Appropriate Pop Music

[OneOfTheFew]

I’m trying to find current artists that are popular with teenagers. I’m running into trouble with actually finding appropriate ones. It seems that I can only find lyrics regarding sex. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Elizium23]

What would you consider “pop music”? 99.9% of the commercial secular stuff is morally bankrupt and cannot be recommended. Would you consider Christian Contemporary Music of the type played on K-LOVE?

 

[AlTheCollegeGal]

I’m not big on pop music, but one I know that is extremely popular as well as clean is Bastille’s “Pompeii.”

 

[OneOfTheFew]

What would you consider “pop music”?

By pop music I mean the Katy Perry-esque type of music. I know that she lacks morals, but I am looking for that genre of pop.

 

[Portrait]

I’m trying to find current artists that are popular with teenagers. I’m running into trouble with actually finding appropriate ones. It seems that I can only find lyrics regarding sex. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Dear OneOfTheFew,

Cordial greetings and a very warm welcome to the world of CAF. Do hope that you will find your time on these boards informative and spiritually enriching.

It is hardly surprising, dear friend, that you are encountering difficulty finding appropriate popular music artists, given the moral and cultural deterioration with which we are surrounded. The Devil and his forces have deeply invaded man’s social/cultural structures and music, I am afraid, has not been omitted.

My advice is to give this debased sensory material a wide berth and take pleasure from music which ennobles the soul and elevates the mind - “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (I Cor. 15: 33), and by legitimate extention that applies equally to bad music, bad films, bad literature etc. The debasing elements of rock/pop music will at length, if not immediately, poison the mind and demoralize the life and that is a problem if a man is in earnest regarding the pursuit of holiness.

Invariably when one warns against the corrupting influences of rock/pop music one is accused of being unduly prissy or ‘overscrupulous’, but men, especially the youth, need to appreciate that rock and pop music has always been revolutionary. By its very beat and sound it has always implicitly rejected restraints and celebrated a warped freedom and sexuality. Thus lyrics that have sexual references are par for the course because the message of this debased music genre is essentially sexual permissiveness. Sadly, dear friend, there is more blatant immorality being peddled in pop/rock music now than ever before, thus the Catholic should avoid these polluted waters inasmuch as he values his immortal soul.

God bless and hope that is of some help to you. Welcome aboard.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait:tiphat:

In Christos

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

Sadly, dear friend, there is more blatant immorality being peddled in pop/rock music now than ever before, thus the Catholic should avoid these polluted waters inasmuch as he values his immortal soul.

Indeed, dear friend.

Perhaps the OP should look for some good heavy metal instead.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Indeed, dear friend.

Perhaps the OP should look for some good heavy metal instead.

What this guy said.

(On a more serious note, I think the OP is better off just choosing a song without regard to a particular artist. Katy Perry’s Fireworks is actually a pretty decent song. And if all else fails, there’s always Bieber and One Direction.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta high-tail because my fellow geeks will consider what I just said to be pulling a Judas.)

 

[FutureDisciple]

I have also been looking for “clean” music and have been astonished to see how hard it is. It is difficult to find songs with non-offensive lyrics, and it can be tricky to decipher what message the singer has (ie are they hiding a covert sexual or anti-Christian values message??) Furthermore, each person’s interpretation can still come to different conclusions!. I have heard a priest say that The Beatles were anti-Christian and some of their songs (Elenaor Rigby, Imagine) tried to take people away from fundamental Christian beliefs (ie, imagine there is no heaven…above us only sky…) . Another priest told me he listened to many Beatles songs and did not think the group’s music needed to be avoided entirely. Which made me wonder if I should ban songs and /or whole artists?? I am leaning towards banning songs, but still considering individual songs, unless the artist has been blatantly anti-Christian that I am aware of. Easier said than done! Disturbing music is becoming the foundation…I fear for kids growing up these days.

