is a track called “Look What You Made Me Do” from Taylor Swift and here is the opening verse:
I don’t like your little games
Don’t like your tilted stage
The role you made me play
Of the fool, no, I don’t like you
I don’t like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
You said the gun was mine
Isn’t cool, no, I don’t like you (oh!)
But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do
It is hard to derive any real meaning out of these words, apart from a woman who is seeking revenge on an ex partner. The visuals are also quite disturbing:
A bit of a strange thing to put in a video and a strong subconscious message. What follows in this video are a mix of death, consumerism and provocative imagery. Basically saying this is the death of any dignity and the rebirth of hedonism at any cost.
Taylor in a bath full of money, jewelry and gold.
The feminine being made to look synthetic and lined up like an object for consumption.
The masculine being emasculated and feminized. Sending a contradictory and confusing message to the previous image.
When you add this to the words of the song it plays into the objectification of women, but also sexual depravity in men. It causes confusion and sends mixed messages, add to this the fact that children are the main consumers for this message is quite terrifying.
The next song which is placed at number 2 in the charts is Dua Lipa – New Rules. This song contains her listing a set of rules in the lyrics:
One, don’t pick up the phone
You know he’s only calling ’cause he’s drunk and alone
Two, don’t let him in
You have to kick him out again
Three, don’t be his friend
You know you’re gonna wake up in his bed in the morning
And if you’re under him
You ain’t getting over him
This video tells a very similar story to that of- Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift, and also contains reference to alcohol consumption in the verses.
When you go to number 4 in the charts the story is reiterated from the perspective of a man with Justin Bieber featuring Bloodpop- Friends. The chorus:
Know you’re wonderin’ why I been callin’
Like I got ulterior motives
Know we didn’t end this so good
But you know we had something so good
So I’m wonderin’
Can we still be friends? (ah-ah)
Can we still be friends? (ah-ah)
Doesn’t have to end (ah-ah)
And if it ends, can we be friends?
Can we be friends?
Can we be friends?
There isn’t really much more to the song than these words, however it follows the narrative of the 2 other song. A man that is saying he wants to “just be friends” but implying more.
These congruent stories between male and female artists create a stereotype and encourage this behaviour in those listening. The music is so simple and repetitive, but it is often hard to actually digest the message. This leads to subconscious consumption- meaning the narrative goes in and is sung like a mantra by children, often without fully comprehending what they are saying.
Friends music video glorifying the consumption of alcohol
As does Look At What You Made Me Do and New Rules (in the lyrics)
Number 7 in the charts is from Taylor Swift again with- Ready For It, it has no official music video as of yet, but continues the dark narrative of women being exploited by a man and the woman accepting it for the excitement:
Knew he was a killer
First time that I saw him
Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted
But if he’s a ghost then I can be a phantom
Holdin’ him for ransom
Some, some boys are tryin’ too hard
He don’t try at all though
Younger than my exes but he act like such a man, so
I see nothing better, I keep him forever
Like a vendetta-ta
And continuing with the repeated verse:
Baby, let the games begin
Let the games begin
Number 9 is Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato and includes the words:
Baby, fineness is the way to kill
Tell me how it feel, bet it’s such a bitter pill
And yeah, I know you thought you had bigger, better things
Bet right now this stings (wait a minute)
‘Cause the grass is greener under me
Bright as technicolor, I can tell that you can see
And yeah, I know how bad it must hurt to see me like this
But it gets worse (wait a minute)
Now payback is a bad bitch
And baby, I’m the baddest
You fuckin’ with a savage
Can’t have this, can’t have this (ah)
And it’d be nice of me to take it easy on ya, but nah
Again it is just perpetuating the separation between men and women. The video is a house party which again includes the objectification of women, consumerism and a message in the video that differs from the one in the lyrics.
I will finish with the words from the number 3 track in the US Billboard charts Cardi B – Bodak Yellow:
Said little bitch, you can’t fuck with me
If you wanted to
These expensive, these is red bottoms
These is bloody shoes
Hit the store, I can get ’em both
I don’t wanna choose
And I’m quick, cut a nigga hustle
Don’t get comfortable
Look, I don’t dance now
I make money moves
Say I don’t gotta dance
I make money move
If I see you and I don’t speak
That means I don’t fuck with you
I’m a boss, you a worker bitch
I make bloody moves
And includes the line:
I might just feel on your babe, my pussy feel like a lake
He wanna swim with his face, I’m like, “Okay” (okay)
I’ll let him get what he want, he buy me Yves Saint Laurent (yeah)
And the new whip, when I go fast as a horse, I got the trunk in the front (vroom)
The running theme that all of these videos have is the emotionless faces they show, the plastic shine they have on their skin in some shots and the contradictory sexual messages. In all the videos they create a separation between men and women as either superior or inferior to each other.
Again I will say that the biggest consumers of this music are children and each of these videos reference to alcohol consumption in the lyrics, or contain what appears to be alcohol in the video. For many this is their introduction into- male/female relations and sexuality.
Music plays a big role in the evolution of society and the messages that are getting through to the younger generations are encouraging narcissism and consumerism. If good music was given a chance we would see a very different story. Thank for reading, please share this article.
Read: 4 Establishment Challenging Music Tracks You Will Not Hear Played On The Radio
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I am Luke Miller the author of this article, and creator of Potential For Change. I like to blend psychology and spirituality to help you create more happiness in your life.Grab a copy of my free 33 Page Illustrated eBook- Psychology Meets Spirituality- Secrets To A Supercharged Life You Control Here
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