Versificator

Taking a break from studying =)

So anyway, I've finished reading this novel I just downloaded, 1984 by George Oswell. It's one of the most recognizable dystopian novel, and easily one of the best reads I've had so far. In fact, the whole term of "Big Brother" comes from this book.

I've always been attracted to the dystopian genre, (opposite of utopia if you didn't know =D), and I've read quite a few of them, with my top 2 being Brave New World, and this. Books in the genre are usually a sort of social / political commentary on society now, and what direction we could take if something went wrong.

So, 1984. My interpretation of it was the dangers of socialism taken to the extreme, though the author himself said that it wasn't an attack on socialism (he's a socialist himself). Anyway, the story's goes along the line that the world is divided into 3 super states/nations, which are constantly at war with one another. The story takes place in one of them, Oceania, where everything is controlled and monitored by this party/government, and anything that is considered out of the orthodox is immediately put down (detected by a force of Thought-Police. And no, they're not psychic) Basically, the situation is fucked up. Children are encouraged to expose their parents (if they have unorthodox thoughts, such as doubt about the Party and what not) to the Thought Police, the past is continuously altered by the Party (who have a taskforce specially dedicated to this), and the people live in fairly horrible conditions (poverty, horrible horrible food).

But the thing is, the population has lost their will to fight/think independently. Everybody just sucks up whatever the Party says, even if they're blatant lies. The thing is, they truly believe it. There's a whole complex story to it, and I can't do it justice in this post.

But the thing is, there was this one thing that struck me, this thing called the versificator. It mass produces sentimental songs and other pop culture things to feed to the public, which gladly lap it up. This was obviously a blatant attack on the state of pop culture today.

And I have to agree. Seriously, look around. Look at the garbage they feed us on TV and magazines. Hollywood gossips, mad celebrity antics which the general public lap up, stupid retarded songs (soulja boy comes instantly to mind) which are geared to the public. I just feel this pop culture nonsense is dumbing us down so much.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we should just air philosophy on TV, or sing about serious stuff in our songs. Hell, that would be bloody boring. But seriously, this is getting stupid. I know why I don't listen to radio anymore. When I heard that "In the Ayer" and "soulja boy" were topping the charts, I lost faith in mainstream music. Seriously? Soulja boy has got to be the most retarded intelligence-insulting song ever. Sure, its dance music, but it shot all the way up to the top 10?
....Damn. Then we get all that Paris Hilton bullshit.

Besides, once you realize this, you start seeing the pattern in mainstream music.

You want to make a chart topping hit?

Easy. Here's the checklist.

Topic : Incredible teen angst or bitch smacking/booty shaking
Lyrics : Purposely ambiguous and vague, so that the general public can "relate" to it.
If possible, get a cute boy/girl to be the lead singer. Where's good music without good looks? They come hand in hand.

Same goes for TV. Hot chicks? Check. Mindless action? Check. Stupid jokes? Check.

Sure, these are all nice for hours of entertainment. I watch them myself. But it's become to the point that almost half the stuff on TV (or the cinemas) is this grovel. It's all becoming so generic, we're just getting fed this nonsense day in day out. I cringe whenever I hear 50 cents songs.

Maybe that's why I have so much respect for Eminem. Sure, he has the mindless songs (Fack or what not), but listen to his other songs, and you'll see the substance in them. And I love his music for that reason. It's this perfect balance between seriousness, and fun.

I really hate to end this post this way, but I don't know what else to say. I know I'm giving the impression that I don't like any of this and I think it's a waste of time.

I don't. I like this stuff.

But in moderation. Life would be so boring if all we did was think about issues and what not. But this mindless grovel is saturating our markets and flooding our minds so much, I'm getting sick of it.

I was actually planning on writing a post about how people think other people are shallow, but I think I'll save it for some other time.

Ear food.
Feel Good Inc - I love this song. It's like a plea for a stop to this hedonistic culture that's considered cool.
Yui - Tokyo. Yes. It's mainstream. Yes, it's part of the pop culture. Yes, it's vague, and thus I feel like I can really relate to it.

Like I said, in moderation.

Ciao.