Before I drop even more questions, I wanted to share a few songs. I can’t guarantee that they are fully void of offenses. I have listened to them and seen their lyrics and find that they can be harmless. "Can Be " being the operative word

(1) Happy by Pharell
(2) Still Into You by Paramore
(3) Cups (Pitch Perfect Soundtrack)
(4) Roar (Katy Perry)- I know most of her music is immoral, but this one did not seem bad

 

[Havard]

Taylor Swift is talented, and I haven’t found anything morally objectionable about her songs.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Taylor Swift is talented, and I haven’t found anything morally objectionable about her songs.

She’s more country than pop though.

 

[Havard]

She’s more country than pop though.

Serious country fans will of course tell you that she is completely pop, but I agree that she is somewhere in both categories.

 

[Elizium23]

I have heard a priest say that The Beatles were anti-Christian and some of their songs (Elenaor Rigby, Imagine) tried to take people away from fundamental Christian beliefs (ie, imagine there is no heaven…above us only sky…) . Another priest told me he listened to many Beatles songs and did not think the group’s music needed to be avoided entirely.

Did the Beatles Promote Abortion?

That got me thinking. “Yeah, George Harrison was all into Hinduism and Hare Krishna. That makes sense. But I wonder. Who else was on the album cover for Sgt Peppers?”

However, when I studied the “who’s who” of Sgt Pepper’s, I was horrified. Here’s a list of who is on the cover.

Adolf Hitler was removed from the at the last moment due to protest from the record label:

When I was a teenager, Sgt Pepper’s just look like a cool album cover. After formally studying philosophy for a few years, I now realize that the album cover is a collage of intellectual poison.

Aleister Crowley? Really. As in Black Sabbath’s “Mr Crowley.” Nuts. The Sgt Pepper collage is mostly an assembly of occultists, political socialists, eugenists, homosexuals, and sexual provocateurs (plus four Hindu gurus).

Finding a morally clean pop song, or artist, is an exercise in sheer futility. The whole culture of pop music, and rock and jazz and many other related genres, is steeped in secularism, liberalism, and other types of intellectual poison. Don’t try to draw sweet-tasting water out of a poisoned well. I suggest you look in wells that are not poisoned from the start.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Finding a morally clean pop song, or artist, is an exercise in sheer futility. The whole culture of pop music, and rock and jazz and many other related genres, is steeped in secularism, liberalism, and other types of intellectual poison. Don’t try to draw sweet-tasting water out of a poisoned well. I suggest you look in wells that are not poisoned from the start.

If a pentagram and pictures of Aleister Crowley are enough to have you crossing yourself, then it’s no wonder the Church is at odds with today’s youth.

We’ve been reduced to a religion of knee-jerk reactions.

Serious country fans will of course tell you that she is completely pop, but I agree that she is somewhere in both categories.

Not surprised. And again, we have demonstrated the real futility of sweeping any kind of song or genre with a broad brush.

Why can’t people just pick a song they like and let that be the end of it?

 

[redbetta]

I would go with the idea of picking and choosing songs instead of artists. Well, as a seventeen year old, what I have observed are that my peers are pretty eclectic, listening to country, alternative, rock, and pop. I am not loyal to any artist, I just pick a song that I like and I look up the lyrics just in case. For songs that do not involve sex, may I offer a humble suggestion? Though, it will not produce solely pop songs if followed.

I am not sure if OP is googling appropriate songs or just asking people. I am not sure how common this is, but I get a lot of my songs from Youtube tributes. There are people who post these tributes to popular fictional characters with pictures and animation and a song that he or she feels suits this character the best. Typically, these are heroes or favorite characters from animated series or video games, although I have seen some for book and movie characters. The songs that I typically find are rarely about sex and more about conflicts, both internal and external and they tell a story of sorts or can be made part of a story. And if you like a specific character, chances are that you will like the music associated with him or her, at least in my experience. Or, if that fails, perhaps a song from an appropriate movie? For example, I really love that song from Ice Age, “Send Me On My Way.” I would suggest more, but the in-congruence between my favorites might freak some people out. I hope that was helpful and good luck!

