Heavy Metal Under Study

The days of court battles, PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center), and accusations of satanic lyrics (and other “evils”) by Heavy Metal bands from religious fundamentalists and journalists alike may be long gone but that era has definitely left its mark on our favourite musical genre. You assume that a well-educated person, meaning a person with rich life experiences and the ability for critical thinking (rather than actual degrees – what I would call “reservoir toilet paper of the highest quality”), will be in a position to look back and laugh at the naive and ignorant society of the 80s. And most do.

But the stigma that Heavy Metal carried through to the 00s has become such mainstream that it attracted the attention of the higher levels of the academic and scientific communities.  Along come academic research and the New wave of “Metal Studies” (NWOMS – my own abbreviation!). After the ridiculous attack from the even more ridiculous ignorant PMRC in the early 80s, psychologists and other scientists decided to look into this social phenomenon in more detail.

Studies stripped down Heavy Metal; from song lyrics and MTV videos to stage presence. They looked for subliminal messages in songs of bands like Judas Priest and Twister Sister, the promotion of sex, drugs, and self-destructive behaviours and many more. Below are some scientifically derived (?) yet really hilarious conclusions about the Heavy Metal fans:

“. . .a mass following of youth, their denim clothes covered in studs and appliqué, their hair long and wild so as to swing freely when they shook their heads in time with the music – what they called head-banging”

Cashmore (1984, p. 37)

“Contingents of longhaired, denimed males . . . consuming large quantities of beer and playing imaginary guitar runs in sycophant homage to their alter egos performing on the stage”

Chambers (1985, p. 123) on the Reading and Knebworth festival goers

Now I am not saying these scientists were crazy for researching the relationship between Heavy Metal music preference and anti-social behaviours, suicide, anxiety, and depression. But as expected of poor and highly biased methodologies, studies offered conflicting evidence in all areas, be it psychological, social, or cultural and not many reliable conclusions. Brown (2011), from which the above quotations were extracted, reports that research has now shifted its focus from looking at Heavy Metal as a social problem to a more cultural and musicological approach (i.e. NWOMS).

This sort of research may not appeal or even be known to the average Heavy Metal fan and really, who cares what happens within the scientific/academic community, right? Well, it may sound boring but truth is that proper research approaches and methodologies undertaken by serious researchers who understand the Heavy Metal music and its “culture”, will manage to catch the attention of fans and educate them about the important aspects of their favourite genre.

My new found respect for the NWOMS derives mainly from people like Sam Dunn a Canadian musician, film director, and anthropologist (you probably know him as the director of Metal: A Headbangers Journey, Global Metal, and Iron Maiden: Flight 666) as well as Keith Kahn Harris a writer, sociologist, and music critic.

Heavy Metal music intrigues scientists and inspires research that may even lead to joke-like quotations like the above-mentioned, benefit to our own amusement. It might have given birth to strange phenomena such as head-banging, air guitar and provocative attire but at least it’s not responsible for plague-like phenomena such as women who want to be called “Lady”, have a weird fond of umbrellas or wish for you to hit them one more time!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Article reference:

Brown, AR (2011). Heavy Genealogy: Mapping the Currents, Contraflows and Conflicts of the Emergent Field of Metal Studies, 1978-2010. Journal for Cultural Research, 15 (3), 213-242.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Image credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.examiner.com

http://www.imdb.com

Read More

Religion Vs Rock N' Roll

I know, the title couldn't be more kitschy and lame. But here is what the world has come to! I have been avoiding to get into this debate (i.e. the religion, not the Rock N' Roll one) for obvious reasons:

1. I am not religious, at all, so my thoughts and ideas are probably biased (or maybe scientifically researched, educated, and rational);
2. I will defend Rock N' Roll (not intentional Christian Rock, Satanic Rock or whatever useless piece of propaganda out there, just pure Rock N' Roll);
3. I despise ignorance and people who are comfortable with it.

I will probably make more enemies than attract followers with this piece of writing but a person has to do what's honest to them. So here it is then!

I've recently read another piece of "creative writing" (and I am being very kind here) by a certain person, of certain religious beliefs, through a certain propagandic website. I will not disclose any more details as I do not want to advertise them more than I need to.

This piece starts off by describing how the Rock N' Roll scene has shocked parents around the world; from Elvis' hip moves, to The Beatles' haircut (!), The Rolling Stones' vulgar rock, Jefferson Airplane's hippie ways, and last but not least, Heavy Metal's advocation of sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, drug abuse, and Satanism (notice the capital S!).

Then it goes on to defend the Rock music that suits them best, i.e. the one infused with relevant religious elements and in their opinion human sensitivity, poetry, and constructive social criticism and ditch the Rock music that is EVIL.

Evil Wrong Rock music (could be a new sub-genre, don't you think?) according to these people is the music of Sex & Lust (i.e. Mötley Crüe). It goes into a detailed discussion about scenes of sex & lust in specific songs and the androgynous look of Mick Jagger. Then we have Rebellion, a condition promoted by Rock music along with attacks towards society, parents, school, and god....!

Then follows Aggression & Violence, apparently evident on MTV. Here is the argument that mostly got on my nerves (politely put): Heavy Metal music is not intellectual, it's meant to connect to the "most base and low levels of the unconscious mind". There are so many wrongs in that sentence, that as a Psychologist, I'm offended by the lack of interest, understanding, and pretentious use of what they think is deep and science-y enough to impress the readers.

The fourth danger of Rock is Immediate Gratification, enjoying life in the present and avoiding thoughts about the future. Finally, we have Satanism, which as always cannot be excluded from any discussion on Rock music. Here we are presented with examples like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and MTV. The blame for satanism is settled then!

Reading this article evoked many feelings in me: mainly the EVIL ones! I was surprised how people can be so narrow-minded, ignorant, and dishonest all at the same time. I don't wish to attack people personally, that is not my purpose in life. I worry how religious propagandas undermine the intellectual ability of people. Especially when these propagandas come from people who change their religious affiliations like dirty underwear.

Surely a well-educated, wise, and rational person can understand that Rock music cannot be blamed for all social problems. And by well-educated I don't necessarily mean people with University level degrees etc. On the contrary, I mean people with life experiences that teach more than a University doctorate.

People are way smarter than the person who wrote the article thinks (or is). Surely, from a psychological perspective, the teenage years are a very challenging and sensitive period in our lives. But most problems derive from inadequate familial, educational, and societal support and guidance. Music, in the same way as books, movies, and TV, does carry some challenges and thought-provoking views, ideas, even fantastical elements. 

It's the way children are equipped that will determine whether they succumb to stupid ideas such as satanism, gods, and mythological creatures. I wish that people would simply stop blaming general vague umbrella-type terms such as Heavy Metal for all the problems society (another vague umbrella-type term!) faces.

Just to be clear: As I do not believe in a white-bearded, long-haired, sandal and cape-wearing man, sitting on a white cloud and picking his next "miracle" victim, the same way I do not believe in a red-faced, goatee-bearer, goat-like man, with horns, sitting in the deepest parts of earth, stirring an imaginary soup made with humans in a giant cauldron.     

Imagination can help with creativity but sometimes it can get in the way of reality as well.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Image credits:

http://www.rokpool.com/

http://www.motley.com

Read More