The Lyfe-Style of Music

It’s not just a hobby or pastime music is a lifestyle. A song has the ability to bring people who have nothing in common together, even if only on the dance floor. Musicians set an image that the crowd identifies with and in turn emulate. Different types of music offer different views and different mentalities to their listeners; in a sense people choose what type of music they are. I’ve always liked listening to different types of music and trying to relate to what it is that they are speaking about. I like to hang out with people who listen to different music than me because it exposes me to what that lifestyle is like; there are different mentalities, different customs, and an all around different experience.

It is important to understand that different people have different outlooks and views in life. If you criticize someone’s taste in music you might as well punch them in their face and call their mom a whore. Music is something that people take to the heart because it is what THEY like; it is their lifestyle, who they choose to be. What sets me off fast is when people don’t take the time to listen to what can potentially a good song in their playlist. People sometimes throw a whole genre out the window because they haven’t heard enough of it to understand it. I believe that the blogs that I have posted since October have exposed people to something that they have not thought about before or maybe even new existed. I believe that music is important and everyone should realize the power that music and musicians hold. This power must also not be confused with reliability. First of all I would just like to say if you do something because you hear it in a song you’re a dumbass. You wouldn’t try shooting up heroin because a blind man did it in a movie, why would do something just because you heard it. Curiosity killed the cat. Life is a giant choice, everyday we start making choices before we even leave our homes, if you CHOOSE to do something it is because you obviously have some sort of reasoning to do it. In most cases you already know what the possible outcomes are for certain decisions that you make, which means that when you chose to do what you do you already know that if the shit blows up you might get stuck. I’m tired of people blaming music for bad parenting and bad decisions that they have made.

In the past I have written about news in the music industry, digital music pirating, stereotypes in music, insane people who blame music for their failures, music that addresses political issues, and how to REALLY listen to music and get the most out of it. Music is the time machine that can take us back a decade or two, even if some of us didn’t even exist in the 70’s bands like Led Zeppelin make it possible to look into what that world was like. Music is the window that we can open when we want to see into a different world.

I’ve never really been into blogging because sometimes I think who cares? But being able to put my thoughts and ideas together in a written form has made it easier for me to see what I am thinking and how to keep on developing my interest in music. I will like to keep on exploring music and what it has to offer to me. I’d like to say that I have become passionate about music over the past few years or so, each song that I discover I treat like a piece of treasure. To think some of the music that I have listened to made it this far in time and its still not forgotten amazes me. To think that some of my favorite songs are from the 70’s and 80’s and they still make an impact in people’s lives 20 and 30 years after they were released is something almost inspiring. I don’t know what destiny has in mind for my blogging career but it is definitely something that has helped me be active with my obsession for music.

Music, The 6th Sense

Music is my 6th sense. I can find the right song for the perfect occasion; and the best part is that I can decide on what the occasion is going to be, I get to set the mood. Sometimes it works backwards, if you feel like you want to change your mood you can change the song and then feel the energy of the music flow through you.

By the end of the day when I’m finally home there are a few things that I like to do to relieve the days stress from my mind. The first usually involves turning on the surround sound and hooking up my portable audio system, it might be my laptop if I still have work to get done. If I’m doing work then I usually listen to rock or rap music, I do this because most songs in these categories are fast paced and help me keep awake and motivated to finish my work, however sometimes I find myself rapping or playing the invisible guitar while doing my work.
A few songs that I definitely listen to while I’m doing my work
• Rage against the machine – killing in the name of
• Rise Against – Prayer of the Refugee
• Big Punisher – Still not a Player/ it’s so hard
• Nas - Ether
• System of a Down – BYOB/ Chop Suey/ Aerials
• Forever- Drake
Once my work is complete I usually follow the day by going into my “chill music” playlist, the songs in this playlist just set the mood for the rest of my evening activities. In this playlist I have anything from Bob Marley to Santana. These are the artists and their songs that help me relive my stress.
• Led Zeppelin – No Quarter/ Stairway to heaven / Kashmir/ Immigrant song
• Bob Marley - Various / Stephen Marley – hey baby/ Damian Marley – Welcome to Jamrock
• Bone Thugs N Harmony - Various
• AudioSlave – Like a Stone
• Santana – Smooth/ Maria

These are just a few of the songs that I listen to a on an almost daily basis. Music, I think, has to be used in context with what you are trying to achieve in order to get the most out of what your are listening. I love Salsa, Bachata and Merengue, but I don’t listen to it very often because it is music that you are supposed to dance to. You can listen to an Aventura (famous Bachata group) song, and relate to it, but unless you have someone to hold and dance the song with then you are not experiencing all of the songs elements. I think about it as buying the best sirloin steak available only to get home and eat it raw. You can listen to a great song but if you are not in the mood to listen to the song you will not enjoy it.

