What Does It Mean To Modal Birds

Ridge Vinson
12/3/2012
6th Period
Research Paper
“Errything that I got, I got from slangin birds!” (2 Chainz). What does it mean to slang birds? As times change so does music and the culture around it. Times have been changing and creating a mold for what we now call pop music and rap. The pop culture and the pop music go hand and hand in these ever changing times. The youth that are growing up in society today are being exposed to new and distasteful music which it is having a negative effect on them. A lot more is allowed on radio and public broadcast than what used to be viewed as acceptable. This has made a negative shift in the culture of youth. Heavy factors for this are suggestive lyrics, scandalous videos, fashion among
artist, and “famous life”. With all these contributions there is a trending wave of new teen activity and behavior. It is all over and not just in America. This is something that has spiked within the last 40 years. The older generation has become very distraught with the new trends. It is causing problems and disrupted the normal day to day life which in turn is causing more violence and illegal activity. This is the effect on teen culture that music is having. It is something that should be recognized so that there can be a changed. Due to pop culture and varieties of music these new changes aren’t good and will damage the rich culture that is already here and slowly fading away. First in a long list of negative things about music are the suggestive lyrics. Over the years lyrics have become more and more open. This openness has ranged from simple words that older kids would understand all the way to cussing with out a bleep. This has also opened up the gate for drug terms such as “slangin birds” which means selling drugs. With this it isn’t uncommon to hear verses about murder and violet activities. “Some rock artists actually seem to encourage teen suicide, says Susan Baker the vice president of the PMRC. In Centerpoint, a small town in Texas, a young man took his life while listening to the music of AC/DC. He was not the first.” (“What influence does music have on our kids?, Family.go.com). Many lines have become focused on sex and sexual acts. “Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual massages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music.” (“Dirty song lyrics can prompt early teen sex”, www.msnbc.msn.com). The new music and culture around it has prompted early teenage sexual activities. “Whether it’s hip-hop, rap, pop or rock, much of popular music aimed at teens contains sexual overtones. Its influences on their behavior appears to depend on how the sex is portrayed, researchers found. Among heavy listeners, 51 percent started having sex within two years, versus 29 percent of those who said they listened to little or no sexually degrading music.” (“Dirty song lyrics can prompt early teen sex”, www.msnbc.msn.com). This early teenage sex is causing young female pregnancy and it can be related back to this new type of music that is catching teens. Today’s music can be accessed via WiFi and on internet radio nothing is censored. These negative and degrading lyrics are pushing old fashion culture out of the way. Next are the clever but scandalous videos that are infesting the internet.
The concept of a music video has changes many times over the last few decades. They all still have the basic concept to get as many likes as you possibly can. They also try to get the most attention so that they can become more famous and be seen by many. This increases the target audience and intern more people will see it and download the music. Recently within the last decade or two the best way to do this has been to appeal with a scandalous and sexually manner. Humans are naturally curious and enjoy the idea or a scandalous video that tells the story in a song with out it being like porn. “Exposure to lots of sexually degrading music gives them a specific message about sex, said lead author Steven Martino, a researcher for the corporation in Pittsburg. Boys learn they should be relentless in pursuit of women and girls and learn to view them as sex objects”. (“Raunchy music influences teens sexual habits”, Theage.com). Many pop, rock, and rap artist have started to introduce real strippers in their videos so that many people will talk about it and view it. Along with strippers and dancer is an appeal with cash. It is the dream of many American to become rich and have lots of money so showing lots of money in a music video makes it more desirable to watch. This is a good method that recording studios and directors have taken because it reaches millions of teens. The teens see what
they want in these videos then go and try to achieve it and it may influence them to get involved in violent or sexually activities. This is and unsafe environment which is becoming a new trend in culture. More and more across America it has been accepted and little is being done to stop it. Furthermore is fashion, fashion is a huge deal in American culture that speaks with out words.
A lot can be said by just what you wear. It’s once thing that people are judged on. “Support of the music industry and the individual artist and bands can be seen everywhere, one chest at a time. Music related or influenced fashions accounts for nearly a quarter of all clothing sales to teenagers ages 12-19. However clothing is the just the beginning of the influence”. (“How music influences your teen’s fashion”, Family.go.com). Its true that many artists have crated fashion tends such as snapbacks and tattoos. One rapper named Lil Wayne has his own clothing brand called TruckFit, which has trended largely in the last few months and it can be seen in schools all over. This creates many types of groups among teens and makes outcast. Teens separate themselves into groups based on music and fashion most of the time because we like to hang out with people who have the same interest as us. “White students who listened to ethnically diverse Top 40 pop music showed equal support for groups focused on whites, African Americans, Arab Americans, and Latino Americans.” (“Rock, pop, White power: How music influences support for ethnic groups, Eurekalert.org.). This relates to them all listening to similar music which will show in there fashion and cliques. It is nature to be around what makes you comfortable so humans seek out similarity. That is why the fashion among teens has
shifted so they can try to be like who they want to be and still fit in at school. Finally is the “famous life”. It’s every persons dream to become wealthy one day so people will try almost anything to make money. This is conveyed with the new music. Lots of music artist talk about doing drugs and selling drugs as a way to make money and still have fun. It has lead to early drug activity among teens. This has created a negative influence on young people that is turning into gangs and violence. Many will go through hell and back to become famous and if it means doing something bad along the way they will, due to what new music and culture change because of it. Life has more rewards than money but many people look past that and let music influence them. This has lead to more crime rates within the last decade. In Conclusion music in the last few decades has changed in to a new form where drugs, violence, sex and other bad activities have started to become more and more accepted. It has made a huge shift in pop culture and is trending towards a bad future. This is due to suggestive lyrics, scandalous videos, fashion among artist, and “famous life”. With these popping up everywhere it is viewed less and less as a bad thing. What happened to the days where you could turn on a radio and sit down and listen to music with the family? Those days are fading away just like the old fashioned culture around it. This is something can be stopped with proper awareness. It can ruin the up and coming generations and ruin the culture that has been around for a long time. Our generation is the future lets not get consumed in the music or our selves. If we do it’s something that will create a downfall of society. When letting young teens listen to music remember what its doing and how its effecting culture because it might make a new and poor society.