Gospel Music Resources

Ruffin, K.N. (1995, August). Do you hear what I hear? Essence, p. 130.

OVERVIEW

" ‘Flexxxx, time to have sex!’ " is what my 7-year-old cousin belted out as she danced provocatively through the living room." According to the author, music that is abundant with sexual lingo has engulfed younger and younger kids, most of whom do not even understand the gift of sex. They are bombarded with its images and sounds through songs and music videos. It is apparent that this little girl has fallen into the clutches of media.

Notes Ruffin, "In isolation, the lyrical content of Top 40 songs may seem harmless, but because these songs echo themes of sexual domination in our culture, they become the soundtrack of our lives." Those who listen to music with lyrics like " ‘Let me lick you up and down’ " or " ‘Freak in the morning and freak in the evening’ " are listened to so much that listeners are no longer are aware of the danger of these lyrics. Teenagers are especially vulnerable to this type of music, as they blast this type of music in their cars and rooms, and at parties. In a lot of hip-hop music, woman are often viewed as sex objects. Men play with them in all sorts of degrading, dehumanizing ways. A woman’s mind, gifts, and creativity are invaluable compared to her body.

If a seven-year-old girl is repeating the "Flex" song, how much more are teenagers repeating it? Furthermore, how does a teenage girl feel about being portrayed as a sex toy? Does she even understand? Probably not. To them, the music is "harmless." However, the more and more she listens to it, she internalizes the message. The lyrics do become the "soundtrack of her life" when she finds herself in a boy’s car. The lyrics become apart of her when she wears the tight jeans or with a cut-off shirt to get a boy’s attention. She is flaunting what she believes is her only gift. Boys will often take advantage of her package. She will be unraveled and hurt. This young lady and others like her cannot help her retrieve what is lost.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. How would you respond to a seven-year-old who exclaimed, "Flexxx...time to have sex?" What would you say to convey that the song is inappropriate?
2. Have you ever caught teenagers or yourself unknowingly singing songs with sexual metaphors until someone pointed it out?

IMPLICATION

Talk to girls about their sexuality. They do not recognize that music subconsciously affects their behavior.

Elizabeth Pierre cCYS

MUSIC RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONS

Carpenter's Tools
Box 100, Willmar, MN 56201 , (320) 235-0115; fax: (320) 235-0185.
Partners with established overseas ministries and performs outreach concerts with 4-5 week tours using short term summer music teams. Carpenter's Tools is seeking young people with a strong commitment to Christ, good interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate clearly, and high quality musicianship. Our music style varies...predominantly Christian contemporary and rock...some hymn arrangements and praise choruses-especially in church concerts. During the year Carpenter's Tools tours the U.S. giving concerts in churches and Christian colleges and sharing mission trip experiences, opportunities for musicians to audition, and invitations to support this ministry generally.

Chalmers Music Seminars (with Greater Cleveland Youth for Christ)
P.O. Box 39008 , Cleveland, OH 44139-0008 , (440) 243-2299 or toll free for booking: (800) 974-7938.
Phil Chalmers is personable and relational. His mission is to expose secular music and encourage good Christian music. Although he was mentored by Bob Larson and the Peters Brothers, he is not quite so negative on rock music. He admits the positive in most groups, but focuses on the negative. He stays abreast of this rapidly changing vast field of knowledge, and his book, True Lies: Today's Music. The Truth Will Scare You is a source of much information on (150) current groups and popular artists.

Christian Music Connection
1104 Green Oak Lane , Knoxville, TN 37932 , (423) 966-2624 (and fax), cmc@cmcnet.org.
CMC is a support network for Christian artists in their local communities. Its vision is to create chapters for Christian artists in communities throughout the world. Its mission of each chapter is to provide opportunities for Fellowship, Spiritual Growth, Accountability, Artistic Development, and Exposure for artists. Each chapter hosts monthly meetings and other special events.

Focus on the Family
Colorado Springs, CO 80995 , (800)232-6459
Conservative culture watch. "Plugged In" is a newletter with up-to-date reviews of films, videos, music and more. Helpful for parents especially.

