Has modern music become too sexualised?

For the last 15 years the quality of music of all genres has nosedived. Something else to divert the masses from knowing that is needed to compensate.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

An interview with the Daily Mail eh?

He'll have told them what they wanted to hear.


Music has been about sex since at least the 1950's from Rock & Roll onwards. Probably even before that.


And how can parents protect their children - from what?

Has modern music become too sexualised?

For all the efforts of Cowell & Co some music is still made for adults.

If parents think its unsuitable its up to them to block access.

I have no intention of allowing the Daily Mail (where this story came from) and its ilk to force me, a full grown man, to live in a pink fluffy entirely child-safe environment when i have no actual children to worry about.

I will not be emasculated by a 5th rate tabloid.

And for the inevitable moaners about modern music - Congratulations you have now officially turned into your own parents.

Has music become too sexualised? Actually no I don't think it has. Miniskirts were all the rage in the sixties and no doubt people complained about it back then.

The real question though is children being exposed to sex too readily? I think they are. Children need to be allowed to be children and nowadays they're growing up too fast. A 13 year old girl releasing a fashion range which includes short skirts and slashed tops is one perfect example. In fact a 13 year old girl releasing a fashion range is a bit over the top in its self. Children will always want to be more like adults but we need to be careful how much like adults they're allowed to become.

Sex sells. This is proven constantly from the red light districts, makeup and clothing adverts, phone sex channels and music videos. Women are told how they should look and guys are shown a skewed perception of single life.

Personally I dont understand why parents would let their children watch or hear such rubbish and the number of tiny girls trying to dance like the *insert derogetory term* on tv is repulsive.

I used to listen to a lot of ac/dc with their old singer who had some fantastic sexually charged lyrics involving larger women, failing at a night on the prowl or catching an STD. It was light hearted and funny.

What is the point of anyone over the age of 25 criticising music aimed at 14 year olds? Surely Mike Stock must realise that pretty well all of us oldies will eventually lose touch with what young people enjoy. It's pretty well supposed to be that way.

Modern music is absolute garbage and the success stories are those re-hashed, souped-up versions of classic 60s, 70s & 80s songs. Music makers need to sell their wares with more and more graphic videos, sleeve covers and sexual extravagance, because their lack of real talent would be glaringly obvious if it was left to just their music to succeed.
All creativity has been sucked from the music industry by repetitive, bland and boring rubbish.

Modern Music or the music of now is absolute sh one t. performed by a bunch of talentless no hopers. There is no variation in it it follows the same tired formula of blokes in shades jerking about to some sort rhythm. I swear if you cut their hands off they would be struck dumb and the worst part about it is a lot of their so called songs are sampled. They seem to be unable to play any sort of instrument. It is the same rap style. The women sing with a ridiculous twang sound as if they have adenoid problems. Mind you saying that I did watch Muse a Glastonbury on the box they were good. Most of the good performers, and despite my utter dislike for rap music, I would have to say they they follow the traditional rock style with give a broader sweep to express themselves in.

It isn't so much the music (can it still be called that!) it is the soft porn video's that I object to, too many mediocre so called artist gyrating almost naked to sell what is laughingly called 'music'. If one listens to the actual noise without the visual presentation, it is obvious that the performers have absolutely no talent at all.

Well, if I were Mr Stock, who in company with Mr Aitken and Mr Waterman was responsible for the deluge of sound-a-like pap that invaded the airwaves for much of the late 80s I would keep my critical opinions on modern music to myself. But seriously, it is not only music that has become too sexualised, it is youth itself. Over the past few weeks I have seen pre-pubescent girls walking along the street wearing T shirts bearing slogans like 'Wannabe Porn Star', 'I only LOOK innocent' and 'Gold Digga'. The producers and distributors and wearers of these garments have no class. Add to this rear window stickers like 'Don't like my driving? Phone 0800 **** You' and to be honest you have the current attitude of many (not only the young) in the UK summed up to a tee. Music was always about rebellion. But the crop of misogynistic and sexually exploitative trash that has appeared in recent years is so contrived as to be laughable were it not for the hordes that take it's 'message' seriously, slavishly emulating the fashion, 'culture', and the slang until mum rings to tell them their tea's ready.

Well, it's the Daily Mail, so naturally we should be outraged by the vile use of language which is growing ever more vulgar, especially in more recent genres like rap, which is of course provided courtesy of only certain people. Sigh.

Music has been about sex for the past fifty years if not longer. Films have continued to show more sexual imagery, did it affect the younger generation then? No. Will it affect the younger generation now? No.

Of course some people will disagree and break into moral panic but the crux of the matter is that children are either too young to understand it or are of the age when they're beginning to understand it in which case you should sit them down and have a frank and open conversation with them rather.

