Does lyrical content worry you?

The T wrote: Raff wrote: Same here. Especially when satanic stuff goes together with racist content, as in the case of those Norwegian bands of the Nineties. I've read interviews with some of their members, and I think they should've been locked up even before they committed actual crimes.   This time I disagree enormously with you Raff. Completely. First, on the unimportant side of the issue, I can take any of the explicit language, including satanic, which is obvious some of you haven't really get in touch with (DT????).   About the second part, some bands have a racist view (Burzum, Darkthrone, even if never too explicit). They may believe what they want. But your idea of locking people up for what they think and "before they commit crimes" is actually terrible. One step closer to throught-control, and dictatorship also ("preventive prison" is the mother of just putting in jail anyone who is different). In that matter, i SO prefer the US to Europe where, as long as you don't harm anyone, you can express whatever weird idea you have. In Europe there's a bad history, we know that. I still believe in 100% TOTAL freedom of expression.   Or I will love if I could put in jail many of the christian zealots who in the name of god do more terrible things than a bunch of crazy norwegians (witrh the exception of a few actually dangerous ones) have ever done.

Teo, I'm afraid I didn't express my opinion articulately enough, so that you and others ended up misunderstanding it. If you think I am in favour of any kind of repression of people's opinions, you just picked the wrong person... In Italy we have a PM who insults everyone who thinks in a different way than he does, and I loathe him more than I have ever loathed anyone.

However, I have also observed that (unfortunately, I have to say) it is not always true that expressing an idea doesn't harm anyone. In most cases it doesn't, but there are occasions when such ideas influence other people, leading to very unpleasant occurrences. And I'm not just referring to extreme phenomena like Nazism or violent satanism, but to much simpler, apparently less harmful attitudes like laying the blame for anything on immigrants (I'm referring to Italy again, not to the US, in case you were wondering).

Ah, and I am an agnostic, so my remarks were not motivated by a defence of Christians against Satan worshippers.. It was the racist aspect of those interviews that horrified me, not any references to Satan (which were negligible and more decorative than anything).

Edit: In my previous post I wasn't as much referring to lyrical content as to the ideology behind SOME (not all) of those lyrics. As a rule, explicit lyrics don't bother me at all, even when they are overtly sexist. However, those interviews I referred to really freaked me out. If you are interested in knowing more, they are contained in a book called Lucifer Rising (don't remember the author, but if you google the title you should find it), which is about the connection between Satanism, rock and popular culture in general. Nothing of what I read in there disturbed me, with the exception of those interviews.


Edited by Raff - December 18 2008 at 08:50

WinterLight wrote: Raff wrote: I've read interviews with some of their members, and I think they should've been locked up even before they committed actual crimes. So, we should "lock up" people because of what they say?

Sure. It's easier than locking them up because of what they think.

Raff wrote: The Doctor wrote: Vompatti wrote: I like explicit sex stuff.  I prefer explicit sex stuff to explicit satanic stuff.   I agree.  Give me explicit sex, explicit language...even explicit drug references to explicit satanic stuff (and I'm agnostic, but that stuff just weirds me out). Same here. Especially when satanic stuff goes together with racist content, as in the case of those Norwegian bands of the Nineties. I've read interviews with some of their members, and I think they should've been locked up even before they committed actual crimes.

The Doctor wrote: Vompatti wrote: I like explicit sex stuff.  I prefer explicit sex stuff to explicit satanic stuff.   I agree.  Give me explicit sex, explicit language...even explicit drug references to explicit satanic stuff (and I'm agnostic, but that stuff just weirds me out).

Same here. Especially when satanic stuff goes together with racist content, as in the case of those Norwegian bands of the Nineties. I've read interviews with some of their members, and I think they should've been locked up even before they committed actual crimes.

I like explicit sex stuff. 

I prefer explicit sex stuff to explicit satanic stuff.


Edited by Vompatti - December 17 2008 at 19:07

Well, it really depends. When they curse, or it's satanic I typically don't mind it much at all. However, when it's discriminatory, ecouraging drugs (not like The Beatles), or explicit sex stuff, I don't listen to the music. I don't have a problem with The Water by SB (Cursing), or ITPOE by Dream Theater (Satanic), because there is somewhat of a point to it. Yet when people just blantantly sing racist comments, it's bothers me.

BaldJean wrote: sean wrote: The Doctor wrote: DavetheSlave wrote: Hi Winterlight -I can't agree with you - I think that the entire Western World will today admit to a problem with the youth!!! I see it proven in African tribalism where the Elders are admitting that the youth have become out of control to a large extent. We have never had the worldwide problems that we face today!!!   Every generation thinks that the youth of the day have become out of control.  That's been going on for thousands of years.    In fact, here's a quote from Zog (chief of one of the tribes of Neanderthal)...Zog uh na Kran (translation:  my son Kran sleeps well past sunrise, never joins in the hunt and the pictures he's drawing on the walls are disturbing and disgusting; the children of today are completely out of control).   I believe Socrates also made a similar comment about the youth of his day. you are confusing something here. Socrates had to drink the hemlock cup because the Athenians accused him of corrupting the youth

Send all the euth to asia...

DavetheSlave wrote: Hey June - there was a very large friendship between Wilson and Manson!!! THe Beach Boys in fact occupied a  property through Manson for a while!!!!

Lyrical content has to be taken the same way as film dialogue or a picture,if in a film scene theres a character who's racist,does it make the director racist?Does the painting of Mrya Hindley means the painter wants to kill children? Don't ruin the artists right of freedom and expression just because you have trouble comprehending the subjects.I'm sure with most bands people subconciously consider to promote vilolent lyrics are perhaps also playing a character of some sort.

Hey June - there was a very large friendship between Wilson and Manson!!! THe Beach Boys in fact occupied a  property through Manson for a while!!!!