Focus on the Family (Canada)
P.O. Box 9800, Stn. Terminal, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 4G3
Conservative culture watch. "Plugged In" is a newletter with up-to-date reviews of films, videos, music and more. Helpful for parents especially. Chart Watch is a reference guide to 400 music releases reviewed in "Plugged In." (suggested donation is $13.)

Interlinc.
P.O. Box 680848, Franklin, TN 37068 , (800) 725-3300, interlinc@aol.com 
Interlinc is a bridge between youth ministry and music. It exists to link people and resources of the Christian music industry. Its goal is to serve youth leaders by getting the best music in their hands to change students' lives, and to do it at the cheapest cost possible. YOUTH LEADERSHIP ONLY is the original youth ministry resource subscription...one year sends you 36 CDs or cassettes, 4 long-form videos, Bible Studies written to go with the music, plus posters, stickers, etc. Interlinc keeps up to date Comparison Charts to help students find Christian music similar to the styles of secular artists. (See YM: Music Comparison) Internlinc is increasingly interested in helping young people worship with good music. They have helped spread the music of Delirious in the U.S.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alan, C. (1992). Outside is America: U2 in the US London and Boston: Faber and Faber.

Baker, P. (1985). Contemporary christian music: Where it came from, what it is, where it is going. Crossway Books. A good summary of the variety of and industry of Christian music. Unfortunately, dated and out of print.

Bill, B. (1984). Rock and roll: Proceed with caution, old tappan. Fleming Revell. A moderate response to negative critics.

Borgman, D. (1997). Toward a theology of music. In Borgman, D. (1997). When kumbaya is not enough. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. pp. 172-188.  Attempts to help leaders and young people exegete or interpret secular music with an understanding of what music is and does in culture and our lives.

Boyles, M. (1994). Hole in our soul: The loss of beauty and meaning in american popular music. New York City: MacMillan Free Press. Important look at post-modern aspects of pop music using illustrations similar to those in Tipper Gore and Robert DeMoss. Some sense more hype than critical substance and a generally negative stance toward the subject.

Broughton, S. et al. (1994). World music (the rough guide). London: Rough Guides of Penguin. This is a great book on world music. Here you will find description of music, instruments, and artists from seventy different countries and regions "everything from salsa to soukous, cajun to calypso, rai to qawwali." Major pieces are back up by interviews with the key groups and artists, translations of lyrics, and extensive reviews and discographies.

Carduci, J. (An assumed name.). (1990). Rock and the pop narcotic: Testament of the electronic church, volume 1. Chicago: Redoubt Press. An interesting critique of popular music, the current youth culture and state of rock music from a disillusioned insider’s perspective.

Chambers, J. (1985). Urban rhythms: Pop music and popular culture. MacMillan. Examines the place of leisure, youth, and pleasure in contemporary popular culture.

Clifford, M. (ed.). The illustrated encyclopedia of black music. New York City: Harmony Books. More than 650 biographies from the 1940s to 1980s.

DeMoss, R.G. Jr. (1992). Learn to discern. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.Bob and his staff have investigated music, television and advertising very carefully and provided a graphic warning about their dangers.

Doney, M. (1981, 1982). Lennon & Mccartney: A serious analysis of their songwriting and how it was influenced by their times. London & New York: Omnibus Press.

Ekstrom. (ed.). (1992). Media and culture. Don Bosco Multimedia. This book is one of the publishers "Access Guides to Youth Ministry" and an expanded revision of their earlier Guide to Pop Culture. It prepares the youth minister to understand the prophetic issues in presenting the Good News to modern young people. It is a practical guide to media literacy with practical suggestions for use of media in youth ministry.

Erlewine, M. & Bultman, S. (eds.). (1992). All music guide: The best cds, albums & tapes. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. This guide helps you build a collection, explore new kinds of music, and directs you to the best in and out of print.

Flanagan, B. (1987). Written in my soul: Conversations with rock’s great songwriters. Chicago & New York City: Contemporary Books. Significant discussions about the importance of lyrics and the inspiration/perspiration argument about what produces great music. Insights into the spirituality of music.