And I think you'll find a lot of newer music is actually less sexual in content than it was a decade ago. Indie-folk ala Mumford and Sons, which isn't sexualised in the slightest, is set to become the next 'new' genre.

Sex and music have always been happy bed fellows. Every generation acts like they invented sex for the first time and there are always self-righteous politicians / adults who find it offensive and want to ban it.

Some find shocking sex music amusing others find it offensive and continue to be outraged until the next / worse style is introduced.

House of Reggae Pt. 71 - Slackness Special
https://houseofreggae.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2009-11-15T02_31_47-08_00

Music has always been about sex. The blues is full of sexual imagery.

Popular music has however become dreadful. Truely truely awful. It took a nose dive towards the end of the 90's with manufactured pop but i was beginning to think it was picking up again. Obviously not.

Bit rich coming from the man who was a part of launching Kylie on the public........

As such I have no problem with scantily clad young ladies singing, I have even been known to enjoy watching some of their videos!

What I do have a problem with is the amount of swearing and general vulgarity in a lot of modern music, there is some great modern music out there, but so much of it seems to be unintelligible grunting or pigeon English mixed with excessive swearing. Again I have been known to launch the odd expletive myself, but there is a limit.

Anyway, must dash - need to go borrow my Dad's flat cap, slippers and pipe!

No, modern pop/chart music videos have become too sexualised. Basically if you listen to anything that isn't Lady Gaga etc. then music is still pretty good and the vidoes not neccessarily sexualised. There is a lot of good modern metal kicking around, it just doesn't get any media attention at all, including from the BBC. Look at how little is mentioned on the BBC about Download and Sonishphere, despite them attracting larger audiences than other UK festivals that get front page recognition. Perhaps if you are busy complaining about the state of modern music you should actually lookf for it as opposed to expecting all the good bands to be presented to you on a plate.

Sex has featured in music for longer than the last 15 years, but the way it is portrayed in music videos has changed. Though not as much as you would think. Motley Crue's video for Girls, Girls, Girls is pretty sexualised and it's from the '80s. Perhaps the main problem is the video is often seen as more important than the song these days for chart toppers.

Do you agree with Mike Stock's views?

NO

What music?

In the last decade it's gone so down-hill that most of it sounds the same (gee - I never thought I'd say the same thing as my parents used to). But really - what music is there to listen to? Rap is just the same word with a silent C - lazy and dumbed down "singing" - and as for the electronically produced dross that is supposedly "pop music"; the less said the better.

So on the whole, where is the sexualisation? You can't understand most of it anyway to even pick that out!

Is Britney Spears music? The charts are full of rubbish off talent? shows so I never count this as music, is it too sexualised, who cares but if the daily Mail hates it, it must have something going for it.

It's all generic and sounds the same. That might just be me getting older.

Would there still be the sane complaints if music didn't have video? Because some songs have perfectly fine lyrics, but have the singer dressed in the bare minimum to get attention.

I agree that certainly many pop videos are highly sexualised, most feature scantilly clad females to the extent that they have become unoriginal and boring. However, hasn't pop(ular) music always had an overt sexual element? How many women were as much turned on by Frank, Elvis and the Beatles for their looks more than their music?

Watch almost ANY music channel for five minutes and you'll have the answer.

Crazy is a rapper and his ho's having near sex in a video at lunch time but swear words are bleeped out at all the time ... whats up with that?

Modern music is just rubbish.

Modern life has become too sexualised - I'm no prude, but am fed up with the constant use of sex to sell stuff, sex in just about every tv programme, or film, etc etc etc!

It's probably hard to argue that bands such as Rammstein have not become too sexualised - I'm struggling to think how they could sexualise their music & videos even more as they're basically hard code porn!

4. At 11:41am on 11 Aug 2010, Nok wrote:

And for the inevitable moaners about modern music - Congratulations you have now officially turned into your own parents.

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DING!!! You win this HYS.

"Mr Stock who was part of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman production team"

Ripped from Wiki

"As the epitome of creating very popular teen-pop music, the trio were often satirised or criticised. For example, the British newspaper The Guardian described them as "Schlock, Aimless and Waterdown" (similar variations on their name included "Stop Aitken Waterman!","Lock,Stock and Barrel" and "Shock, Ache and Water Torture"[citation needed]). Comedy group Morris Minor and the Majors' parodied the Stock, Aitken and Waterman style on This is the Chorus, specifically referencing Kylie Minogue's hit song "I Should Be So Lucky" as well as Mel and Kim's "Respectable".

So yes, part of the team responsible for Mel and Kim and Kylie running around in tight miniskirts is decrying the end of cultural values.

