Music can give any emotionless being on the planet a purpose, some sort of reason to be able to feel anything again. It can bring life back to a barren wasteland of some form of concrete jungle. Music, I fully believe, is life itself. Think about it. What would we be without lyrics and notes? Where would we be without the sounds of a guitar playing softly over the soothing voice of McCartney or Stump? Music is the freedom of expression that can be found in any human on the planet and it can set us free, however, it can also be taken advantage of by many devious sources.

The other day I was at school. It was second period, and as such that means I had to head to my school’s music room for Music Theory. I walked into the room, and as always, I had my headphones hugged tight against my ears, with the inspiring sounds of the Beatles sneaking their way into my awaiting ears. I didn’t even hear one of my classmates talking to me as I took my seat on the raisers. She kept calling to me and eventually I did hear her, so I did something incredibly rare of me and I paused my music. She said,

“Geez, must be too busy with your iPod to be caring for what I’m saying.”

I shot back at her, but in a joking manner,

“I just found the message that the Beatles were saying to be more important than what you had to say.”

Her reaction was dark, it was so immensely shocking that I am still shaken about it today…

She gagged when I said “Beatles”.

I was quite confused, but I asked her what the matter was.

She told me that she couldn’t believe that some “sucky hippie band” was more important than her. Words can’t describe how greatly angered I was when she said that. I was merely joking with her but she was completely serious when she said that the Beatles sucked. Now, I have put up with some people stating their opinions about the Beatles, some simply said that they weren’t good. Great, I respected their opinions, but when someone flat out says that they sucked? Well I simply could not respect that opinion at all. I retorted,

“Alright, tell me who your favorite artist is.”

She smiled at me and calmly replied,

“Lady Gaga.”

I can’t really say that I was shocked, but I was utterly sickened. She was going on and on about how amazing Lady Gaga was and how her music has inspired an entire generation. I certainly hope it hasn’t because in my honest opinion, Lady Gaga songs aren’t music at all. They may have beats, they may have lyrics but it is far from being considered music. I feel that most people can’t deny that most of the meanings in her songs deal with sexually explicit activities and shock value lyrics. On Facebook I see people quoting her lyrics all the time; Pokerface, Bad Romance, all her songs. It is mind-blowing that my classmate was partially right; many teenagers out there really are looking up to this person as a role model, and to some, an idol. The music industry is trying to brainwash unsuspecting teens into thinking sex appeal and zany stints are what music is all about.

All of this was running through my head while I stood there.

“ ‘In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make’”, I told her.

“What?” she replied.

“That is the greatest message that I have ever heard in any song in existence,” I replied, “and it came from a Beatles’ song that. Tell me, what message do you get from Gaga’s songs? Honestly, all I ever hear is ‘sex, sex, sex. Why on earth do you consider this ridiculous pop star an inspiration?”

“Because, she fights for gay rights!”

That was the only reason she told me that she respected this artist. You know that’s great, it’s awesome knowing that some people are out there and fully believe that gay people have rights. I think that as well, and so do millions of other people, in the entire world. It doesn’t really make Lady Gaga a stand out for believing in gay rights. Need I mention Freddie Mercury? A stunning man, really one of the greatest musicians of all time that was gay and many people adored the man. All this man did was sit down with his friends, write some music and performed it. The messages in Queen’s music wasn’t complex, most dealt with love, depression, some were just rock anthems, and still are. He didn’t try to bring any attention to Queen or himself with flashy outfits or concert shenanigans but into the show merely to shock viewers.

Lady Gaga isn’t really fighting for gay rights, as far as I am aware of. To me, all she seems to do is write sexually deviant music, dress up in outrageously annoying outfits, and try to get as much attention as possible on her. I think all she wants is attention.

I believe that you can say that the Beatles weren’t that good, I’d respect your opinion for that, but to say they flat out sucked? That’s when I get defensive. Let’s face it, in some way or form the Beatles inspired whatever band or artist you listen to nowadays. It can almost be considered a fact.

If you are a Gaga fan, good on you. I don’t mind if you do enjoy her music at all so long as you do keep an open mind about the classics and have some form of respect for all genres of music. I’m not really going to have a conclusion for this rant but I just felt like venting a bit. I will, however, leave you with this message:

What happened to music?