 

[Kamaduck]

I would go with the idea of picking and choosing songs instead of artists. Well, as a seventeen year old, what I have observed are that my peers are pretty eclectic, listening to country, alternative, rock, and pop. I am not loyal to any artist, I just pick a song that I like and I look up the lyrics just in case.

That’s what I’ve noticed, too. I don’t really listen to much pop, more like rock/metal these days, or orchestral stuff. There are some songs that everyone seems to have at least heard, but for the most part, people like different things. My friends listen to everything from rock and metal, to orchestral, to techno, to country, to K-pop. Everybody’s got different tastes.

As far as artists… I can think of a few groups I like. Fireflight is consistently good. But yeah, there are a lot of cases where I really like a few songs from an artist, even if they’ve done other songs that weren’t so good (either morally, or just not very good music ).

For songs that do not involve sex, may I offer a humble suggestion? Though, it will not produce solely pop songs if followed.

I am not sure if OP is googling appropriate songs or just asking people. I am not sure how common this is, but I get a lot of my songs from Youtube tributes. There are people who post these tributes to popular fictional characters with pictures and animation and a song that he or she feels suits this character the best. Typically, these are heroes or favorite characters from animated series or video games, although I have seen some for book and movie characters. The songs that I typically find are rarely about sex and more about conflicts, both internal and external and they tell a story of sorts or can be made part of a story. And if you like a specific character, chances are that you will like the music associated with him or her, at least in my experience.

That’s what I used to do, before I started using Pandora. I still watch the video tributes sometimes, but just for the videos themselves, not to find new music. But yeah, it does yield a lot of cool songs.

I have to say, it would be much easier to list clean or mostly-clean artists if we could list CCM music. The Christian artists aren’t as well-known, of course, but if they have what you’re looking for, why not use them?

That said, I can’t really point the OP towards anything that’s more pop than rock. I’ve got lots of rock suggestions.

 

[lampstand]

If you’ve got Live 365, there’s a good station called “Jesus Rock.” Funny name, yes, but the music’s entertaining. Older stuff, late 70s-early 90s.

 

[Sky_River]

I’m trying to find current artists that are popular with teenagers. I’m running into trouble with actually finding appropriate ones. It seems that I can only find lyrics regarding sex. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

In my opinion, very few pop songs have appropriate lyrics.

 

[Portrait]

In my opinion, very few pop songs have appropriate lyrics.

Dear Sky River,

Cordial greetings and a very good day. Indeed, bang on target.

Even the most ardent devotees of pop/rock music freely admit that there is much in the genre to disturb and cause disquiet to any tender Christian conscience. It admits of no doubt that a large percentage of rock and pop tracks contain in their lyrics blatantly un-Christian morality, ranging from casual acceptance of fornication to the unspeakably obscene and downright vile. However, this is hardly surprising given that rock/pop music emanates from an Augean stable of unimaginable filth and depravity.

The faithful should give this debased sensory material a very wide berth, for it is mind polluting and not conducive to our call to holiness and separation from the world. *All *Catholics are called to a life of holiness, it is not an option for a few thoroughgoing spiritual types (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 2013-2015). Listening to this unwholesome music (if you can term it such) will do very little to foster “spiritual progress (which) tends towards ever more intimate union with Christ”.

God bless.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

In Christos

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

However, this is hardly surprising given that rock/pop music emanates from an Augean stable of unimaginable filth and depravity.

So… how’s that Gregorian chant radio working for ya?

 

[Kamaduck]

So… how’s that Gregorian chant radio working for ya?

Don’t be hatin’ on Gregorian chants. There’s nothing better if you want to create a calm atmosphere.

That said, I hardly think bands like Fireflight, Pillar, or Tenth Avenue North are anywhere near “downright vile”, let alone “unimaginable filth and depravity”.

Look, Portrait. I get that you’re on a crusade against modern media, but a song can have a completely positive, Christ-centered message while using an electric guitar in the background. These things are not mutually exclusive.