Shooting Stars: "Daily Mail readers now believe Poland is empty, true or fallllllse" - love it. Go listen to Arcade Fire - The Suburbs btw. It's great.

I seem to remember reading about similar comments being made about Elvis.

Why is this any different. It's music for teenagers (sometimes less) and 'young' adults. Just part of growing up.

And on the topic of Lourdes having a fashion with short skirts and slashed tops. Well surely any problems with that depend on what you allow them to wear under it. I often see young girls with short skirts over leggings or a ripped top over a t-shirt. It's only a problem if you, as parents, let them (and yes you CAN say no) run around with nothing on underneath or just their underwear.

If you really think that watching a lady ga-ga video is going to turn your daughter into a slut then you've got bigger parental issues that you realise.

Definitely - that George Formby is a very naughty man.

3. At 11:34am on 11 Aug 2010, coolhandpaul wrote:

Music has been about sex since at least the 1950's from Rock & Roll onwards. Probably even before that.

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Yes, but you don’t want to compare Elvis with Lady Gaga and Britney, do you? Elvis was fully clothed, and in the 50’s often only filmed from the waist up. There is no escaping the nakedness of the aforementioned ladies. It is a shame really, especially in the case of Lady Gaga who as far as I know, is actually a fairly talented musician, or at least able to play an instrument and (unlike Elvis) write her own songs.

To thrust this “sexual content” in the face of highly charged teenagers is irresponsible in a society where ever younger kids escape their parent’s control, loiter about drinking alcohol and increasingly looking for ways to relieve urges (over-)stimulated by the endless stream of semi-naked women on huge TV screens that seem to cover the wall even of the youth clubs these days. That, combined with the increasingly violent content of male music is asking for trouble. A solution? Pfff. It shouldn’t have come this far to start with. I blame conservatives world wide, who with their rigid attitudes and societies push children into more and more determined rebellion .

Not really. What is bad and disgusting is the gangster rap music.

Anyway, isn't this the same Daily Mail that has spent the last decade or more railing against 'Political Correctness'?

And now they are complaining that pop music is not politically correct enough?

Just shows that there are no depths of hypocrisy that this Britain-hating rag feels ashamed to sink to.

#1 "For the last 15 years the quality of music of all genres has nosedived. Something else to divert the masses from knowing that is needed to compensate"

That's a bit of a sweeping statement and I beg to differ! You listen to all genres do you? There are musicians of the highest order out there making music if you bother to look for them.

No, It's become too crap!

1. At 11:28am on 11 Aug 2010, Andrew Turpie wrote:
For the last 15 years the quality of music of all genres has nosedived. Something else to divert the masses from knowing that is needed to compensate.
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Not so!

There is a fantastic scene coming from the States which incorporates modern alternative indie music with folk music and its brilliant, psych-folk or new weird America.

Check out Port O'Brien, Alela Diane, Fleet Foxes, Hala Strana etc

I agree that 99% of what we are fed as far as music is concerned here in the UK is utter bilge.

Music hasnt become more sexualised, it has become more blatant in what its about. It seems with the current music trend that everything should contain swear words and crass language (If spoken in language you can understand). Also style and visuals have replaced actual talent. In a time when anyone can be given an acceptable singing voice with enough electronic tweaking it seems you only need a marketable "look" which then detracts from the actual people with genuine talent, who dont quite meet the prancy "pretty boy" "sexy girl" style the music industry wants.

Music could be deemed as being more sexualised only because lyrics are more open and direct about sex and less euphemistic about sex. But, basically, a lot of popular music has always been about sex with certain words replaced with euphemisms. Many examples of earlier sexually related songs will include hits such as “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”, “One Night With You” by Elvis Presley which was a cover of “One Night of Sin” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” by the Stones…I could go on and on of course. Today, R&B is probably the easiest example of current sexualised music, but has become boring to some degree because of its repetitive reference to and heavy reliance on sexuality. And for those of you who suggest that popular music has got worse over the years, I totally disagree. In the whole of my 46 years on the planet, there has always been good popular music and not so good popular music. This is as clear today as it has always been judging from the contemporary music I listen to and buy today and have listened to and bought over the years.

LOL. It is funny to see how many of you have already become your parents ;-)

Modern music reflects the society it comes from. So if you think modern music is soulless, vapid and over sexualized you don’t have to look very far to find out why.

In defense of modern music, this article is referring to pop music. Don’t lump all music into one category, as there are a lot of good music acts around. Pop simply aims for the lowest common denominator, so its not surprising its so crap.

P.S. not all rap is misogynistic, materialistic bravado. Try searching - I wish by Skee-lo for a bit of 90's nostalgia or alcoholic author by jesht for a uk rap classic

Loving the obvious oldies commenting that all new music is crap, uncreative and same same.

