Melancholic Derivations

May 07, 2004

Ok, for those of you who don't know me or are merely strangers reading my blog, I'll be frank. Despite all the hype and buzz about the Rhythm & Blues (R & B) genre of music nowadays, I just can't stand that particular brand of song. Yes. All you R & B fans can start plotting to pelt me with eggs the next time I step out of my house. But before you do that, hear me out. Hear my reasons for developing my way of thought and perhaps you'd understand my intense distaste for R & B.

Note : I categorize R & B and Hip-Hop as under one category.

Reason 1: I've always felt that songs were written to convey meanings and feelings spoken words couldn't do. Hence, when you write a song, you are writing about something you feel or have experienced. Something meaningful simply. In bands like The Calling, The Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot and Course Of Nature, you get themes in their songs like mortality, spirituality, separation, religion and in general, just feelings on life and its many twists. They are meaningful and spiritually fulfilling to listen to. Now let's take a look at songs like P.I.M.P. by a rapper who calls himself 50-Cent. Nice nickname for him because he is probably worth that amount in terms of value for his music. I quote from his song : "I don't know what you think about me...I'm a motherfuckin' P.I.M.P." Well, that tells you ALOT about his character and persona. Even if he is faking all this to gain attention and fame, that says alot about his character as well.

Reason 2: It is often said that the music you make reflects who you are in life. Most of the R & B and Hip-Hop genre is written by African American musicians who in short, live very unfulfilling and short lives. I'm not trying to be racist here, but how many times have you heard of Ja-Rule, Jay-Z and co. getting shot, wounded or beaten up in some bar/nightclub? Compare that to the number of times you hear about John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls lead singer) or Alex Band (The Calling lead singer) getting into trouble. See what I mean? The women of R & B are not spared my criticism either. Look at the amount of marriages, break-ups and rumours that have surrounded Jennifer Lopez. To say that she is a loose woman is merely hitting the tip of the iceberg. "It's not working out for me." It isn't? More like the sex isn't working out for you, bitch. To put it concisely, I'd hate to have a drug-using, alcohol-abusing, violent and unreasonable individual as my idol or like the songs he/she makes.

Reason 3: The rhythm and vibe is just not there for me in R & B. I cannot recall the amount of times when I have been driving in my car happily tuned into the Perfect 10 enjoying my daily dose of Hoobastank, Five For Fighting or The Goo Goo Dolls when the song is ended and Ja-Rule's sickening deep grunts flood the air in my car. Now if you have ever heard any of that fucker's songs, all he is doing in the song is going "Yeah...Uh...Yeah...Baby girl...." Either he is really doing that or everything else he says is undecipherable to me in which case, he has failed as a musician as he has not conveyed the meaning of the song to me clearly. Most R & B songs exist on a simple beat which goes on and on till a the lady singer sings abit about how she is not getting enough groove in the club or she is not feeling good about the night and she is interrupted by a grunting, throaty male rapper who raps about how he is going to "pop a few pills and get high all over again" Is that what you call music? R & B fans, I appeal to your sanity and judgement. Do you really like that sort of music?

Oh, and if I forgot to mention, those 'duets' they do which are so common on the R & B Ten 98.7? They remind me of animal mating season when the female has to shriek to get the male's attention who then grunts his approval.

But no, I won't fall into that trap of generalisation. Some songs from the genre are indeed good, but those are rare and they are the few which do NOT talk about drugs, sex, violence or partying.

Next Post : Part 2 - Why clubbing is simply not worth it.

Traveller fell apart at 8:16 PM


	Now Spinning Heroes Theme - Heroes Soundtrack The Protagonist joel \| content \| driven \| focused \| motive-oriented \| cynical \| analytical \| God-fearing \| jaded \| Frequent Reads Ben Christie Christine Davina Eugene Jasmine Jeremy Jo-ann Kay-Lene Mac Tammy Vivek Past Rants January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 Tap My Shoulder		May 07, 2004 Ok, for those of you who don't know me or are merely strangers reading my blog, I'll be frank. Despite all the hype and buzz about the Rhythm & Blues (R & B) genre of music nowadays, I just can't stand that particular brand of song. Yes. All you R & B fans can start plotting to pelt me with eggs the next time I step out of my house. But before you do that, hear me out. Hear my reasons for developing my way of thought and perhaps you'd understand my intense distaste for R & B. Note : I categorize R & B and Hip-Hop as under one category. Reason 1: I've always felt that songs were written to convey meanings and feelings spoken words couldn't do. Hence, when you write a song, you are writing about something you feel or have experienced. Something meaningful simply. In bands like The Calling, The Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot and Course Of Nature, you get themes in their songs like mortality, spirituality, separation, religion and in general, just feelings on life and its many twists. They are meaningful and spiritually fulfilling to listen to. Now let's take a look at songs like P.I.M.P. by a rapper who calls himself 50-Cent. Nice nickname for him because he is probably worth that amount in terms of value for his music. I quote from his song : "I don't know what you think about me...I'm a motherfuckin' P.I.M.P." Well, that tells you ALOT about his character and persona. Even if he is faking all this to gain attention and fame, that says alot about his character as well. Reason 2: It is often said that the music you make reflects who you are in life. Most of the R & B and Hip-Hop genre is written by African American musicians who in short, live very unfulfilling and short lives. I'm not trying to be racist here, but how many times have you heard of Ja-Rule, Jay-Z and co. getting shot, wounded or beaten up in some bar/nightclub? Compare that to the number of times you hear about John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls lead singer) or Alex Band (The Calling lead singer) getting into trouble. See what I mean? The women of R & B are not spared my criticism either. Look at the amount of marriages, break-ups and rumours that have surrounded Jennifer Lopez. To say that she is a loose woman is merely hitting the tip of the iceberg. "It's not working out for me." It isn't? More like the sex isn't working out for you, bitch. To put it concisely, I'd hate to have a drug-using, alcohol-abusing, violent and unreasonable individual as my idol or like the songs he/she makes. Reason 3: The rhythm and vibe is just not there for me in R & B. I cannot recall the amount of times when I have been driving in my car happily tuned into the Perfect 10 enjoying my daily dose of Hoobastank, Five For Fighting or The Goo Goo Dolls when the song is ended and Ja-Rule's sickening deep grunts flood the air in my car. Now if you have ever heard any of that fucker's songs, all he is doing in the song is going "Yeah...Uh...Yeah...Baby girl...." Either he is really doing that or everything else he says is undecipherable to me in which case, he has failed as a musician as he has not conveyed the meaning of the song to me clearly. Most R & B songs exist on a simple beat which goes on and on till a the lady singer sings abit about how she is not getting enough groove in the club or she is not feeling good about the night and she is interrupted by a grunting, throaty male rapper who raps about how he is going to "pop a few pills and get high all over again" Is that what you call music? R & B fans, I appeal to your sanity and judgement. Do you really like that sort of music? Oh, and if I forgot to mention, those 'duets' they do which are so common on the R & B Ten 98.7? They remind me of animal mating season when the female has to shriek to get the male's attention who then grunts his approval. But no, I won't fall into that trap of generalisation. Some songs from the genre are indeed good, but those are rare and they are the few which do NOT talk about drugs, sex, violence or partying. Next Post : Part 2 - Why clubbing is simply not worth it. Traveller fell apart at 8:16 PM