Trends and Fans
Trends have always worried me in the same way as fanaticism: the way that people blindly follow, without really thinking. So really, with that in mind, what’s the difference? Generally speaking both feature many people doing a similar thing, often not because they believe in it, but because they believe it is the right thing to do to follow. You could argue that trends in music are harmless, but then, aren’t fans? Music gets away with a lot. Put simply: its ability to take the listener for a ride has the potential to change the viewpoints of young minds.
The one advantage music (and the artists involved in it) has over fanatics – and the thing which stops it from being taken out of context – is that it is controlled, to a large extent, by the media; not an official governing, but at least a strong message of what’s right and wrong. Because of this trends aren’t allowed to be perverted as easily as a minority faction run by fanatics behind closed doors.
But what troubles me is this: throughout history some people have used music as a tool to preach their dangerous and twisted schemes; at the juncture of trends and fanaticism there crystallizes a mask of deception capable of covering up an entire and plain truth. Take the neo-Nazis’ for example: still rife in some parts of the world, the music they play is a clever mix of targeted schemes and evilness dressed up as so-called political points of view. With so many vulnerable heads swaying and lost in the music, it’s possible for them to snare people who they would otherwise have been unlikely to get interested. But that’s not music’s fault, of course. Anything can be manipulated, and there is very little anyone can actively do to stop it from happening.
Before I go I was doing a little research for my illustrating class and found this cool company that does Bespoke Packaging Boxes, they have an extremely cool portfolio that is really worth a look if you are into band cover art.
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