Frith, S. (1981). Sound effects: Youth, leisure, and the politics of rock’nroll. New York City: Pantheon Books.

George, N. (1998). Hip hop America: The death of rhythm & blues. Viking of Penguin. Looks at the post-Civil-Rights, post-Soul, Black Gen X in America giving a brief history of hip hop and rap and showing how a coalition of Hollywood, Madison Ave., and Wall Street embraced hip hop and gangsta rap. "Always," this author says, "innovations in culture come straight from the streets."

Gilreath, C. Entertainment monitor. Hollywood, CA. Magazine that interprets popular music, lyrics, etc. for parents of young children.

Gore, T. (1987). Raising pg kids in an x-rated society. Abingdon Press. Having served on the Task Force on Children and Television of the Academy of Pediatrics, she founded the Parents’ Music Resource Center (which succeeded in getting parental advisories on music and raised the ire of the pop artist community). This book exposes the dangers of offensive lyrics and suggests parental concern and ratings.

Hardy, P. & Laing, D. (1995). The da capo companion to 20th-century popular music. A standard reference in the field which covers genres from Broadway shows to rap, from Bing Crosby to Nirvana, from world music to avant-garde jazz.

Heilbut, A. (1971, 1985). The gospel sound: Good news & bad times. New York City: Limelight. This thorough survey reads a little like a gospel song, according to James Baldwin. Good introduction to Gospel music with insights into well-and lesser-known singers.

Hippies, hindus & rock and roll. (1969). McCook, Nebraska.

Hopkins J. & Sugerman, D. (1980). No one here gets out alive: Biography of Jim Morrison. Warner Books.

Hopkins, Jerry. (1983). Hit and run: The Jimi Hendrix story. New York City: Perigee Books.

Jenkins, S., Wilson, E., et al. Ego trip’s book of rap lists. St. Martins’ Griffin. The wild and demented side of rap is the style of this book of trivial and more important lists. Who and what were the baddest, dumbest, greatest, best…? For rap fanatics, this book might be for their coffee table or bathroom magazine basket.

Kaplan, E.A. (1987). Rocking around the clock: Music television, postmodernism & consumer culture. New York City & London: Methuen. Examines the cultural context of Music Television (MTV) and its relationship to the history of rock music. Analysis of the various types of music videos.

Krasilovsky, M.W. & Shemel, S. (1995). This business of music. Watson-Guptill Publications. Some call this the bible of the music industry. "An exhaustive reference on economic, legal and financial aspects of the music business. Sections of recording companies and artists, music publishers and writers...contracts, independent record producers, work permits for foreign artists, copyright laws, public domain music, trademarks, music sampling, and taxation."

Krasilovsky, M.W. & Shemel, S. (1994). More about this business of music. Billboard Directories. A complement to This business of music.

Landau, D. (1971). Janis Joplin: Her life and times. New York City: Paperback Library of Coronet Publications.

Larson, B. (1982). ROCK: For those who listen to the words and don’t like what they hear. Living Books, Tyndale. Castigates rock.

Larson, B. (1988). Your kids and rock. Tyndale Pocket Guide.

Lawhead, S. (1981). Rock of this age. InterVarsity Press. A sound Christian art critic offers a moderate opinion.

Light, A. (ed.). The vibe history of hip-hop. Crown/Three Rivers Press. Following the general style of The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, this book presents a fine history of early hip-hop: bombers/taggers or graffiti artists, break dancers, and DJs. Its critique of rap grows soft as it proceeds. In fact, the serious reader will find it fails in any critical mission to show rap’s positive and negative features. Its closing chapter, Greg Tate’s "Fifteen Arguments in Favor of the Future of Hip-hop," is prophetic and inspiring.

Lull, J. (ed.). (1992). Popular music and communication. (2nd ed.). London & Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Brilliant essays about the nature of music in the youth and popular cultures.

Marsh, D. (1979). Born to run: The Bruce Springsteen story. Dell.

Marsh et al. (1985). The first rock and roll confidential report. Pantheon.

