why rebels are necessary for the growth of music

-Chris Kelly

It has always been the rebels that keep us on our toes, and never let things get boring. Just when music was starting to become repetitive and bland, the Beatles broke into the forefront with their ultra rebellious records, which would be considered tame these days. Earlier unsuccessful bands were criticized for attempting something that couldn't be done, and the public assured them that "rock 'n' roll" would never make its way into the mainstream. After initial criticism ended, and people started to look at the music and not the image of the artist, the public and media finally recognized the sheer genius behind the songwriting. The Beatles managed to start a whole new generation of music, with bands like the Dave Clark Five and the Rolling Stones soon following in their footsteps. Once the initial barriers had been broken down though, these select bands did not stop causing controversy.

One of the many issues at hand was religion, and when an artist or band showed disrespect to any type of faith, the offense was taken extremely seriously and movements were made against the bands. A prime example of this is when John Lennon claimed that his band, the Beatles, was more popular than Jesus Christ, causing an outrage in society which threatened the popularity of their music, but never got the better of them.

This new wave of music was soon one of the biggest things to ever happen to American culture, and changed the world with its power. Admittedly, 100% of todays popular culture and music would not exist if it hadn't been for these few brave souls that took the initiative and went into the music world with such a careless attitude. Later in the sixties decade, acts such as Cream emerged with even harder rock 'n' roll, and once again subverted what the mainstream considered to be appropriate music. At increasing rates, bands stepped into the forefront with their new idea for music, and either failed or succeeded, but over time, it was becoming less about the image and more about the music.

In the eighties, artists began to write music explicitly about sex, an issue that was not taken lightly by the public. The lyrics to some songs resulted in radio banning, and even organizations that tried to tame the music. This did not stop the artists though, modern day musicians are allowed to say almost anything, and sex and violence are becoming an increasingly popular addition to the pre-existing basis of music: drugs and love. Present day rappers use sex and nudity in their music videos to draw people to their music, while the only form of censorship exists during public broadcast.

Enter the new generation of rebels. Featuring artists such as Marilyn Manson and Rammstein, these artists toy with death onstage, and encourage suicide and sex in their lyrics. Their shocking live acts often outrage locals, while the music seems to be drawing huge crowds at the same time.

Rammstein's live act, in which the lead singer shoots flaming arrows into the crowd and sodomizes band mates, has caused a great disturbance among local citizens, and people have been unsuccessfully attempting to ban their live act from select cities. After hearing accusations of promoting violence, Rammstein simply responds by saying they are only trying to impact the world in the way others did.

Marilyn Manson, superstar rocker known for promoting satanism through his music, has been fought, argued with, banned and shunned, yet he has never stopped his controversial career to gain public approval. People have accused him of killing animals and having sex with women onstage, both rumors that he claims are not true. Although he has not given into the public desire for peace, he has become somewhat tamer over the past few years, and has turned from satanism to extreme glam-rock. His live act, while not as extreme as it is said to be, is quite wild and does include some encouraged nudity in the audience; however, given the crowd, it is nothing worth taking to court.

Instead of trying to stop these rebels, the public should encourage them, as it is them that will be responsible for once again changing the face of music as we know it, and right now, music needs some change.