Buddhism Blog Assignment 1

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Liberation:

Flogging Molly "What's Left of the Flag" Celtic Punk, 2002

The Bravery "Believe" Alternative Rock, 2007

MGMT "The Youth" Alternative Rock, 2007

The Blow "True Affection" Alternative Rock, 2006

Mumford and Sons "The Cave" Folk, Rock, 2009

Success:

Jay-Z "Encore" Hip-Hop, 2003

Franz Ferdinand "The Fallen" Rock, 2004

Fastball "The Way" Rock, 1998

The Strokes "12:51" Alternative Rock, 2003

Kasabian "Underdog" Rock, 2009

For the second portion of the assignment, I decided to approach the song selection in a more proactive way. I thought of bands that seemed on first thought to be driven by either the idea of liberation or success. The first things that came to mind were punk bands and rap artists. Punk messages seem to normally be about fighting the authoritative powers that be and Rap songs typically have some sort of allusion to the wealth or success that they have had. Both of these stereotypes proved to have some background and I was able to get a few songs from each. For the rest of the songs I used my ipod and thought about the assignment as I was working out or running. Neither songs referring to liberation nor success were particularly hard to find. Success was a slight bit easier to find in the fact that people would rather hear about someone doing well at something or completing a goal. I doubt many artists would write about a complete failure in their lives. Likewise most artists that wrote or sang about liberation usually tailored it towards breaking away from oppression or a relationship that caused them pain or heart ache.

When comparing the American music idea of success to that of the aims of Hinduism they are surprisingly similar in their goals. Completion of specific goals or tasks and a general wellbeing that was better than what the singer experienced before was the general commonality among the artists. This sense is also felt with the Hindu beliefs. Achieving a better state of life and living is the common goal for both the American artists and the aims of Hinduism. The Hindu aim of achieving liberation is understandably different from that of the American artists. Liberation for American artists seems to focus on personal relationships, government oppression, and social pressures that are affecting the writer. Liberation means becoming free of the oppression and not of the freedom discussed by Hindu's aim of releasing ones soul from this world and passing to the next. The American artists seemed self centered in their music when it came to these two aims. Almost all of the songs focused on their own success and liberation, not that of the community or a country. This is understandable after the tough time I had in finding songs last week about community service.

Muse - Feeling Good [Live From Wembley Stadium]

Assignment 1

Community Service songs:

1. NWA "Express Yourself" Hip-Hop, 1988

2. Citizen Cope "Nite Becomes Day" Alternative, 2004

3. Bob Marley "Fussin' and Fightin" Reggae, 1973

4. Creedence Clearwater Revival "Fortunate Son" Rock, 1969

5. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Shuffle Your Feet" Rock, 2005

Pleasure:

1. Franz Ferdinand "Do You Want To" Pop Rock, 2004

2. Beastie Boys "Fight For Your Right" Hip-Hop, 1987

3. Cake "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" Alternative Rock, 2003

4. Jay-Z " Excuse Me Miss" Hip-Hop, 2003

5. Muse "Feeling Good" Rock, 2001

For the past few days I was listening to my music with a conscious effort to find songs that fit into these two aims of Hinduism. I was not surprised by the results from my ipod. I was easily able to make a list of songs for the Hindu aim of pleasure. It seemed like every song had at least one or two elements of seeking pleasure within the lyrics. The community service side, however, was much harder. This difference seems to make sense in popular music. For the most, part people want feel good songs and lyrics. Expressing a need for social, economic, racial, and political change makes for a great idea, but few artists tend to write about them. Sex, happiness, love, and parties sell to the general public at a much more consumable rate than that of change or community awareness. These selling points for American music seem to be right in line with my understanding of the four aims of Hinduism. The majority of people want to seek pleasure; so it would make sense that the majority of music produced and sold is about the same subject. Additionally, musicans, aside from the occasional Bono type, are not humanitarians. They love excess, pleasure, and fun, to that effect it would be understandable that they would write music that expresses this feeling. Music is an escape from the everyday life. People want to have feel good music when they escape, jump in their car, and sing badly as they drive down the highway.

Let's see how this works.