Many people never really stop to think about what they are listening to, what do the lyrics what do the lyrics actually say? I never understood the hook to the song smells like teen spirit by Nirvana until I looked up the lyrics. “A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido” its hard to understand it when Kurt Cobain, deceased lead singer of Nirvana, is screaming it right into the microphone. For some reason I liked the song better before I knew what the lyrics meant. But this is what I am trying to get at, most people don’t really know what they are listening to, they simply listen to the music because others are doing it too. When I listen to a song that I have never heard before I listen to what they are saying explicitly and implicitly. I think the best part of listening to a song is imagining what could have inspired the artist to write the song.

Stairway to Truth

This Halloween I saw many people I hadn’t seen in a long time, met people I never knew existed, and I got to listen to Stairway to Heaven, by Led Zeppelin, on my way home after a long night. It is kind of Ironic that I would be listening to this song while I’m being driven home at 6 a.m. after a Halloween party. Halloween is supposed to be the day they celebrate the dead, and for some it is the day of the devils. I listened to the lyrics of the song and it made me think, what do they think?

The song actually talks about some important moral issues, “Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the road you're on.” For some reason this line was all that I could think about while on my way home. It really made me think about, and analyze, the lifestyle that I am leading and where it is leading me. It is life put into a sentence. Through out life there are many possibilities and outcomes for a person’s life, I don’t think people realize it or maybe they don’t care, but every action that we take in our lives ultimately affects the outcome and quality of our lives. I guess it can be seen as a maze, we don’t really know where the exit is but we are trying to get there the best way we know how to, but we really don’t know what were doing. The two paths can be seen as doing the socially correct thing or listening to your inner gremlin and doing what makes your happy, even though it may make others around us unhappy. Why is it wrong to live a free life? Free from being a slave of society, free from following the daily herd.

“And if you listen very hard, the truth will come to you at last when all are one and one is all, to be a rock and not to roll.” YES, society wants us all to be uniformed and smart like rocks. Society wants us to take the role of a rock and just listen, never questioning, never stepping out of line. The don’t want us to “roll” they don’t want us to move out of the line they have drawn for us because we might start a dominoes effect on the rest of society, we might awaken our fellow rocks.

About a year ago I was browsing through YouTube when I came across the Stairway to Heaven backwards-subliminal message version a.k.a. backward masking. The clip suggests that the part of the song that says “If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, it's just a spring clean for the May queen” really means “ There was a little path, would make me sad, whose power is Satan. He’ll give those with him six, six, six. There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.” What really gets to me is that this song is supposed to be about thinking about your life and how you are living it but in reverse it really actually sounds like the opposite. I’m not saying that I believe that there really is a subliminal message in the song but one of their original lyrics states, “'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.” When people put emphasis into words in a particular way, well its usually that they're going with the implicit meaning rather than the explicit one. People are only listening to what they want to listen. However, if the original song did include intentional backward masking then they totally just made a reference to it.

The song begins and ends with “There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold and she's buying a stairway to heaven.” To me this means that there is those who cant distinguish between real issues affecting their lives from unimportant media. People fill their lives with objects and the objects end up filling them. They are empty on the inside, buying their happiness, not quite living their own happiness but other peoples happiness because they think what makes them happy is what they are taught happiness is and everyone is supposed to have the same happiness.

Justify Yourself

While at the barbershop I was watching a clip on CNN; they were talking about the president not inviting women to any of his sports outings. They were practically attacking him for not exercising gender equality. To me it seems that the media in this country is always focused on the social issues rather than on any political issue. Every time I watch the news it’s always about the Hollywood and not the real issues affecting us or the rest of the world. Broadcast stations only releas what they can and they are only giving us one side of the story. They are manipulating our knowledge of the truth so that we don’t rise against them.

