Catholicism And Pop Culture Music

[Hubertus]

I find it hard to listen to a song "without listening to the lyrics," since the lyrics are an integral part of the song. So I try not to listen to music that has immoral or unstable lyrics, that can influence you into thinking something wrong, whether they are directly about sin or just about some flawed relativistic ideology. So basically, my guide is just, "whether it sits well with me," so it's kind of a case-by-case basis.

I also don't care to patronize those artists who have directly insulted Catholicism, such as Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj.

Now, does the music itself without the lyrics affect us? I'm not really sure at this point, but I think there may be more to it than meets the ear. Music communicates emotion, so perhaps we should be asking ourselves, what emotion is this song communicating, and should I be dwelling on it?

For instance, I listened to a lot of metal in the past (not like the classic rock kind, but the most br00tal and demonic-sounding-but-not-satanic stuff you can think of). The emotion communicated through this type of music [i]does[/i] seem to sound like someone who is eternally damned. So should we, as Christians, be dwelling on this? Or perhaps one could say that it can be used to illustrate the literal fear of God, kind of like a modern [i]Deus Irae?[/i]

And is there a reason that certain bass-driven genres of electronica are played in clubs where you're supposed to just "let go"? Do they awaken the animal within us, and if so is this a good thing?

I don't really see any clear-cut answer. I have spoken to people who thought that the beat to any rock-type song is inherently disordered and has a negative effect on our spirituality, however subtle. I'm not sure I agree with them, but I wouldn't mind seeing more information on that perspective.

[Papist]

I don't rule out any genre, for the most part. I get turned off when the music becomes, for me, full of angst and bitterness, and definitely when vulgar. This could be the reason I like music w/o lyrics, e.g. classical, ambient, goa and Gregorian chant. With lyrics, my favorite is the Beatles. Nothing really beat silly love songs.

[Rowan d'Alexandre]

[quote name='ThePenciledOne' timestamp='1338467696' post='2438620']
I think, when it comes to music its aweful to try and paint it white and black terms. Given sure there are songs and bands that are more 'beneficial' or 'counter-productive' (to use such callous economic terms), but I think that since music is an art form and as long as it protrays beauty it is serving its purpose.
[/quote]

Agreed. When you add Catholicism into American culture, you can't paint everything black and white.
I've gotten a lot of hate from my Protestant buddies about how Catholics are so "absolutist."

[quote name='Hubertus' timestamp='1338483230' post='2438702']
I also don't care to patronize those artists who have directly insulted Catholicism, such as Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj.
[/quote]

Also, I agree. Not saying this is what every other faithful Catholic needs to do, just that it's my rule.

I used to listen to a lot of pop, but then took a psychology/music class. Turns out it can be addictive. That turned me off.

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='Rowan d'Alexandre' timestamp='1338488011' post='2438765']
Agreed. When you add Catholicism into American culture, you can't paint everything black and white.
I've gotten a lot of hate from my Protestant buddies about how Catholics are so "absolutist."
[/quote]
Lol yeah, Catholics are the absolutists.

ALL ALCOHOL IS BAD.
ALL EXPOSED SKIN IS BAD.
ALL MODERN CONVENIENCE IS BAD.

(I'll give you a hint, there are groups that teach that, but none of them are Catholic.)

[kujo]

Did anyone else LOL at the choice of artists typifying pop culture? Gaga, Ke$ha and...[color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Marilyn [/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Manson? [/size][/font][/color]

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338488199' post='2438770']
Did anyone else LOL at the choice of artists typifying pop culture? Gaga, Ke$ha and...[color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Marilyn [/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Manson? [/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]
Fine, add in the Spice Girls, you razzle dazzle cat hipster.

[kujo]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' timestamp='1338488258' post='2438773']
Fine, add in the Spice Girls, you razzle dazzle cat hipster.
[/quote]

It's Vanilla Ice or GTFO!

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338488199' post='2438770']
Did anyone else LOL at the choice of artists typifying pop culture? Gaga, Ke$ha and...[color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Marilyn [/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Manson? [/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]
prop

[ThePenciledOne]

[quote name='Rowan d'Alexandre' timestamp='1338488011' post='2438765']
Agreed. When you add Catholicism into American culture, you can't paint everything black and white.
I've gotten a lot of hate from my Protestant buddies about how Catholics are so "absolutist."

[/quote]

Eh, I get it from my Ignatian temperment and try to 'find God in all things'. That's why when it typically comes to music if there is something redeemable about it I don't complain or at least try and emphasize that shard of truth.