May I refer you to the following songs by bands who started out within the last couple of years:

Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws, Rinse Me Down, Swansea, Ivy and Gold
Delphic - Doubt, Counterpoint, Acolyte, This Momentary
Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods, Bathroom Gurgle, Focker

Feel free to have a listen and reconsider your lazy comments. That is of course if you're not offended by the last song name.

Just been talking to my daughters (10 & 13)about this:

Ten tear old made me laugh by saying she wouldnt dress like any of the girls in the videos because she knows I would only laugh at her.

Thirteen year old really hit the nail on the head though, the type of modern music I hate is usually only played by younger blokes driving clapped out Vauxhall Corsa's and Citreon AX's - blacked out windows, body kits, wide wheels and exhausts the size of dust bins! Which means I only ever hear it when stuck in traffic with one of them next to me drowning out the Blue Nile, so I turn on Primal Scream, AC/DC or Muse to drown their music out!

Still cant get the girls to listen to The Blue Nile though......

Music and sex have always gone together, but the point is there are varying degrees of sexualisation. Blatant sex is now used to promote most pop music produced these days simply because the bands churning out this rubbish are talentless. Most female "performers" stomp around thrusting various parts of their scantily clad anatomy like tarts on steroids. For someone who grew up in the swinging 60s, I find it neither attractive nor appealing. To be honest, I can't remember the last time I actually bought any music.
Rap with a captial 'C' ! That's all it is.

I agree that sex and music have been happy bedfellows for a long time. The threshold or not-so-fine-line between sex and porn music however was crossed sometime in the mid/late 80's and has since escalated into the current situation. I don’t have anything against sex nor porn per se, but there is a time and especially a place for either of them.

What rubbish.

They were saying that about Elvis Presley 60 years ago.

It's not sexualisation that bothers me it's the way it's all the style that does. Never liked the spice girls and can't stand all the pussycats dolls because all the grrrl power of both groups was just so phoney. It was all marketing.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Has modern music become too sexualised?
Ah well, la di da, la di da.

British music is overly-intellectualized in lyrics. The actual instrumentals are simple and faked. Richard Starkey (The Beatles) had a better idea for his group with comedy and jingle lines. He easily propelled their songs on the pop charts. American music is dominated by young women. They use contemporary western-styles with techno-beat.

While waiting for my comment to be moderated me and the missus are "going to do it in the road" a la Beatles...

If anyone thinks sexualisation in music is something new, they probably don't know their Mozart operas very well. Try listening to Don Giovanni or the Marriage of Figaro.

Music in one way or another has nearly always been about sex in some roundabout way. Either straight to the point or suggestive, so no I don't believe music is anymore sexualised now than what it has been in the past.

I certainly wouldn't stop my kids from listening to most types of modern music, as they are too young to fully understand the lyrics, more often than not its the tune itself they like, the beat etc. I wouldn't let them listen to the likes of Eminem(sp?) as I believe his lyrics are explicit and touch on complicated issues that a child should they pick up on it, not understand.

Again, it's one of those things where the parent is responsible to decide the boundaries and to be on hand when questions are asked about lyrics or music videos.

"This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain"

I guess you can't be sarcastic about girls wearing slutty clothes these days.
It's not the music that bothers me per-se, although with age I like it less and less. It's the fashions.
Yes women look good in hotpants, thongs and low cut tops but when that's all kids see on music channels etc.. then it starts filtering down.

It would seem that as soon as a child hits the magic age of 11 to 12 (you know, when the hormones start kicking in) they lose their childhoold by way of wanting to be like their role models and role models, for most are what or whomever is popular at the time.

...good god I sound like I should write for the Daily Mail. lol

Presumably this refers to R&B which disproportionately dominates both radio and televsion.

I summary I would agree, but of more worry is the self-centred and arrogant nature of this music genre, women are seen as objects purely for the pleasure of men whilst the men portray themselves without care for others - bring back Punk!!!

Pop music has always had a dance thread but was not once by any means entirely so composed. The words to dance music often have a sexual content but in the past this was creativey and wittily concealed by euphemism, metaphor etc. In that regard it was entitled to call itself art, I would say.

More depressing than the words to dance music is the suppression or marginalisation, by television and video, of every other form of popular music such as that valued for its lyrical or melodic content.

This began to happen in the 1970s. Producers of programmes, such as "TOTP" featuring audiences, did not like the fact that, during say, a Bob Dylan or Pink Floyd number the audience would stand motionless and simply listen, instead of mindlessly physically agitating themselves. "Television is about pictures, MOVING pictures" they shrieked in horror, and resolved that only dance music would be given airtime, so that people's screens could be filled with shots up ladies' skirts of wiggling bottoms. It's hardly surprising we've ended up where we are. I think the BBC is as much to blame for this as anyone.

