The Music’s Keeping You Down
why popular or modern music (lyrics too, not just the sounds or frequencies) hurts you and i, and what we can do about it.
DEC 13, 2024
It’s been widely known that music is a source of life. Music can be a frenetic, calming, or explosive composition of emotion to be played by the known usage of rhythm or harmony with the voice, instruments, tones. In our current era of music, there are seemingly no boundaries to what artists will achieve amidst professional or home recording studios. Anything can be turned into music.
However, there are many other ways to hear the music. The sounds of life. It is the ecosystem that surrounds us, busy streets, loud cafes. There are many beats and rhythms in life and within your own vessel, all you have to do is open your ears; rather, take out the ear buds, take off the headphones and look up, or listen to yourself.
Throughout history, music has been a direct reflection of the people and their waking lives. Since there is little record of ancient and prehistoric music, it is challenging to pinpoint the exacts of where music began, but there is evidence to prove of its existence. The human voice was notably the first instrument. Early human remains and objects suggest that animal bones were used as flutes and rocks and wood were used as percussion instruments. Years later, we have found what is the earliest known example of documented music known as The Hurrian Hymn No. 6, a cuneiform tablet from ancient Sumeria. This tablet dates back to around 3400 BCE.
We have also found a flute made from a vulture’s bone, which seems kind of morbid to me. . . a subtle innuendo of what was to come? This was discovered in a European cave and is the oldest known musical instrument at around 40,000 years old. There have also been many clay tablets that have included Vedic hymns and early musical notations found in India and ancient Sumeria.
The most notable periods in music history have been included as Medieval Europe, with Gregorian chants being the most common type of music used in church services. The Renaissance and Baroque periods where music became more sophisticated in lyrical ways and compositionally. Composers such as Back, Handel and Vivaldi wrote for a variety of instruments. The Classical period which birthed itself amidst the 18th and 19th centuries, brought some balance, clarity and elegance to the stage. Then the Romantic period was birthed, sadly she didn't last very long.
Since the beginning of the 20th century and into the 21st, music has been extremely diverse and innovative including the idea of recorded music, for better or worse.
Jazz and its many evolutions led to many things. Many people believe that rock’n’roll was an evolution of jazz, but that’s a different conversation. Jazz began in its swing form in the 20s and 30s and over time it morphed into less dancing and into improv, free jazz, and the likes where it forced people to pay attention to the musician and the performance. A seated audience is general of any concert nowadays. In the 1950s we have the evolved movement from rhythm and blues known as rock’n’roll. Sadly, American society was still highly segregated and so this break for a new music genre was generated by a commonly known Elvis Presley, but I do not give him credit for this appeal, although he was a respectful man, or so the story goes. Thus began the evolution of popular music and pop rock. The 1960s birthed more personable and inventive lyrics and sounds with unconventional experimental techniques. It allowed for listeners to really listen to the music, to take it seriously. There were also developments of funk and soul genre experiences, including more experimental sounds and movements. Then we have a notoriously disturbing disco fever. I’m sure it was fun in the moment. This may be where our evil spawned though, where music became based wholly on consumption. It had no purpose other than to force your body to move in unholy ways. Other things that came from the 70s were lip-synching, stars on the stage, calculated arrangements, the hippie movement, basically an innumerable disaster of fake bullshit. This disaster did not end here though, the disco may have ended but there was still great and strong upheavals about the misrepresentation of explicit focuses on white rock musicians as performances were being documented on television and ignoring artists of color. Despite this, we have a glory of the genre of hip hop that evolved from street dance culture in New York. Hip hop has remained extremely popular. Contemporary popular music has also remained at the forefront of music consumption. The disco fever had to keep itself alive somehow.
All across the globe, societies have generated music to depict their history, culture and tradition. I speak of America specifically because I know very little about specific sects across the globe, but also because I believe that from the little knowledge I do have, we might be the place where these negative impacts (which I will disclose in a moment) have been the most apparent. This might be because we do have such a rich and vibrant history, but it has largely to do with technology and the evolution of listening and consumption.
As previously noted, the 20th century birthed the idea of recorded music where we have records, cassette tapes, and CDs. This was a dramatic change; however, the technology has evolved even more so, rendering these articles of music as obsolete and purely for the collector’s aesthetic. Music from virtually any genre, time or place in the world is available to you now at all times on your streaming platform of your choice, whichever is at your disposal. This change has been an influence towards listeners as well as musicians, where the focus seems now to be only on what will get streams, likes or views. That being said, the influence of social media has greatly impacted this shift and the way that fans and artists connect. This expansion has allowed artists to reach much larger audiences and it has allowed for so many more niche genres to emerge.
So that was a lot to unpack, the evolution of music over the last 200 years has been enormous, and so much of the rapid growth has to do with technology and its own evolution. With streaming services, access to all of this music is widespread and generally very inexpensive. This access to music has certainly promoted language exchange, cultural exchange and tolerance. This has been the backbone for cultural revolutions in recent time and has created an interesting environment of celebrity culture. As technology improves, as it seems it only will, I can only assume that music will mirror the advancements. This has already become apparent with Artificially Intelligent generated compositions and media, as well as concerts being held in different formats as seen during the pandemic.
Music has the power influence entire generations of people, and this can be a great thing, but it has insofar proven itself to not be so great. There are always small things happening that generate positive change, but on a larger scale, so much of these massive generational changes have been due to influences that seem to be coming from the top of the pyramid. Because why would music not be used for power and control?
