KMS

I want to promote modern day Libertine philosophies instead, where morality and empathy are wholly devoured.

misterseth

Okay, fine. Go ahead. You'll be way more popular.

Goblin Tears

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation is probably one of the most famous (and best, imo), socially conscious albums.

misterseth

Thank you, I had completely forgotten about that album. I admire her for standing up to the pressures of the music industry and going ahead with that record as it was. I will check it out again more closely in a new light..

I'd also put forward Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet as two very important and successful socially conscious albums from that same period.

Any others?

VEGANGELICA

Welcome, Seth! Your project sounds interesting. I like "music with a message" very much and am curious to learn more about your work.

I think I am probably one of the "like-minded music heads" you will find at the site, so I thought I'd introduce myself to you here quickly in your intro thread so you know there are some more of us out there.

Heh heh...I don't hesitate to prescribe for people what I want them to do. But I agree, most people don't like being giving unsolicited advice! I think positive activist songs that raise awareness without blaming people are probably best for encouraging people to feel free to reconsider their feelings and perceptions.

Microloans are great. I'm glad you are planning to contribute to Kiva.

Seth, if you'd like to, please visit the activist song thread I started so that people can share some of their favorite socially conscious music.

http://www.musicbanter.com/general-m...tml#post907260

Again, welcome!

- Erica

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misterseth

Hi Erica (VEGANGELICA), thank you so much for your positive and encouraging post. I was beginning to wonder if the majority of people on this forum are as amoral as they sound.

It has been good to receive such mixed responses to my idea –*that is what I came here for really, to find out what people think. The whole project has been locked away in my comfort zone for too long. If it ever goes anywhere I will have to be able to defend it.

I will definitely visit the activist song thread.

Freebase Dali

Explain?

misterseth

It was not meant seriously, sorry if it came across that way. It was meant to be an exaggerated and humorous reference to the earlier reply:

"I want to promote modern day Libertine philosophies instead, where morality and empathy are wholly devoured."

Nobody else has even mentioned morality, and most have rightly been questioning whether my motivation comes from a moral place or if its just self promotion.

Guess I should have been more specific, apologies.

VEGANGELICA

Hmm...I think the people here, rather than being amoral, are simply very vigilant about newcomers just using the site to benefit themselves, and so moderators try hard to make sure the rule about self-promotion is followed. Also, most people here don't stroke egos, so the good news is you get honest opinions!

Very true about the importance of being able to defend what you do or, perhaps more important, recognize the fact that sometimes others will feel what you do is crap and indefensible! So, whatever else you gain from MB, I hope this will be part of it: staying true to your artistic vision regardless what others say, even as you take their feedback and decide if and how to use it in your work.

I hear you, too, about the importance of being able to get out of your comfort zone, Seth. I had an art instructor in college who said to me essentially, "Your art tends to be so pretty and controlled. When are you going to let yourself really express how you feel? If you aren't safe to do that in college, when do you think you'll be able to?" At the time I answered inside, "I don't know." His question always stuck with me, though. I think getting your project out of your comfort zone by sharing it is a great idea for personal and social reasons.

You wondered earlier in the thread about music similar to what you have planned (where you take famous people's socially conscious, spoken words and accentuate the rhythm of natural human speech). I don't know of whole songs that are like that...I've just heard songs that use excerpts of famous speeches. Maybe someone here who knows more about music than I will be able to answer your question.

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misterseth

Hi Erica,

You're absolutely right about people being vigilant - not amoral - and rightly so. I think I was a little disheartened that so few people were actually engaging with the ideas I've put forward so much as figuring out whether this thread belongs here. That just shows how much I've been languishing in my comfort zone! I really appreciate your story on that subject. How have you dealt with that issue since college?

In my idealistic and optimistic fantasy I have been assuming that most people are also fed up with self-serving musicians not actually saying much of anything other than issues to do entirely with themselves. Not only do I not actually know if this is true but I may have ironically missed how much it could actually apply to me. Ouch.

In the past I have done what most musicians do which is to reside comfortably in anonymity behind aliases and personas. The reason people do this is avoid being confronted with themselves. Therein lies the difficulty.

Thanks everybody so far for your reactions and sorry for implying that any of you may be amoral (except for KMS, who has made this clear already).