45. At 12:45pm on 11 Aug 2010, sean56z wrote:
British music is overly-intellectualized in lyrics. The actual instrumentals are simple and faked. Richard Starkey (The Beatles) had a better idea for his group with comedy and jingle lines. He easily propelled their songs on the pop charts. American music is dominated by young women. They use contemporary western-styles with techno-beat.

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Best ever summary of music as a whole. You should write a book. Especially on the massive influence of Richard Starkey, famous amongst others for not only not being the best drummer in the world, but not even in the Beatles.

No music hasn't become no sexualised. There are plenty of songs around today which have nothing to do with sex. If you go back over 50 years wasn't Elvis sexualised, and what do you think Whole Lotta Love by Led Zepellin is about? That's nearly 40 years old now.

The actual term 'Rock n Roll' is an old black reference to sex, so it's not a particularly recent thing at all.

my dad and me were just talking about this last night i am in my 30s and i like most of the modern day songs but i still prefer the older songs if i was honest like the beatles michael jackson even doris day as this is the type of music i was brought up to listen to. I could not tell you some of the names and groups of music i should have listened to i can't remember.

Half and half, music always was sexualized but it seems to keep dipping more like the quality of the music. Most old songs weren't actually about just shouting sex sex sex but its rare to find a song that isn't in modern music, how anyone can say it's not overly-sexualized when you get songs like "Birthday Sex" and "My Humps" is living in la-la land, these are so-called mainstream songs and something of their ilk in old music would not reach mainstream (although maybe cult status).

Modern corporate pop labels use sexualised images as a way to sell generic and interchangeable pop acts, mainly because their appearance is their greatest selling point.

Lady Gaga is terrible, just another Madonna clone who can barely sing. This isn't her fault though, record labels don't care how technically proficient a singer or musician you are these days as we have the technology to enable anyone to sound good by passing their vocals through a vocoder and other synthesising equipment that then gives the impression that you're able to hit and hold a specific note or pitch.

This means that the labels no longer have to look for musical talent; they just find a good looking young person who is willing to sell themselves as a sex symbol, get them to sing someone else's songs and then give it all to the sound engineers to make it into a saleable commodity.

It's easy to avoid this sort of rubbish though as there are still loads of real bands and musicians out there making some wonderful music. I'd recommend Marillion to anyone, they write and record their own music and then sell it directly to their fans through their own website. Their music is second to none and that is all they care about.

This is an extract of a song from the 16th century, it is called "My thing is my own":

"A fine dapper tailor, with a yard in his hand
Did proffer his service to be at command
He talked of a slit I had above knee,
But I'll have no tailors to stitch it for me."

And people moan about the content of modern music?

Music?

Everything I hear nowadays consists almost solely of drums being banged.

Redolent of the black and white TV documentaries of the 50s studying tribes in the Amazon Basin.

As a consequence of this debate I have now been forced to listen to Justin Bieber / JLS by one daughter and Flo Rida / Enrique Iglesias by the other.........pleasntly surprised that none are of the foul mouthed variety I hate it must be said.

My turn for revenge now, Talking Heads and The The ought to do the job nicely!!!

24. At 12:11pm on 11 Aug 2010, Rufus McDufus wrote:

It's probably hard to argue that bands such as Rammstein have not become too sexualised - I'm struggling to think how they could sexualise their music & videos even more as they're basically hard code porn!

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One of the music videos I know of it actually is. They done some good music and have amazing Pyrotechnics but they seem to have a huge divide between their usual stuff and the more sexualised stuff.

In the end it does not mattter what the Daily Mail thinks the only time anyone under 25 would come into contact with the Daily Mail would be if they ran out of toilet paper at a festival.

If you look back at the 1990's Take That often performed semi naked for their female fans. There are loads of pictures where they are virtually naked. Before them Madonna performed in her underwear, and therfore nothing today is new.

It's one thing for Mike Stock to say this, he might have a point about some (but far from all or even most) of the modern music scene. But for the Daily Mail to run this interview and bleat about how pop music is damaging kids? The same Daily Mail that recently has taken an unhealthy obsession in Tom Cruise's preschool-aged daughter? Blinding hypocrisy.

Its not just music that sexualises children but the media in general has to take responsibility.
The result of so called fashion, girls dress like prostitutes and then complain when men treat them badly. Yes a woman can wear what she likes but she has to take responsibility for the impact it has.

The boys also are encouraged to treat women badly giving them derogatory names from the lyrics of songs.