There is obscure evidence to describe the rise of the hippie movement and what it actually was. Allegedly, bands like The Doors, The Mamas & The Papas, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, etc, all the bands that came from San Francisco or California west coast area were all apart of a government funded excursion to create an atmosphere that gave rise to psychedelic-like paraphernalia and media and this control over feeling and emotion. Why exactly? I don’t really know. All I know is that my suspicions have only grown. It may have been an effort to expand consciousness or to grab the people before they got where they were going. To control the path of the vibrancy of life, to take hold of creativity where the heart was involved. This movement grew quickly and may have been the cause of many generational issues to come. Drugs like LSD and marijuana, which were widely used in the 1970s as a central element of the hippie movement. These drugs influenced their philosophy, lifestyle, and cultural expression by facilitating altered states of consciousness, promoting a sense of communal connection, and fueling their anti-establishment stance through psychedelic experiences. This may have gotten out of hand as seen where mandates and classifications were made on certain drugs to effectively control the usage of them. It might seem like a backwards goal at first, but it makes sense to allow the people the idea of freedom before it is stripped away. The illusion of a free country and freedom of mind is important to maintain. Then there was the upheaval of the disco fever which legitimately caused violent reactions towards the absurdities of the language of disco. And now so many genres and frequencies of music are so widespread it seems that all one has to do to be tuned out and whipped into this control over the mind is to put in earbuds and allow the music to take over.
Let’s talk about the culture of celebrities and fame for a moment. As a fan myself, I have paid tribute to this dilemma just as you have. I have allowed myself to be subject to record companies and their suspicious motives as I have to the streaming platforms. I have allowed myself to be wooed by red carpet looks and performances. And now, all I see is distaste. We have allowed certain people to be put onto pedestals like gods and perform night after night until they look as if they could drop dead. And sometimes they do, whether it be from drugs, suicide, or just plain murder. This is a horrific occurrence in modern culture and so many people continue to encourage it. Not only is this a toxic environment for the artist and their work, but it is also toxic for the viewer. The artist is pushed to be something no human should amount to and the fans fuel the fires of desire and lust. Meanwhile, companies and businessmen are profiting off the mainstream brainwashing of everyone involved.
People were right to be furious in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Just as they are right to be now. But there is nothing to solve through violence.
I have heard theories that streaming platforms now are using AI content to produce music and feed their own agendas to make more money. I have heard theories of these government PSYOPS to control the people. I have heard tragic stories that uncover the horrors of these celebrities that are used for such agendas. And I am utterly disgusted and so disappointed that we have allowed it to go so far. Obviously, when you are the subject of such a widespread experiment, it is challenging to be aware of what is going on, especially when so many people continue to go on with it, just as is wanted, because they are brainwashed, because they give no time to listen to themselves.
If you want to continue to be apart of the agenda, then by all means, put your headphones back over your ears and continue to tune out to the realities of modern day affairs, but if you want to stop the problem where is starts, then take a break, at least for a little while.
There are so many independent artists in the world that might be producing music that is genuinely good for the soul, but it takes a keen eye to see it where it is. They have been alive since the dawn of music. These people are not fishing for your money, they are creating simply because it feels good, that’s where the good frequencies are, that’s where the enlightening lyrics are. That’s where true change and evolution is. Frequencies can be used in various different ways. The range of frequency is endless and can have very positive effects or very negative effects depending on what you’re listening to. It is no coincidence that Swifties all preach the same thing and that Beyonce fans are the way they are. It is no coincidence that these people have amounted to massive levels of fame. They are puppets. And they like it. However, these mainstream artists and celebrity affairs have slowly begun to become less important to the typical person as social media continues to give rise to ‘normal’ people and their daily lives. Obviously there are still fandoms of insanities out there, so just be mindful. So many of these artists use frequencies to keep you locked into their sound, they use lyrics that channel specific entities and orchestrate performances to channel even more. Some say these are demonic or satanic, I think it’s all Luciferian philosophy. There is a reason why these companies and orchestrators want to keep people in this tuned-out mode of living. They do not want them to see what they are doing behind the scenes, even though it is entirely obvious to the eyes that see and pay attention to reality. In our age, prophets are widespread, singing songs about revolution and retribution to the rise of consciousness expansion.
The effect of genre also plays an interesting role in this act. You can tell that certain people listen to just country music or just metal or just indie or just electronic. They all have a similar aura about them. Having similar tastes and opinions about music brings people together. This might be authentic as tastes usually are, but generally speaking, all of this is pushed at you based on said tastes, so it doesn’t feel true to authenticity. It feels true to the algorithm and true to the companies that want to profit off of your tastes and natures. Whatever genre of music you listen to, wherever you stream it from, you’re apart of the algorithm and it’s fueling you with music to stimulate your brain so that you keep listening. You’re being controlled and it’s all for money, it’s all to keep you docile, it’s all to keep you locked into the cage that is modern technology.
Everyday you’re being influenced by what you consume, so choose wisely.
Post, IBG Guest. “The Evolution of Music in the 21st Century: A Look at the Current Trends.” Indie Band Guru, 31 July 2023, indiebandguru.com/evolution-of-music-in-the-21st-century/.
R/Artefactporn on Reddit: The 3400-Year-Old Hurrian Hymn No. 6, www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/o27in6/the_3400yearold_hurrian_hymn_no_6_discovered_in/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
Zeiner-Henriksen, Hans. “A Brief History of Music in the 20th Century.” FutureLearn, 25 Oct. 2022, www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/music-moves/0/steps/12666.
Some information was also taken from Google’s AI generated content.