The news and media are doing a great job of keeping the citizens of this country under control. Most people believe their country, why wouldn’t they, but they are blindfolded believing anything they are told because it comes from “officials”. Some artist are conscious about what is going on in the real world today and are trying to get their audience to see, think and react to what is going on. Rock music is notorious for appealing to sex, drugs, and violence. However, there are artist that speak about real issues in their songs. System of a Down, a rock group, has a song titled B.Y.O.B. the song brings up an important issue about war, the armed forces, and the government. “You depend on our protection, yet you feed us lies from the tablecloth” these lyrics speak about how the government needs us, the common everyday Joe-Shmoe, to go out and fight to protect this country, but the government doesn’t tell us the truth about why we are really fighting. This is really significant because the government/media makes everything about “What can you do for your country” rather than what can they do for the average person. In the same song System of a Down says “blast off, its party time, and we don’t live in a fascist nation, blast off its party time, and where the fuck are you?” this line depicts what the commercials for the armed forces look like. They glorify the armed forces and say that those people are making a difference, what is the difference, and for whom are the differences, if we are winning then who is losing and what cost?

The problem is not that we listen to our officials the problem is that we don’t doubt them. In the song Killing in the name of, by rage against the machine, they start the song by saying “some of those who work forces, are the same that burn crosses” this is a powerful opening line for a song. While your listening to the song you’re thinking are they really talking about what I think they are talking about? The next line of the song says “and now you do what they told ya (now you’re under control).” “Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they’re the chose whites”. These lines depict a true story about officials taking advantage of their position and their power. People in higher positions sometimes justify what they are doing because it is what they believe its for the better good. People should approach every issue with an open mind. Think about the issue, what they tell you, what you see, and what you think about it all together. I think that if this kind of reason was applied to every day life as well as national issues more people would be able to see the truth.

Lewis Black, a well-known comedian, did a stand-up act in Broadway where he talks about the citizens of this country. In the first part he says that we are the only country that tells the rest of the world that we are better than them. On top of that, Black speaks about people that have never been outside the country and say that this is the best country. Black later describes a 30-page article he read on diabetes and how after reading the article he had diabetes. People are being inundated with negative media and are so biased that they believe anything the government tells them, but they have never really considered any other options, they are limiting themselves to only one point of view.

Lets all worry about the music again

Growing up you only have access to the music your parents allow. I’ve heard countless arguments where parents try to say that the music their kids listen to influenced them to do something crazy, like smoke pot, have sex and be violent. You can’t blame a persons playlist for their actions. The problem is that parents let their children go insane (do whatever the hell they want to) and then when they try to take control back it doesn’t work so they blame it on the music. Of course we’re going to listen to music. Music is a way for us to express ourselves. We express what we feel through music, whether it’s writing it or listening to it. I believe that we choose the music that we listen to because it means something deeper to us than the song itself. One of my favorite songs is got yourself a gun by the rapper Nas. This is one my favorite songs because it reminds me of when I was growing up in NYC. In one of the Lyrics Nas says, “you got beef, I hope you got yourself a gun”. In this lines Nas is saying that if your have problems with him you better have a gun because he’s going to bring the heat. I would literally get into fights everyday while I was living my teen years in NYC, and I never once even thought about getting a gun to solve my problems. I really do believe that parents are the BIGGEST INFLUENCE in our lives. If parents believe that music can be a bigger influence then they are obviously leaving their parenting to music.


I understand that not everyone gets the same set of parents that go to church on Sunday and love their kids to death. Some parents are fucked up, some more than others. I’ve always thought fucked up parenting raises fucked up kids. I think the worse thing a parent can do is blame something their kids do on the media, it makes them look naïve, ignorant and not to mention an all-around bad parent. Everyone listens to music and they are free to make up their decisions on what type of music they like. Some may like a song for the rhythm, some for the lyrics, and some because others do. When we listen to a song we automatically try and make connections to what we are listening to, how are we the same? We relate music to the lives we live. What I’m saying is that we choose to listen to music that is like us, we are not trying to turn into the music we listen to. It is the parent’s responsibility to explain to their kids that not everything they see or hear on television or the radio is true.

