1) Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell, "Wanna Love You Girl", Pop/R&B, 2005
2) Bang Camaro, "Pleasure (Pleasure)", Rock n' Roll, 2007
3) Avant, "Makin' Good Love", R&B, 2002
Community Service
1) Tupac Shakur, "Changes", Rap, 1998
2) Ben Harper, "With My Own Two Hands", Reggae, 2002
3) Steve Angrisano, "Go Make a Difference", Christian R&R, 2004
4) Nickelback, "If Everyone Cared", Rock n' Roll, 2006
5) Michael Jackson, "Man in the Mirror", Pop, 1988
Between the two goals, pleasure and community service, pleasure is outstandingly prevalent in the choices of music. While community service is seen as an emphasis in our society, the desire for sex and pleasure is paramount. The rich and famous are often seen telling stories of their hedonistic encounters, sparking a myriad of articles and visual reports in the media about them, as well as a strong impact upon the youth who wish to be like them. An overwhelming desensitization has lurked in the brains of Americans for much time, leading to the belief that the use of drugs, alcohol, and experiencing debauchery are idealizations that each individual, whether capricious or steadfast, should strive to indulge in. These ideas are no longer kept subtle. Songs openly preach seeking pleasure through drugs or sex or recount tales of immoral stories being told by the artist. After all, that's why they call it the mainstream.
When I initially set out to look for songs regarding pleasure, it occurred to me that most of my findings would be sexual in some way. The lyrics, even the music videos, are explicit or suggestive in some way in most of these songs. There is a notable trend, in that, the later the songs are released, at least under the statute of pleasure, the more suggestive they are, either in language, concept, or visual content. An example of this is the 1980's song from Bobby McFerrin “Don't Worry, Be Happy” versus Akon's “Smack That” from 2006. Of course this is not to say that there are not any romantically docile songs that are still being made in the current time, but it is notable that the openness of songs have changed as society has, for better or for worse. There was not much that surprised me with the community service songs. They're fairly straightforward and outline their messages rather clearly, usually summing up to “help society, help yourself.”
The Hindu understanding of these aims has a moderate clash with the American pop music understanding of them. While seeking pleasure is important in the Hindu description of the aims, they also establish that keeping your morals under considerable vigilance is necessary. That is to say, don't sacrifice your sense of right and wrong in order to get a pleasure fix. American pop music may not directly state against that, however they emphasize a tawdry and lavish approach to seeking pleasure. Flaunt what you have and go after that which appeals to you, with little regard for the consequences. All you need to do is “win” in the eyes of the public. It's the ticket to the top. In terms of community service, the ideas align a bit more. They both make prominent the need to better your surroundings and the importance of sacrifice. It seems that the American pop music standpoint seems to attack a corruption and seek to mend it, rather than asking people to wake up and grab a shovel to plant some trees. In conclusion, the differences are there, but the overlying principles are still similar in nature. The concepts of society and the interpretations of artists and gurus have given different approaches to adhering to or seeking out these principles, but their overall nature still parallels one another, even if it is just slightly.
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