You wouldn’t expect a policeman/woman to dress like a hooker unless undercover and you say Prince Harry in a Nazi uniform was also offensive. Yet shops continue to sell, Parents continue to allow children to dress in a highly sexualised manner.

Everything has become too sexualised. We are obsessed with sex, to the point of being ridiculous... I have even heard people complaining that spreadsheets aren't sexy! Of course they're not, and they will never be! I reckon it's got something to do with the fact we aren't allowed to drink and smoke any more!

I'll prove to you all that modern music doesnt have to be sexualised:

My name is Babbooony, and this is my tuney, I wrote it now, and i am no looney. To prove modern music, is not all crude, and im not being rude, I know a man called Phil, much better Ratio.

Do you agree with Mike Stock's views?

No - music has always been about sex.

How can parents protect their children?

Turn the TV to the "off" position, or have an open and honest discussion about sex.

Do you work in the music industry?

No.

The Stock, Aitken and Waterman production team should be charged for musical crimes against humanity for all the bland dross they subjected the public to endure.

"#65. At 1:22pm on 11 Aug 2010, Slave to the System - I am not a number wrote: This comment is awaiting moderation. Explain."
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I hate to break it to you but you are number 65.

Music hasn't become sexualised, it has always been sexualised. You cannot tell me that the throngs of women who screamed and passed out at the sight of Elvis shaking his hips or a wink from a member of the Beatles were doing so purely for the music?! That said it is perhaps now more overtly sexualised and as the father of a 3 year old daughter who loves Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga et al, I find it disconcerting to watch her writhe around on the floor, copying the actions of the videos. I just have to remind myself that she is not interpreting the dancing in the same way that I am, and I want her to feel liberated enough to dance and jump about in a way she enjoys. In a few years as she begins to understand what the dancing means I may have to crack down a little more but for now she's not hurting anyone.

Music videos have become more sexually explicit than those 20 years ago. More disturbingly is that todays artists seem to propogate not only sexuality but also the worship of the occult. Both work hand in hand.

50. At 1:06pm on 11 Aug 2010, martin3647 wrote:

Presumably this refers to R&B which disproportionately dominates both radio and televsion.

I summary I would agree, but of more worry is the self-centred and arrogant nature of this music genre, women are seen as objects purely for the pleasure of men whilst the men portray themselves without care for others - bring back Punk!!!

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I remember hearing of womens lib where they are humans and not objects. They are not owned and dont exist for the mans pleasure etc.

I have commented for a few years that a lot of women now make the effort to promote themselves as nothing more than an object.

I feel sad for children who are dressed provocatively without a clue. I have had many female friends who have been sexually assaulted and yet they still dress like a hooker.

33. At 12:27pm on 11 Aug 2010, Phillip of England wrote:
1. At 11:28am on 11 Aug 2010, Andrew Turpie wrote:
For the last 15 years the quality of music of all genres has nosedived. Something else to divert the masses from knowing that is needed to compensate.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not so!

There is a fantastic scene coming from the States which incorporates modern alternative indie music with folk music and its brilliant, psych-folk or new weird America.

Check out Port O'Brien, Alela Diane, Fleet Foxes, Hala Strana etc

I agree that 99% of what we are fed as far as music is concerned here in the UK is utter bilge.
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Thanks for the heads up will check those out.
I have never ever been a fan of "chart" music as its music for the uneducated masses, people who are force fed tracks by the industry again and again until the mass accepted it.

For me I took an genre that was completely underground to what my peers were listening to. Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Nexus 21. Music created from the deprived areas of the world electronically albiet emotionally. Musicians scrimped and saved every penny for their synths and machines and recorded in their bedrooms. These artists were unique, they were creating music for the love of it and the evidence of that could be found in the music.

A lot of people pigeonhole dance music, but if you breakdown the genres you will find some really great stuff from the mid to late 80s.

Who didn't love Rhythm is Rhythm's "Strings of life".......

Of course it has - just Watch the Video's screened for YOUR youngsters via MTV and it's greedy Media ilk. 'Suggestive' isn't the word for it...
So many Posters here, have complained about this for years - but have had their Comments 'Rejected' simply because it was not PC to suggest that Females should dress more responsibly - especially in Music Videos...

You know, we CONSTANTLY hear about how Men are sexually exploiting females. I'd like to point out that the most 'suggestive' Music Videos are PERFORMED by females - to EXPLOIT Men - PURELY for money...

About time these Women acted more responsibly and dressed better than half-nude. I await the howls of protest from our PC MEDIA - for even DARING to suggest that the Women should dress decently. - farcical...

I don't think music is becoming more sexualised overall- just look at Robert Plant. In the 1970s he wore incredibly tight trousers and sang about sex all the time. The problem isn't the content or even the clothes people wear, but the people doing it. Years ago men and women could both sing about the same things and both were allowed to look good, whereas now it seems like only girls in their late teens are allowed to do these things and they're all expected to do it, it's not a choice.