Menconi, A. (1989). Today’s music: A window to your child’s soul. David C. Cook. An alarming message as to how rock music can destroy a family. Instructs parents not to dictate exactly what music they may or may not listen to, but to instruct them as to what is wrong with listening to secular rock: "an amazing number of Christians consume huge quantities of the world’s garbage without giving it a second thought!" (p. 125) Encourages good Christian rock.

Miller, J. (ed.). (1976, 1980). The Rolling Stone illustrated history of rock and roll. New York City: Random House.

Nelson, H. & Gonzales, M.A. (1991). Bring the noise: A guide to rap music and hip-hop culture. New York City: Harmony Books. Written by insiders with a hip-hop attitude, this is a good introduction to and survey of rap music. Interviews, essays, and a few pictures.

Norman, P. (1981). SHOUT! The true story of the Beatles. London: Elm Tree Books.

Norman, P. (1980, 1983). Bowie changes: The illustrated David Bowie story. London & New York City: Omnibus Press.

Orman, J. (1984, 1986). The politics of rock music. Chicago: Nelson-Hall. Examines the relationship of rock and politics, the ideas of various politicians, reactions of the media, theories of scholars, and responses from fans and musicians.

Passman, D. All you need to know about the music business. This attorney provides us with important insights into the music business. One reader says it "completely demystifies the workings of the entire music industry—in a musician-friendly way." Deals with "Your Team of Advisors, Record Deals, Songwriting and Music Publishing, Group Issues, Touring, Merchandising, Motion Picture Music."

Peters, D. & S. (1984). Why knock rock? Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers. Primarily negative critique of all secular rock music.

Reynolds, S. (1990). Blissed out: The raptures of rock. London: Serpent’s Tail. Celebrates the underground music of the late 1980s showing the rock is not dead despite the New Right and consumerism of popular culture.

Rolling Stone. (1983). Rock almanac: The chronicles of rock and roll. New York City: Collier.

Romanowski, P. & George-Warren, H. with Pareles, J. (1995). The new rolling stone encyclopedia of rock & roll (revised & updated). New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo, and Singapore: Fireside, A Rolling Stone Press Book. "Full coverage of every aspect of the rock scene. It’s all here from the tremendous impact of Madonna, MTV, rap, and alternative rock to profiles of...musicians, both famous and infamous."

Schultze et al. (1991). Dancing in the dark: Youth pop culture and the electronic media. Eerdmans. Raises challenging questions and suggestions for a philosophy of pop art and culture. See Chapters 6-7 on rock music and videos.

Sexton, A. (ed.). (1995). Rap on rap: Straight-up talk on hip-hop culture. New York City: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing. May be the best introduction to interpreting and critiquing rap music. This book takes a courageous middle path showing the artistic and moral highs and lows of this art form.

Shore, M. (1984). The rolling stone book of rock video. New York City: Quill.

Stanley, L.A. (1992). Rap the lyrics: The words to rap’s greatest hits. New York City, London, Toronto, Victoria: Viking Penguin Books. Not exhaustive, but very helpful in getting at hard to determine lyrics. This begs a supplement.

Storr, A. (1992). Music and the mind. New York City: Ballantine Books. Significant reflections from a psychiatrist and music critic.

Szatmary, D.P. (1987, 1990). Rockin’ in time: A social history of rock-and-roll. (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Explores the four decades of rock music from the Mississippi Delta through the 1980s mostly in the American but also British context. Relates music to social history. Good bibliography.

Troitsky, A. (1987). Back in the ussr: The true story of rock in Russia. London, New York, Sydney, Cologne: Omnibus Press."The only authoritative first-hand account of the history and development of rock music in the Soviet Union from about 1960 to 1986. The author is the foremost expert on Soviet Rock."

Turner, S. (1988, 1995). Hungry for heaven: Rock ‘n roll & the search for redemption. InterVarsity Press. The results of years of great interviews with significant pop musicians, this book contains very significant insights into the spirituality of music.

Ward, P. (1992). Music. In Ward, P. (1992). In Youth culture and the gospel. London: Marshall Pickering and HarperCollins. pp. 82-91. A youth leader and musician talks about music in the lives of ordinary kids.

