Showerthoughts @lemmy.world I Cast Fist @programming.dev 12 mo. ago

The lack of "real world complaints" and "anger" in popular music genres helps keep the masses docile

Been thinking a bit about this, popular music (the ones that hit top 100 charts or whatever) never has lyrics that point out real problems or point to culprits and how they're fucking our shit, which is very easy to find in punk rock and some variations, as well as rap.

Of course, part of the problem are the record labels themselves, which often hold artists "hostage" in order to profit off them. Bigger ones will obviously prefer to avoid having such lyrics become popular.

Still, there seems to be absolute zero songs in certain genres that even come within 10 meters of talking/singing/teaching/bringing awareness about situations that affect a LOT of listeners, even from far away, and would be extremely helpful in spreading some knowledge.

Granted, doing so is easier said than done, a catchy tune that calls out big oil's many attempts to burn the world, or big pharma's frequent price gouging, aren't things "any idiot" can come up with. But that nobody outside "angry" genres seems to be doing it is what saddens me.

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which is very easy to find in punk rock and some variations, as well as rap.

When it comes to rap, it was far easier to find.

I'm not alone in noticing that a lot of mainstream(!!!) rap has become a minstrel show, glorifying capitalism, and racist stereotypes about black people.
- Yeah, I should've mentioned that "root" or "OG" rap went into that more often
  
  Yeah, I should’ve mentioned that “root” or “OG” rap went into that more often
  
  Here's a few (many still not that new I admit) to get you started - mostly rap but not all rap. Not posting these to argue with you, posting to help you discover some new music. 🙂 Each of these is a personal favorite of mine. (Edit: I see you are in Brazil. I admit these are somewhat US-centric in some cases.)
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFazh_Z69uQ 2020 Arrested Development - Amazing
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKHf1YVATfk 2012 B. Dolan - Which Side Are You On?
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNUl8bAKdi4 2020 Public Enemy and Others - Fight the power 2020 Remix
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO18F4aKGzQ 2007 Brother Ali - Uncle Sam Goddamn (this one really hits)
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKHsGh-y8d8 2012 Brother Ali - Mourning in America 2012
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S18KrqrC01U 2022 Dropkick Murphys - Dig a Hole (you can say this is about Nazis because of when the lyrics were new, but based on this recent clip, yeah, I don't think they are only talking about WWII fascists in this cover)
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlY9C6pzxKc 2014 Rob Hustle - Call the Cops
  
  Edited to add: I have a tiny Kbin communityy/magazine specifically for music with a message. (I'm very nearly the only poster so far.)
  
  I don't know how to link it in the correct way for non-kbin folks to hit it, but it's called Music With a Message https://kbin.social/m/musicwithamessage
  
  Edit 2: Not sure if this is the way to do it for Lemmy folks: !musicwithamessage
  
  I will continue to slowly grow the list there.
  
  Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=YFazh_Z69uQ
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=oKHf1YVATfk
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=nNUl8bAKdi4
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=OO18F4aKGzQ
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=dKHsGh-y8d8
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=S18KrqrC01U
  
  this recent clip
  
  https://www.piped.video/watch?v=IlY9C6pzxKc
  
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  
  I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
  
  Can't seem to find a way to make the link work as something to see from within one's own instance.
  
  For me it should be this: musicwithamessage@kbin.social, the link is c/musicwithamessage@kbin.social, but I guess due to how kbin orders its communities as magazines, /m/ instead, it doesn't quite work? m/ instead of c/ gives a 404
  
  There is a way to sub to Kbin magazines from Lemmy, unfortunately I don't know what it is.
  
  On the kbin side I can search all "magazines" for keywords and Lemmy communities will come up there, and I can sub that way. I'd assume there's a similar reverse method on the Lemmy side.
  
  If someone more knowledgeable wants to let me know how to format the link in a way that will work for Lemmy folks I'll remember it for the future.
  
  Subscribed thanks.
  
  Thank you!

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