[Rowan d'Alexandre]

[quote name='kujo' timestamp='1338488199' post='2438770']
Did anyone else LOL at the choice of artists typifying pop culture? Gaga, Ke$ha and...[color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Marilyn [/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial][size=3]Manson? [/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]



The fact that they're the first ones to come to mind doesn't really say much for me, does it. XD

[BigJon16]

To me, when I listen to songs that have nothing to do with God, they just sound hollow sometimes.


But that doesn't mean that I don't listen to secular music at all, just that I cant "get into it" as much.

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='BigJon16' timestamp='1338505030' post='2438966']
To me, when I listen to songs that have nothing to do with God, they just sound hollow sometimes.


But that doesn't mean that I don't listen to secular music at all, just that I cant "get into it" as much.
[/quote]
Too bad....a lot of secular music makes me realize the omnipresence of God.

[PhuturePriest]

I'm not going to get specific about anything, but I used to listen to Classic Rock quite a bit. Guns N' Roses, AC/DC and Aerosmith quite excessively, as well as Motley Crue (And if you know anything about the Crue you'd know Crue stands for "Crude") and all the like. Most of it was about sex. I claimed it didn't affect me. However, I just couldn't figure out why I had such a bad problem with sexual temptation. After all, I didn't undress every woman I saw! Well, one day I realized "Hm... Just maybe, if I plan to stop having these problems, it might be a good idea to stop listening to Girls Girls Girls and You Shook Me All Night Long." It may have been a strange coincidence, but a few months later self-mastery became so much easier. Since then I have never had strong temptations and life is fine and dandy. Hm...

The thing is, you are what you listen to, you are what you read, and you are what you watch, as the Pope himself has said (Don't ask for links because I don't have any). Since I stopped listening to this music and started living a moral and devout lifestyle, I haven't found these songs appealing anymore. These days I find myself listening to U2 (A Classic Rock band that is Christian), Gregorian Chant, Michael Buble and Bruce Dickinson songs, mostly. Of course, I still listen to the clean classics from time to time, ranging from Aerosmith's Livin' On The Edge to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, but I do not listen to any song about sex. I do not know if it would be a sin to do so, but I do know that I myself would not recommend it, especially if you are having a problem with self-mastery (Not to say you are, but if you are it's a bad idea.).

I too honestly find it hard to believe people don't really "listen to the lyrics". I'm not sure because I am a singer and the first thing I always listen to is the lyrics since I'm always looking for songs to sing, but lyrics are one of the most important parts of the songs. They are what turn a good Metal song into a Satanic song and a "good" (If there ever was one) rap song into a song about sex.

Edited June 1, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[Spem in alium]

As some have already mentioned, I used to be a person who'd listen to anything (except rap, heavy/death metal and screamo - I don't think I'll ever be able to bear them) without discerning. It was just music to me.

Nowadays, there is a line. It's drawn most clearly at demeaning language and drug or sexual innuendos. I don't listen to pop music much anymore, because most songs I hear seem to communicate those messages. I search for music that connects with my values and with my heart, and try to be a lot more discerning and wise than I once was.

[cappie]

If parents of young people today are anything like my parents, they probably don’t want them to watch too much television, spend too much time on their mobile phones (as we call them in Australia) or hang out with dangerous people because of the influences their teens would be exposed to.

Young people know, though, that by high school, parents aren’t the only influence affecting their lives. Their parents can no more stop teens from listening to Kesha than they can dictate what their kids think.

But parents are right about one thing: What teens listen to does matter. Anything teens let into their brain is going to change how they see the world.

It used to be that a person could just switch off his electronics and be in his own little world. But these days it’s harder to “disconnect” from the messages flying about from all sides. It’s tough to tell what’s right and what’s wrong, who’s making true art and who just wants people to buy stuff.

So each individual has the power and the responsibility as well to decide how much what they watch and listen to every day — the sexually charged music videos, materialistic commercials and the peer pressure at school — influences his life.

The drinking, partying and sex in most music today is not the fun, consequence-free playground that pop songs speak of. Teenagers’ choices in this arena have a very real and very serious impact on their future life.

I believe that one of the most important survival techniques for the modern world is as ancient as our Christian belief itself: St. Paul’s old invocation to be in the world but not of it.

Teens don’t have to live like hermits, divorced and disconnected from all of the things that they like but on the other hand, those songs don’t have to be young people’ reality either. Young people have the power to be responsible and make the right decisions about which path to choose.

Teens can stand up for themselves and their future by refusing to participate in behavior that is immoral, illegal and just plain bad for them. They can say no to risky sex, to binge drinking and drugs, and to all of the bad decisions that lead them to vomiting in a roller skate or much, much worse.

Teens can choose to rise above the influence of peers, pop culture and everything else pressing in on them. They can be their own influence.