Ward, P. (1993). Music. In Ward, P. (1993). Worship and youth culture. London: Marshall Pickering. pp. 134-142.  One of the first thoughtful discussions about young people using their music to worship God. We need to carry on this discussion with some serious research.

White, T. (1990). Rock lives: Profiles and interviews. New York City: Henry Holt. Remarkable insights into the personal lives and inner souls of music greats.

White, T. (1983). Catch the fire: The life of Bob Marley. New York City: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Wiseman, R. (1982). Jackson Browne: The story of a hold-out. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

Dean Borgman cCYS

MUSIC OVERVIEW

(Download this overview as a PDF)

How big is music around the world, in youth culture, and for a particular young person? Huge. There’s no question about it. Some young people may be hooked on video games, a few addicted to television, and all affected by media in general, but music is a particularly powerful communication to, and expression of, the youthful heart. Today’s music communicates powerfully through touch (the blast of the bass), sound, sight, emotional feeling, and mental challenge. A movie may (and movies do) have a tremendous effect on a young person who may see it dozens—even scores—of times. But music is a subcultural bond and part of a person’s soul.

Music, young people say, stimulates them when they are feeling sluggish; mellows them out when they are feeling hyper; relieves them when they are enraged; soothes them when agitated; helps them cry and release bottled up emotions. Music can tickle your ears, hit you hard in the guts, get you on your feet dancing, help you through an emotional pit, and stimulate your mind with thoughtful lyrics.

Anthony Storr (Music and the Mind, 1992: 2, 17) describes music and hints at its possible origin:

Music can certainly be regarded as a form of communication between people; but what it communicates is not obvious...Some anthropologists have speculated that vocal music may have begun as a special way of communicating with the supernatural...

Music is a universal expression and celebration of the human spirit—although music styles are particular to a culture or subculture. Music unifies even as it may divide people culturally. Throughout time humankind has made love to music, put babies to sleep with music, worked with music, gone to war with music, mourned with music, worshipped with music, or just passed time with music.

James Lull describes music this way (Popular Music and Communication, 1992: 1-2):

Music is a passionate sequencing of thoughts and feelings that expresses meaning in a manner that has no parallel in human life. It is a universally recognized synthesis of the substance and style of our existence—a blending of personal, social, and cultural signification that is confused with no other variety of communication. Music promotes experiences of the extreme for its makers and listeners, turning the perilous emotional edges, vulnerabilities, triumphs, celebrations, and antagonisms of life into hypnotic, reflective tempos that can be experienced privately or shared with others.

Popular music is a unique and extremely influential communications form that deserves serious analysis—not just on the street and in the popular press, but in the scholarly literature and classroom as well.

This Encyclopedia wants to engage in such serious consideration of music—interactively with young people and music critics around the world. At present its articles are rather spotty in terms of covering such a vast topic, but we hope to have more contributions (which might come from you or your friends).

Webster’s definition of music includes "the art and science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds or tones in varying melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre...any rhythmic sequence of pleasing sounds, as of birds, water, etc." Microsoft’s Encarta defines music as "the organized movement of sounds through a continuum of time."

As with all media and popular culture, music is

• an art,
• a technique and technology,
• a big business,
• an audience,
• a product and ratings,
• a lifestyle.

Can you talk intelligently about each of these aspects of popular music? To criticize a musical group or kind of music, you must remember the principal elements of music (though only vocal or instrumental organized sounds are necessary):

• timber (tone or sound quality),
• rhythm,
• melody, harmony, and instrumentation,
• lyrics,
• and, we might add, the lifestyle of the artists which has become so important.

Once I had the chance to get a lot of financial support from a wealthy man who wanted me to provide him with a quick and simple devastating critique of a rock and roll band that was coming to his city. Some organizations have gotten rich providing people with such negative and simplistic criticisms of pop music.

We don’t believe culture can be effectively critiqued unless it is first understood and appreciated. If you want to know about any kind of music, inquire of those young people who are really into it. To consider heavy metal music, find its young fans, respectfully hear their interest in their music and find out what it does for them. Those who love alternative or rap have a story to tell. Hear it first. Learn about the music and culture from them, and then begin to process the music and its lyrics.

