- Janet Jackson, "Pleasure Principle," R&B, 1986
- Beyonce, "Get Me Bodied (Extended Version)," R&B, 2007
- Bruno Mars, "Just The Way You Are," Pop, 2010
- Destiny's Child, "Cater To You," R&B, 2005
- Trey Songz, "Last Time," R&B, 2008
- Lionel Richie, Tina Turner & Various Artists, "We Are The World," R&B, 1985
- Michael Jackson, "Heal The World," Pop, 1991
- Michael Jackson, "Earth Song," Pop, 1995
- John Mayer, "Waiting On the World To Change," Pop, 2006
- Michael Jackson, "Man in the Mirror," Pop, 1987
As I scrolled through the different songs in my I Tunes account and on YouTube, I realized the fact that most of the songs that my peers and I listen to are related more to pleasure than to community service and songs that make a difference in the world. Nowadays, I mainly listen to R&B, Hip Hop and Pop music and in those genres of music, most of the artists are primarily singing about love, sex, and money, which I believe is what most people want to hear. Even on television, a majority of television shows and advertisements are geared towards selling sex, because “Sex sells” and companies and artists realize this. It seems as though most people today are not interested in listening to or creating a song that will not benefit them, but instead will raise awareness towards the needs of other people. Artists such as Michael Jackson, John Mayer and Bono have dedicated songs that are devoted to making a difference for those that are in need of their basic necessities. While doing this assignment, I was surprised to read some of the comments on YouTube that are posted underneath the songs that are related to pleasure. When I watched the video for Trey Songz’s “Last Time,” I noticed that one viewer wrote, “I love the way he says ‘Let’s just make love’ man its making me crazy”! The song had affected this particular person and it provided her with a sense of pleasure. When I watched the music video for “Man in the Mirror”, by Michael Jackson, I read a comment that struck me because the comment stated how people should think about others and help to save the world instead of thinking solely about celebrity. The Hindu understanding of pleasure is much different from the way American Pop culture portrays it. This Hindu aim is to seek pleasure intelligently and it follows the basic laws of morality. In American Pop culture, pleasure does not follow the basic laws of morality; instead it follows the desires of those that seek it whether those desires are moral or not. I believe that the Hindu aim of community service is equivalent to that in American pop culture. This aim is intended for people to help others and that is how pop culture represents community service, by coming together and making a difference.
I agree with your idea that, in American pop culture, we seek pleasure whether it is morally acceptable or not. But I also think that there is a kind of stigma in how we view people who do. For example, tabloids love to get gossip and information about famous people who are "hot-mess"es, who completely seek pleasure as their sole aim and do so dangerously. While we love to hear about it in our culture, most people don't hang a picture from a tabloid on their wall and say, "I want to be just like that guy!" It's probably more of a fascination, which doesn't make it any better, but slightly different than idolization. All in all, great songs, and a good perspective on our culture!
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