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From Joel Patterson Everything we do is a conversation. From the tattoos a person carves into her skin to the kind of figurines an adult man proudly displays on his living room book shelf, as well as the particular way he chooses to organize them, all of these unique decorative nuances, or lack thereof, broadcasts a plethora of information about a person’s history and values. Music is no exception. Music can not only give us insight into the psychology of the artist who wrote the piece, but also it can give us insight into the psychology of the listener who has found a way to connect to the song regardless whether or not he understands the song’s ‘true’ meaning that the artist intended. Music can also be considered a reflection of the society and culture in which it was produced, depending on whether very few can connect to the same piece as opposed to hundreds of thousands of people. Since I was a teenager, I’ve been particularly fascinated by this aspect of popular music. When I was fourteen I found a great deal of pleasure in getting up early on Saturday to watch a show on VH1 Classic called “Metal Mania”, a show that played 80’s and early 90’s music videos back to back. While I did enjoy much of the music, I would gladly sit through and watch videos of songs I didn’t particularly like simply because I found them interesting in the way an Anthropologist might and enjoyed thinking about why particular trends were popular during particular eras in music. There is one such trend that can be found in popular music of the late 90’s to early 2000’s, a place where many would least expect to find anything particularly radical, which I find to be very groundbreaking in the context of music history. During this time period we see numerous bands (I’ve created a list at the bottom of the page.) expressing feelings such as anger towards child abuse and abusive parents, pain at having been raised in a dysfunctional family, or some kind of sympathy towards children in these environments in way that had previously never been so explicit or frequent. While it is true that artists prior to the late 90's wrote songs that scratched the surface of this subject matter, such songs were still often couched in poetic language and anonymity, and never included the two most introspective words “I feel”. Take for example the lyrics from a great song by John Lennon called “Mother” Mother, you had me But I never had you I wanted you But you didn’t want me So, I just got to tell you, Goodbye And compare it to the Lyrics in “Down with The Sickness” by Disturbed No Mommy, Don’t do it again Don’t do it again I’ll be a good boy I’ll be a good boy, I promise No mommy don’t hit me Why did you have to hit me like that,mommy? Don’t do it, you’re hurting me Why did you have to be such a bitch Why don’t you, Why don’t you just fuck off and die And not only were these songs prevalent, since a large number of these songs started showing up just within the time span of about 7 years (1997–2002), they were also mainstream. “Down With The Sickness” charted at number 5 on the Modern Rock Tracks in 2001. In addition, the striking lyrical content was also often accompanied by equally striking and overt imagery, which has never been done previously, in music videos that cost anywhere from $3000 to 200k to make. Korn’s, “Falling Away From Me”, which shows a young girl getting hit with a belt, is one notable, albeit disturbing example. The subject of child abuse had never before been at the forefront of popular culture or had been brought to our attention is such an overt and ‘in your face’ kind of way. The question, for me, then becomes, “Why?” What information about these artist’s histories is being broadcast? What experiences might they have shared that were so different from the generation before them that would influence this kind of change in popular music? Why did a similar trend of musicians drawing our attention to family dysfunction not happen between 1981 to 1989? Why were so many able to identify and willing to embrace these songs at the time? Although, to be fair, there was was some push back. This trend was even noted and criticized in the song “Click Click Boom” by Saliva, which came out around the same time. “What the hell is wrong with me? My mom and dad weren’t perfect, But still you don’t hear no crying ass bitching from me, Like there seems to be on everybody’s CD” Unfortunately, all too many shared and still do share this cruel sentiment, as what would eventually be known as “Nu-Metal”, such as Korn and P.O.D, would be the subject of much mockery and criticism from those who deemed themselves as “true metal fans.” Although I can understand how distancing oneself from the truth of ones own history through esoteric, vague, symbolic, obscure language about fictional horrors such as “raining blood” can be emotionally much easier than using honest and clear language that paints a realistic picture of the actual horrors that the majority of children suffer from. Just a disclaimer, I’m no expert historian, so my attempts to answer these questions are only that; an attempt. I am not proving anything, these are just my thoughts. Still, I hope what I’ve found might have some explanatory power. “We were probably the first generation to be raised more by the media than by actual human beings” - Bruce Fletcher (My Dinner With Generation X) Since childhood experiences have such a profound impact on our psyche such that it can even influence the types of music we are drawn to and create, I’ll start there. One thing that every artist from the list I’ve created has in common is that they were all born between 1961 to 1981, which means that they are part of what is known as Generation X. If these individuals had drastically different childhoods compared to the generation before them, it might be able to help explain why the music they created was so vastly