In my Ponderings this weekend for the parish bulletin I wanted to "weigh in" on the Miley Cyrus MTV Video Awards performance... Praise Be Jesus Christ, Now and Forever! Being in Europe I have been out of the loop a bit regarding current events in the U.S. However, in between eating big bowls of spaghetti and meatballs, I have been getting dribs and drabs of what has been happening in America. Regarding this, I caught wind of the Miley Cyrus performance on MTV’s Video Music Awards. When this is printed, it won’t be such a “current event,” because I am writing my Ponderings on August 28th in order to meet a bulletin deadline because of the upcoming holiday. However, I would like to weigh in on what happened even though when you read this it will be old news. Let me preface my thoughts by stating that I never watch MTV. I stopped watching MTV in the mid-1980’s when the network morphed into something other than broadcasting music videos. When I had learned of Miley Cyrus’ performance by it being describe as “Over-the-top,” it peeked my interest, because I was surprised that any performance by a pop star today would be considered by the media as being “Over-the-top.” Our standards have so declined in the United States, that I am surprised there are any standards left at all. When it comes to morality there is no longer right and wrong in our world, but only the belief that one should do whatever makes them “happy.” One’s own “happiness” is the ultimate goal. Because of the hullabaloo, I decided to watch Miley Cyrus’ performance on Youtube. When I saw it, I was neither shocked nor surprised. After living through Madonna, Lady Gaga and Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during her performance at half time at Superbowl XXXVIII, how could I ever be shocked or surprised about anything I see in pop culture? We live in a civilization largely void of Christian standards. I ask, what is really so shocking about a beautiful woman dancing inappropriately? Since hip-hop and the corruption of the art of popular music in the mid 1990’s, we live in a world where this is common, not shocking. My first thought however when I saw her come out on stage was that she looked like a possessed demon, complete with horns on her head. Her movement was like the snake in the Garden of Edan. It was extremely distressing to look at. After seeing a performance such as this, I cannot help but lament over what happen to popular music. It has such a rich history. Until the mid 1990‘s and the advent of Rap and Hip Hop, popular music had lyrics that rhymed and had a chorus that repeated a couple of times during the song. The melodies were catchy and cleaver. The music of our parents and grandparents was Jazz, Big Band, Al Jolson, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Miller and Duke Ellington; crooners like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and dancers like Fred Astaire. Even later in the 1960s and 1970s, although lyrically at times from a Christian perspective problematic, music had good melodies and intelligent subject matter. No one can deny the talent of the Motown performers or The Beatles, The Doobie Brothers, The Beach Boys, The Who, The Animals and Creedence Clare Water Revival, just to name a few. Now, popular music sounds like inner city gang music and is all about trying to achieve shock value. Most contemporary music on the charts has no melody nor a chorus and has lyrics you can’t follow that don’t rhyme. I have become so anesthetized to unwholesome filth produced by Hollywood and the music industry, that for me there is very little shock value left. Considering how immoral our culture has become, I yawned when I saw Cyrus’ performance and the real shock value was that it wasn’t worse.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 14:34:48 +0000
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