I think a lot of people forget that the vast majority of it goes right over the kids heads too, they've really got no idea what is being sung about. You can criticise the 7 year olds singing along with Lady Gaga about riding on your disco stick, but when I was 7 I was singing along with The Shaman that 'E's are good! E's are good!' and not having a clue what I was really singing about.

...At least now I know why my dad was smirking all this time.

37. At 12:36pm on 11 Aug 2010, LoonyLiberal wrote:
Loving the obvious oldies commenting that all new music is crap, uncreative and same same.

May I refer you to the following songs by bands who started out within the last couple of years:

Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws, Rinse Me Down, Swansea, Ivy and Gold
Delphic - Doubt, Counterpoint, Acolyte, This Momentary
Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods, Bathroom Gurgle, Focker

Feel free to have a listen and reconsider your lazy comments. That is of course if you're not offended by the last song name.
---------------------------------
I'm about to turn 45 and like all those bands you have mentioned above. I just cant stand all the repetitive RnB/rap rubbish thats around these days.

I'm not sure about sexy, but Beethoven's Triple Concerto is certainly one of the most sensual pieces I've ever listened to. Must find out how it ends one day! As for Mozart, I have to agree with Number 47, remembering the time I sat through a live performance of Marriage of Figaro, sung in Italian, with Hungarian subtitles displayed over the proscenium arch. Neither language was known to me, yet the erotic side came across very clearly. Woo!

it's not music. it's nothing more than audiovisual brand presentation for either the "artists" themselves, or the products they choose to endorse. anyone who buys it is simply paying for an advert.

I think calling some of today's music and the inevitable, accompanying videos overSEXualized is an understatement, as some of the videos are pure softporn, as are some of the lyrics. Marvin Gaye made me want to get it on, with my lady under silk sheets after enjoying a glass of champagne or a stylish dinner. Some of today's music just conveys the sleazy image of a lapdance or striptease club, neither of which I ever needed to visit, also thanks to the aformentioned lady. Sex is just slapped on a plate these days, like a cheap burger. As in reality it is not as easily available (I should hope) as these videos make you believe, you can only fear to what limit teenagers will go to gratify their sexual urges. Don't know for gow long 12 year olds sexually abusing female peers will still be an exception.

The question should be rephrased as : is the Daily Mail out of touch with the modern world ?

Answer : a big resounding YES.

Say no to tabloid hysteria.

I think that this is more of a problem for the older ones than for the younger ones.
I though Je t'aime was great however the older generation thought it was disgusting and I considered them fuddy duddies.
Youth will always push the boundaries and it is up to us older ones to avoid being the fuddy duddy without appearing to be having a mid or late life crissis.

29. At 12:21pm on 11 Aug 2010, Toad In The Hole wrote:

Not really. What is bad and disgusting is the gangster rap music.

and I thought I was out of touch. gangster rap was old ten years ago.

Sex has sold for thousands of years, hence it has an evolutionary headstart far far in advance of ANY OTHER product.

The human mind is basically designed/built around sex and procreation, we have bits in us that automatically transmit turn on happy signals, hence is why sex has been used more and more to sell everything from music to cigarettes to holidays which have nice pretty sexually attractive people in brochures.

Why do you think Sarah palin got where she has, and where she stood in previous USA election, next to an old passed it fogey not JUST because of her reasoned/moderate morally decent inteligence and beliefs!!!

Even Top Gear, ALWAYS, standing behind Clarkson in direct view is a pretty young woman.

So many times on tv with audiences, even on BBC Question Time, the camera pans across and often lingers on a womans breasts or legs, sitting directly behind whoever the focus is on, even on televised football matches, quite often a pretty young woman is picked out in the crowd at some point and the camera shows her, for NO purpose relating to the match!!!

Music is much like other products, it is packaged and presented in such a way to maximise sales.

The AK 47 is the biggest selling gun in the world, just because it sells a lot, doesnt make it a good thing, just as "Schlock, Aimless and Waterdown" / "Stop Aitken Waterman!"/ "Shock, Ache and Water Torture" were not necessarily a good thing for music, in my opinion.

At the end of the day, its apparantly ok for the west end to put on shows with FULLY naked people in,or artists can sculpt or paint nudes of varying degrees of obscenity, because it is artistic, but sexualised popvideos are pornographic!!!!

I wonder if Stock ever had any blue suede shoes, or danced to the twist, or attended any naughty artistic partys in the 1960s/1970s.