Adult critics are into lyrics first of all. For most young fans, the beat is the thing, followed by the instrumentation, musical quality, and finally the lyrics. Some young people, of course, are really into the lyrics. Evaluations of music by some conservative critics tend to emphasize lyrics and life style rather than mood and culture—so important for most young people. Most young music listeners do know "very well" the lyrics of songs they listen to; studies show a very small percentage do not know the lyrics (USA Weekender, 2-4 May 1997). These same teenagers know most adults do not know them. Young people give attention to adults who do know their music and treat it with respect.

To tell an individual or group their music is bad or degrading is clearly counterproductive. Get to know and appreciate young listeners because you really care about them. Then, respectfully learn about the music, their culture, and their personal lives. Out of these relationships, you can help them process the music.

Lull (1991:25) points to evidence that young children have a special relationship to music (Christenson, DeBenedittus, & Lindlof, 1985). But music can become crucially important as adolescents are working out their personal identities and friends are replacing parents as the primary influence in a person’s life (McLeod & Brown, 1976 and more). Identity is especially worked out among peers, and music is often critical in these friendship groups. Lull (1985 and 1991:27) claims that "active participation with a medium increases its potential as an agent of socialization."

Lull (1991: 27, 29) goes on to describe how music is both a subcultural bond and socializing factor:

Subcultural style is expressed in ordinary behavior as well as in art (Williams, 1965). This involves, not only music, but verbal and nonverbal communication, fashion, gender relationships, religion, food, family, and peer interaction (Hebdige, 1979).

Subcultures are often organized around music and its related socializing. The definitive moment of punk subculture, or instance, is the live performance where young people meet each other, share the ideology and aesthetic or punk, and ‘thrash’ (Lull, 1987). Heavy metal subculture fits a similar description, providing an identity and haven for countless young people who are disenchanted with home, school, jobs, churches—the institutions of containment. Other subcultures that have developed around particular popular music are Rastafarian, hip-hop, Deadhead, even country and western. And while their music cannot be easily identified by any one genre, a number of gay and lesbian singers and groups have emerged to help unite those subcultural communities, too.

In many countries around the world, teenagers will be listening to four kinds of music—or we might say doing four kinds of things with music:

• They are listening to Western, English music from America and the UK.
• They are modifying these musical styles into their own languages and styles.
• They are listening to their own native or folk music.
• They are coming up with original styles of popular music (ethno pop).

There is also the globalization of music in what’s called World Pop or World Beat. Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel have done much to combine world styles.

Brenda Sefeldt of "Wild Frontier" (309 Commerce St., Box 66, Occoquan, Virginia, 22125, 703-494-0497) has compiled many interesting facts from US sources in her 1998 Statistical Collection for youth workers. We will draw on some of her statistics in the following paragraphs.

Teenage tends to be a time when TV is watched a little less and the radio is listened to much more. What is being listened to on the radio is mostly music. According to Broadcast & Cable Yearbook (AP News, 7 April 1996), of 11,214 US radio stations:

• 2,727 played country music
• 2,135 played adult contemporary music
• 1,178 played religious music
• 1,004 played oldies music
• 820 were newstalk
• 657 played top forty music (Seefeldt: 1998:147)

And USA Today (9-11 February 1996) noticed the growth of alternative rock stations on FM (Seefeldt: 1998:147)

• 67 in 1993
• 104 in 1994
• 171 in 1995

Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) is one of the most highly regarded sources of adolescent market statistics in the US. They revealed the top teenage music choices to Teen Magazine in May of 1998 (Seefeldt, 1998: 148)

• alternative—45.7 %
• rap—31.5 %
• country—14.9%

A Swedish study (Keith Roe: 1987: 218; quoted in Lull, 1991: 26) found that "adolescents’ media habits and preferences for various kinds of music are formed in large measure by how well students do in school, rather than the other way around....‘aspects of the school experience lead to involvement in certain peer groups and subcultures rather than others, which has effects upon the uses and gratification obtained from different media’ including, especially, popular music." Still, top students may strongly identify with alternative or even rebellious music.