People in the music industry are making songs about what they are seeing in society, what they are experiencing, and what they think sells. Can an artist really be held accountable for having a stronger connection to your child than you do? Is it reasonable to connect a kids behavior to someone he or she has most likely never met? In Eminem’s song, who knew, off of the Marshall Mathers LP Album, Eminem talks about how entertainers like him are being accused for the acts of other parents children. “Quit tryin to censor music, this is for your kid's amusement, But don't blame me when lil' Eric jumps off of the terrace you shoulda been watchin him. Apparently you ain't parents.’ This is my favorite line of the song because he is 100% correct. Everyone will be exposed to sex, drugs, and violence, after all this is life. Yet the parents job is to teach their kids right from wrong, and if their kids aren’t old enough yet then they should be monitoring their kids more.



The Beastie Boys, a rock/hip-hop group, released their album licensed to ill in 1986. This album contains the song fight for your right. The song talks about the average teenager standing up against their parent’s rules because they disagree. “Your pops caught you smoking and he said No way. That hypocrite smokes two packs a day. Man, living at home is such a drag, now your mom threw away your best porno mag.” The parents are trying to impose rules on their children that they themselves do not abide by. So in return the kids are tired of living home because of the bogus rules. Many parents believe that because they are the parent their children will listen to their every command. It is important for the parent to explain their reasoning to their children to help them mature. It is the parent’s responsibility to explain to their children that smoking cigarettes is not the worse thing that they can do, yet it is one of the hardest habits to quit. Maybe if the parents sat down and explained matters like these to their kids then the kids would not need to listen to music for advise.

Stereo types of a RAP male-misunderstood

Rap music, my second language, inherited in NYC. Growing up with rap music is probably one of the greatest things that have ever happened to me by chance. I don’t believe that I would have made such a strong connection to the rap/Hip-Hop culture if I were raised elsewhere. But with great power comes great responsibility. After I was raised in NYC I was un-leashed in Fl. I brought my rap culture into a completely different environment.

People who listen to “black music” are ignorant criminals who smoke marijuana and sell drugs. These stereotypes are obviously created from and outsiders point of view, but are they seeing something that we are not? or is there a little bit of truth to these STEREOtypes?


Growing up in NYC was probably not as bad as most people make it seem. The City does have its way of teaching you how to take care of yourself, whether you want to or not. The most important thing I remember growing up is my music, rap. In Jr. High School classes were made up of 30-35 student and the 30 of them who spoke good English listened to rap music. I grew up cursing a lot, calling girl’s bitches and hoes; in my little world this was still acceptable. Your boys in school were your niggas, and if somebody wanted to start shit you would just say, FUCK THAT NIGGA! Whenever I came across something I didn’t like I would automatically call it gay. That is how I used to express myself. When I moved to Florida I was called out of class for saying “fuck that nigga” to a white boy who was starting shit with me. I was called racist, for using a word that I grew up with. Back then I was a little boy, now I know that you can say things depending in the context/community you say it in. I guess that I was somewhat ignorant back then. Yet I was ignorant because I was young and did not yet understand the concept of using language in context, not because I listened to rap music. I would also like to add that I did NOT sell drugs, smoke trees, kill people. I was not a criminal. While there are kids in NYC that sell, some of them in their early teens or younger just sitting in the front stoop “got that fire”, I don’t think this can account for enough of the population to call all listeners of rap drug dealers and criminals. After all many entertainers, who were once just listeners, are successful entrepreneurs. If indeed rap music warped the minds young people into criminals such success would not be possible.

When Jay Z gets on the mic and spits people listen; he is an icon. I believe that Jay Z lyrics may have come from previous experiences, yet he lives a completely different life now, he is where he is now because of his experiences. Experience is after all the most sought-out quality, sometimes even more than a diploma. Jay-Z is now an experienced CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records, as well as RocaWear. Many would say that one must be well educated, experienced and outgoing to become the CEO of a Multi-Million business. Yet many people forget about all of this when stereotyping, or maybe its possible they don’t know how accomplished he is. In Jay-Z’s song 99 Problems, from The Black Album, he talks about his experiences. In one part of the song Jay Z refers back to the year ’94 and states he was pulled over by a cop for speeding and the cop asks him if he is carrying a weapon on him because a lot of “them” are, referring to black people. Despite whether this is true or not, the statement tells the listener how cops stereotyped him, and others like “him”. Yet Jay Z was not always a CEO, he used to be like us a listener, whether he committed any crimes we will never know.
 

