MUSIC. WTF. Again, I just heard this. Part 1

Ever hear the phrase 'Mind numbing music?'

Let's take a look at some of the music, playing in 'WTF is this?' heavy rotation.

Here are just some of the top songs, burning up the iTunes charts:

Cold Water, by Justin Bieber
Cheap Thrills, by Sia feat. Sean Paul
Can't Stop the Feeling, by Justin Timberlake
This is What You Came For, by Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna

And last, but not least you can't be induced into a music coma, until you throw some Drake into the mix at the gym, at work, driving, walking, in the shower, blinking, and breathing. Well, okay, you get the point. 'One Dance,' need I say more?

Not that, there's anything wrong with these songs in particular, but let's take a journey back through some years, lyrics, melodic beats, and why music has taken an entirely different direction and help me learn some new things along the way. Reflecting on what's happening in the world today and a tune, which strikes a chord and seems significant to this day are Marvin Gaye's, boundless classics, 'What's Going On, 'Mercy Me,' and 'Inner City Blues.'

All these songs, touch on topics, which are relevant today.

There are several haunting verses, that evade the grip of time and travel through bluetooth enabled speakers in order to deliver powerful messages.

But has anything really changed?

When I hear "Mother, mother there's far too many of you crying. Brother, brother, brother there's far too many of you dying." The first thoughts, ignited in my mind are the recent protests revolving around the Black Lives Matter movement and the excessive force many feel law enforcement employ.

These exact sentiments are uttered in the lyrics:

"Picket lines and picket signs. Don't punish me with brutality. Talk to me, so you can see.
Oh, what's going on? What's going on?"

The most haunting of all the verses from 'What's Going On' is "Father, father we don't need to escalate. You see, war is not the answer. For only love can conquer hate. You know we've got to find a way. To bring some lovin' here today."
Marvin Gaye, was surprisingly killed at the hands of his own father, but we'll revisit this in more detail in a later post.

Another artist, who held some of the same anti-war sentiment as Gaye, was John Lennon.
This anti-war sentiment is uttered in the lyrics:

"Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion, too."

Let's take it back even further and travel back on this musical journey to the days of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Both of whom performed 'Strange Fruit.' Like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone's life, was plagued with personal struggles, but both of these women were willing to take a risk, by singing the thought provoking and hair raising lyrics:

"Black bodies swingin in the southern breeze," which has been recycled countless times and even ending up on Kanye West's, album, Yeezus. I was surprised to learn the song was originally a poem named 'Bitter Fruit,' written by Abel Meeropol, and published in a newspaper for a teachers union, in 1937. While the song, has been performed countless times, by many, at the onset, 'Strange Fruit,' was not being played in mind numbing rotation for all to hear.

Noam Chomsky, is quoted as saying, "“Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year to control the public mind.”