Messages in Music

We have both read about and discussed in depth the effects of "interpellation" in advertising and on television this week, which made me think of its presence within the music industry. This might be a stretch, but while the lyrical content of a song is not a direct advertisement in itself, I wonder if all the many songs that are about "you" or "him" or "her" could be interpreted as manifestations of interpellation themselves....

People are more likely to listen to songs that they identify with. If all artists wrote all their music about specific incidents of their lives or certain people, they wouldn't sell as well because people would just be like, "why should I care?" But when the singer addresses a general "you" or "s/he" then people can easily identify with the song and relate it to their own lives and emotions, or even interpret it as the singer is singing to them. Thus, people will listen to and buy their music because they feel a connection with the singer - "you are who I am singing to, you are who I understand, you are going through the same thing I am going through...BUY MY ALBUM!"

Furthermore, popular music is often used to express and promote ideologies or to rebel against them. Gender, racial, social, sexual, and political ideas are prevalent within lyrics of all kinds of music. An example would be the argument that rap music influences younger listeners to be more violent or sexually active. Another would be Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent" which suggests that men are having increasing respect and attraction towards women who are able to do their own thing. However, ideologies are not expressed solely in the message given by the music itself, but also in the actions and beliefs promoted by celebrity musicians as "role models" for young people. Seriously....we just can't escape it O_O