We must add some words about the multi-billion-dollar music industry. Consider the $16 you might pay for a CD. That CD has cost the record company about $5.35. Here is how that breaks down (US News & World Report, 25 September 1995 from Seefeldt, 1998: 147):

• artist royalties and copyright fees—$2.50
• marketing—1.50
• disk manufacturing—0.75
• jewel box—0.30
• printed booklet—0.25
• distribution—0.15

It is easy to see how much profit there is to be made. We can understand why music companies have gotten so big.

In the spring of 1998, Seagram liquor sold off its Tropicana juice company for $4 billion in order to buy the largest of all six major music empires, the Dutch company PolyGram. The price Seagram paid for Polygram was an astonishing $10.6 billion. Seagram already owned Universal Studios with its own music, film, and themepark empire.

This new combined music company now boasts an incredible array of top music managers, a powerful distribution system, and a most impressive array of signed artists including rap artist LL Cool J, country-Western star, Shania Twain, and pop idol Elton John. There are of course more: Universal also has contracts with Erykah Badu, through MCA Records of Nashville, Reba McEntire and Vince Gill, Mary J. Blige, Lyle Lovett and B. B. King of MCA Records, George Benson and Diana Krall of GRP Recording Company, and with Geffen Records, names like Guns n’ Roses and Counting Crows.

To these Universal stars, Polygram adds: Hanson and Vanessa Williams with Mercury Records; U2, the Cranberries, and Melissa Etheridge of Island Records; Motown Records’ Stevie Wonder and Boyz II Men; Sting, and Sheryl Crow of A&M; and Jay-Z and Foxy Brown of Def Jam. Most of us have little idea that all these companies are owned by larger companies, let alone that they are now all under Edgar Bronfman’s new Seagram empire—known to most as a liquor business. This is the age of big mergers and acquisitions among the multi-nationals. (See Newsweek, 1 June 1998)

Rap music has accounted for much of popular music’s commercial gains at the end of the 1990s. It is fascinating to study the modifications of rap music in France, Scandinavia, Russia, China, Japan, the Philippines and elsewhere. From the hip hop culture which developed in the South Bronx of New York in the 1970s to general acceptance its important place in pop music and the global youth culture, rap music is big.

Two companies dominated rap music through the 1990s and created a deadly East-West Coast rivalry. The Notorious (and now deceased) Mr. B.I.G. of New York’s Bad Boys Records and Suge Knight of Death Row Records (with the deceased Tupac Shakur) were in control. Gradually independents sprung up. One of the most successful of these independents is No Limit Records and Films of New Orleans. In five years Master P (Percy Miller) moved from a being a hustler of CDs and cassettes—from the trunk of his car—to being CEO of his own label (which saw $80 million sales in 1997). He persuaded Snoop Doggy Dogg to move from Death Row to No Limit and features stars like Mia X (who sings nihilistic rap). Master P produced "Ghetto D" in 1997 (giving instructions for cooking crack cocaine). His 1999 "Da Last Don" will be his final solo venture as he now prefers taking care of the business.

Since music is omnipresent in our world, it is able to express what so many are feeling, and has the power to influence an individual for right or for wrong. It provides a bond and signification for subcultures and is such a huge commercial enterprise—we ought to keep track of music and its trends. But behind music, people are always most important.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What most interests you in this article? With what do you most agree or take exception? How could it be revised or rewritten?
2. How important is music to you? How much do you listen to?
3. When was music most important in your life? Why? What songs or artists most stand out to you?
4. How can music be most profitable discussed with others?

IMPLICATIONS

• Music is a large and important part of individual and social life. There is no doubt it has a socializing function as a person grows up.
• Young people often, but no always, listen to music their friends listen to; they are often joined by their common interest in music.
• Where music divides people, or where individuals are locked into only one style of music, it is good to stretch their capacity for appreciation. I try to get people who only like rock, rap, or alternative, to listen to some country or world beat. First there may be objections, but if everyone gets a chance to share his or her favorites, then they will also listen to one of mine as well.
• Popular music should have a place in all school and youth group curricula.

Dean Borgman cCYS

WORSHIP RESOURCES