Stereotypes say that people who listen to rap music get blazed (get high off marijuana). People across the borders smoke marijuana, some like rap, some like rock, I know some people who listen to classical music and get higher than the guy working the drive-thru at taco-bell. Yet the media portrays people who smoke marijuana as loosers and people without a future. Some commercials even go as far as saying Marijuana Kills. Snoop Dogg, a well-known rapper, is an Icon for Marijuana. Snoop Dogg is also a known actor is playing a role in the sitcom weeds People who know Snoop Dogg automatically think about marijuana when they see him. Dave Chappelle and Katt Williams also speak about marijuana and their experiences with trees in their stand-up acts.

The truth is I have never met anyone who only listens to rap music smokes trees and sits on their ass all day. On the other hand I know of plenty people who smoke trees, listen to rap music, go to school, have a job, raise a family and live an all around good life. Just because you smoke trees doesn’t mean you listen to rap music, or even identify with the culture. Rap listeners are not criminals. Yet we have noticed a trend in many entertainers, they smoke trees, but can you blame them? With so much shit on their mind I think their damn right to spark up if they feel the need to relieve some stress.

Fame Kills-Or Not...

So it would seem that in the aftermath of Kanye West’s/Swifts Fiasco people are boycotting tickets to Kanye West’s/Lady Gaga’s Fame Kills tour. TMZ is reporting that due to Kanye’s outbreak ticket sales have been slow and this is causing tension to rise between both parties. While Lady Gaga states that the decision was mutual to cancel the fame kills tour, she adds that she will soon be leaving on a solo tour. Mean while Kanye is expected to take time off as Lady Gaga adds in her interview. I cant believe that the Swift Incident at the VMAS would have set his ticket sales that far behind. Most people, Swift fans, are pissed-off at Kanye West right now; So Kanye West is cancelling his tour? Yes the tour is canceled, yet there is no evidence that it is due to the Swift incident. From what I can see Kanye is stressed out and is just taking some time out.


I don’t think that people have actually stopped to think, and taken into consideration that Kanye West has been pulling in big numbers in these past few years. Just two years ago on September 11th Kanye West debuted his album Graduation. This marked a significant moment in the Hip-Hop industry because 50 Cent also debuted his album Curtis. The double release caused tension between both artists as well as in the Hip-Hop community. By selling almost a million copies in only the first six days, West outsold his opponent by more than 300,000 records, 50 Cent who fell short of his own expectations and brought in 691,000 sales. As stated in the Billboards Kanye West also a record when he sold 133,000 digital albums.

Gaga stated a week ago in her interview, "We did not do this tour for each other," she added. "We did this tour for everybody else. We wanted to do something that no one has ever seen”. It seems that Gaga was more than looking forward to kicking-off her fame kills tour, which would have been on November 10th in Phoenix, Arizona. Lady-Gaga also states when referring to Kanye west "He's really shown me a lot, as a friend — like creatively planning it with him. It's all about the fans for him. We were making the stage and he was like, we can't put these side panels here because if we [do], these people can't see and that's not fair. He was like, 'I'm not selling a ticket to a fan who can't see the show,' and he's right." After hearing these statements I cannot believe that both Kanye West and Lady-Gaga would both mutually agree to cancel their tour.

In an interview with Jay Leno, West states that he is sorry that his hurt, referring to his mother’s death in 2007, has led him to hurt other people. West goes on and explains how he never really took the time out to get over his mothers death and that he was going to take time out to reflect on how he was going to live the rest of his life. West seem extremely emotional when speaking about his feelings towards his mother and towards what he felt he could have done different. Some may say that he is Kanye, trying to make up for what he did, or maybe even do this to promote sales. However I believe that Kanye West did not want to cope with his mother’s death, so he kept his mind occupied with music and work, and he never (or maybe forgot) to take the time out and reflect on what had happened to his mother.




I guess many people don’t stop to look at the evidence in front of them and jump into conclusions, while others blindly follow the media. People are missing the point, Kanye West was already planning on taking some time due to what he felt emotionally. I see it as this was a wake up call for Kanye West from the nation. I believe the Kanye realized he was actually wrong and wanted to take time out and re-arrange his goals. It couldn't have been due to ticket sales, even if Kanye West lost half of his fans, the rest of them would still be there watching him.