different and why it appeared during the time it did. This is most certainly the case. To borrow from a blogger named Jennifer who specializes on the topic of Generation X, whose work you can find at http://www.jenx67.com/who-is-generation-x, “Generation X was born during the greatest anti-child phase in modern American history. Our childhoods were underscored by the following: Legalized Abortion (Roe vs. Wade) Invention of Birth Control Divorce Absent Fathers Working Mothers Latchkey Kids For more about latchkey kids, I invite you to read a 2009 blog post I wrote about Gina, a member of the Latchkey Generation.” “From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, divorce rates in the United States more than doubled. In addition, between 1969 and 1996, the number of working mothers in the workforce also doubled. Consequently, many households were headed by working single moms. It’s estimated that as many as 40 percent of Gen Xers were latchkey kids who returned home from school to empty houses. Their childhoods and youth were marked by a lack of supervision, and excessive household and family responsibilities. The pendulum swings wide on the consequences of the latchkey childhood. Unsupervised Gen X children and youth ran the gamut of those who watched too much TV and didn’t do their homework to those who fell into escalating levels of crime. According to Coupland, inwardly-focused Baby Boomers sometimes regarded their children as “obstacles to their self-exploration,” and thus resulted permissive parenting of grand proportion. In addition, on top of spending many hours bored and lonely, Coupland also concludes that Generation X was “rushed through childhood.” To share more of Jennifer’s writing, (http://www.jenx67.com/2009/01/latchkey-generation.html) “The term latchkey kid originates from the latchkey of a door. A latchkey kid — sometimes just called a latchkey — is a child between the ages of 7 and 13 who comes home from school to an empty house. The child is left unsupervised until a child returns home from work. The hours of unsupervision vary, but typically take place during what law enforcement refers to as the “danger zone” of 3 to 6 p.m.In the 1970s, the rise in divorce coupled with a high rate of mothers in the workforce gave rise to the term. I had many Gen-X friends who wore a key tied to a cord around their neck. (This would be great training for all those lanyards we’ve had to wear in the workforce. Ugh.) “ The data does indeed support this. So, this generation was indeed born into a completely different world compared to the prior generation. It makes more sense as to why the themes of family dysfunction would be so prevalent in this generation’s music. The families this generation grew up in were dysfunctional. Another question that comes to my mind is, Why did the number of working mothers in the workforce double? Why was it so accepted and commonplace for baby boomers to divorce, which statistically was initiated by the women, compared to the generation prior? Of course, I’m not saying that women can’t or shouldn’t pursue a career. (Fuck off social justice warriors.) But, considering that children do far better the more time they bond with their caregivers and when they live in two parent households, why was the choice made to have kids and then not spend time with them? Why were the fathers okay with this and did not offer to stay at home full time since the mothers decided to pursue a career? What sense does it make for parents to have children and not meet the children’s needs? It’s like choosing to buy a dog and neglecting to feed it. Perhaps there was a movement that occurred that explicitly harped on ideas that might have influenced so many women of the Baby Boomer generation to abandon their children in favor of a career? I can think of no better example than the Second Wave Feminist Movement, which undoubtedly made “equality” in the workplace a primary focus, much to the detriment of hundreds or thousands of lonely children. To quote three of the most influential authors of the Second Wave Feminist Movement “The Family must go because it oppresses and enslaves women”- Kate Millet “Women, as well as men, can only find their identity in work that uses their full capacities. Women cannot find her identity in the dull routine of housework.” -Betty Friedan “I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.” -Gloria Steinem In conclusion, the music most like changed so drastically because childhoods changed drastically. And childhood changed because parenting changed (for the worse) and one possibility as to why so many families fell apart could be that the Second Wave of Feminism had an incredibly destructive influence on the way women (and men) thought about parenting by suggesting that the family is oppressive and that staying home to meet a child’s need is akin to being a slave. Again, this is a complicated issue and and I’m no historian. I’m sure there’s way more to it. These are just some facts I’m collecting which might have some explanatory value as to why music changed so drastically. If you have any additional thoughts, I’d love to know what you think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrZ4sMRYimw I had trouble getting these videos to post. Disturbed- Down With The Sickness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L78yVFeyvRo Everclear- Father Of Mine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkcbxjWG9Mc Blink 182- Stay together For the Kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BFHYtZlAUr Also, here's The Medium.com Article version. https://medium.com/@joelpatterson_52315/https-www-youtube-com-watch-v-fguj3tvkgo8-db10bc63e54a If you found this piece interesting, you can find more articles there, such as "Louder Than Words: What Modern Feminism Has Actually Achieved" https://medium.com/@joelpatterson_52315/louder-than-words-what-modern-feminism-has-actually-achieved-71e853e8d98d