58. At 1:17pm on 11 Aug 2010, potatolord wrote:
This is an extract of a song from the 16th century, it is called "My thing is my own":

"A fine dapper tailor, with a yard in his hand
Did proffer his service to be at command
He talked of a slit I had above knee,
But I'll have no tailors to stitch it for me."

And people moan about the content of modern music?

////

And this ditty was hugely popular amongst millioms of 16th century teenagers of course.

To everyone saying that older generations just dont understand etc, thats a sterotype. I am 20 and yes shussh enjoy sex, but I do think the media and songs are too sexualised especially hip hop, dance and rap where we see naked women gyrating around.

Though saying that I do love Nickleback and if you listen to their songs woo sex mad.

I gave up listening to modern music years ago.

Anything that has to rely upon imagery and references to sex in order to boost flagging sales cheapens the music industry altogether. Even with sex and bad language removed, the songwriting is truly moronic. What a shame that younger listeners can't appreciate the quality music pre-1980.

Maybe I am just getting old, but music has gone down hill since the 70s. It is so annoying listening to boy groups covering old "Four Seasons" classics. Last X Factor was like "Journey" revisited.

To try to keep music interesting, performers are wearing less clothes and sort of dancing to disguise their lack of talent. I can't enjoy that on CD. No I am not into i-pods, I do not want to loose my whole music library on the bus.

Come on BBC, the article is from the dail wail.

The paper exists for the right whingers who like nothing better than complaining about anything that is too modern, too foreign or too anything.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

69. At 1:29pm on 11 Aug 2010, Three Million Posse On Employed In A Dub wrote:
The Stock, Aitken and Waterman production team should be charged for musical crimes against humanity for all the bland dross they subjected the public to endure.

.........................................................................

Whilst I agree about the music, you could argue that if it werent for SAW we would never have seen Kylie in hot pants - give them medals now! (Even if her relationship with them was long over by that time)

Ha! Rock n Roll SHOULD be something your parents hate. If your gran likes it, it's bound to be pap. If you hate it now (and remember the "good old days") then, yup, you're officially too old.

Modern music needs another Punk to come along and sweep all the rubbish away again... but no doubt even those of us who loved Punk the first time round will hate it, which is how it should be...

I agree that sexualised music is hardly a new thing, neither are controversial videos. A certain Prodigy one comes immediately to mind.

Although I like pop music I certainly think that it has got lazy of late. As guitar music has become less popular (in terms of commercial success) some R&B music feels boring and predictable: club + drinking + girl=hit record. Of course all genres can be accused of sometimes being formulaic and I don't want to knock R&B as a genre.

I think an important point is that we don't get as much "good" pop music because we've created a battle between mainstream and undercover music. I think Lady Gaga does a great job at being acceptable pop (for example her Glastonbury performance) but we are lacking the Michael Jacksons/Princes/Madonnas of the past because of an us vs them mentality. As soon as someone gets big, they have sold out. You either embrace pop music or you reject it.

If it became more acceptable to like what you like and not be so tribal, I think our pop music would be better for it. Still, well done radio 1 for trying to represent all areas of popular music.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

That's interesting... I just made a reference to the title of the Sex Pistol's album... only to have the comment "fail the profanity filter". I seem to remember a court case back in the late 70's that established once and for all that the word in question (we all know what it is) is NOT a profanity or obscene word. It even appears in the first English language Bible... get your facts right, BBC, please.

Sex has featured in merchandising since the 1960s. It sells. Especially in this day and age when the subject has resumed taboo status among adults and the young are sexually self-conscious and exploratory.

Music doesn't stand alone. The Lady Gaga etc bunch are sold as part of s package for young people, a lifestyle that also includes attitudes and fashion wear, accoutrements, slang, etc. Again it's been like that since the 60s. So it's a bit late to start worrying now.

There's a couple of lyrics in recent pop songs that really upset me, and both come from Katy Perry, and her collaborations with others.
1. "California girls, we're unforgettable. Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top"
2. "Tight jeans, double Ds, make a guy go #wolf-whistle#"
They're basically telling little girls that in order to be attractive they have to wear tight skimpy clothes and have massive breasts. A happy message.
But from Scouting for Girls we get
"I turned on the telly, when I got home from school. You were there in your wellies, and your yellow cagoule."
An image of a much sexier woman I think.

Its becoming increasingly ironic too. Lady Gaga must surely be an oxymoron, no lady I know would every dress in such a provocative manner.

The whole world is becoming harder, more cyncial and more adept at extracting money from the unsuspecting. Scatily clad women sell music because young boys like scantily clad women. The music industry knows that, and exploits it to the hilt.

Being nearly 60 I don't buy modern music but I hear a lot of it from my neighbours childrens sound systems during the summer weather when I'm in my garden and I wouldn't want my grandaughters to hear.