Is Music To Blame?

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February 1978, British Heavy Metal band “Judas Priest” release their fourth studio album, “Stained Class”.

December, 1985, Nevada schoolboys James Vance & Ray Belkap shoot themselves. Belkap dies instantly, while Vance survives for 3 years before eventually succumbing to the same fate…


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January 1981, Ex Black Sabbath vocalist “Ozzy Osbourne” realesed his first solo album titled “The Blizzard of Oz”

1984 – ’87, Three separate teenagers commit suicide and Ozzy is held responsible in the court of law for “assisting” them by means of “subliminal messages”.


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August 1985, Thrash Metal band Slayer release their second studio album, “Hell Awaits”.

July 1995, Three teenage boys (Royce Casey, Jacob Delashmutt & Joseph Fiorella) rape and murder 15 year old Elyse Pahler and finally “sacrifice her to the devil”.


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In all three aforementioned cases, the band/artist was held responsible. In all three cases, the cases were dismissed/rejected for various reasons.




Now those of you who know me, will know that I’m a very dedicated fan of heavy metal music, and so, I feel my views on this issue would be biased. However, I ask you… Is music to blame here?

Is it the supposed hidden meaning behind these “evil lyrics” and their apparent satanistic performers?

Be it Marilyn Manson being blamed for the ’99 Coulumbine shootings, or even the relatively new cases of people blaming video-games (case in point being the ever popular “Grand Theft Auto” series)


Is it simply a case of misinterpretation, or does the root lie deeper?
Are parents using music as a scapegoat here? Shunning their own responsibilities and failures onto music or other forms of popular entertainment?

Or is it just a case of the young mind gone astray? Depression & drugs making the final call on the disillusioned youth?


Who do you hold responsible in such cases?
 
Short answer (Is music to blame?) is no.

I think that in most of these cases there is some underlying problem which is conveniently swept under the carpet in favour of laying the blame at someone else.

Interesting note is that two of the four artists you mentioned are English. Scenes like above generally do not happen in the UK.
 
Jacen, this is the third or fourth username you have had.  What is wrong?

On topic... I think it is so easy to blame these artists for so called "subliminal messages" in songs.  Depression/suicide and other incidents are a compound of many things, not just becasue a band has "evil" lyrics.
 
1. I'm not a psychologist, but I believe that depression that leads to suicidal tendencies is a mental disease.

2. On the other hand, when young music fans damage themselves, they may be just dark people, or people with personal problems, or bored people, or stupid people, who get under the influence of a hype, peer pressure, drugs, twisted fashion. Thus, they are somehow being "helped" by dark music and lyrics.

2. But is heroine to blame? No, it isn't. I'm not a chemist either, but I believe that if the compounds that are present in some illegal substances are used under control in a lab, they can be helpful.
 
Music can never be solely blamed for incidences such as those you mentioned, Jacen.  I would like to point out that the Judas Priest case was thrown out after the band showed that there was no backwards message in 'Better By You, Better Than Me' (which, incidentally, is a cover), and that killing off their fans would be counter-productive.  When it comes to backwards/subliminal messages in music, the search for answers often throws up so-called 'messages', but they are often non-intentional and present only in the listener's mind when they look for them.  So, we can rule backwards messages out of cases such as these.

Now, as to the dark music and lyrics, I don't think there is any margin for complete blame.  Does everyone who listens to 50 Cent go out and 'pop a cap in someone's ass'?  No, because 99% of people who listen to music are completely sane (the other 1% being those who listen to James Blunt :p).  You listed the Columbine massacre.  I would like to point out at this point that the two gunmen that day didn't like Marylin Manson, as they viewed him as being too mainstream.  Back on topic, if someone is going to go out and gun down half his school, he is clearly not right in the head.  You cannot blame the music alone, although this was likely a catalyst, along with other influences, many of which would be viewed as perfectly acceptable in society.  It's the fact that metal is seen as distasteful and regarded as a bit of an unknown by our peers that makes it an easy scapegoat for parents seeking answers to their child's actions. 

But, is the music to blame?  And does it turn the minds of people to evil?  No.  If it did, BD would be feasting on the bloated remains of some poor sod down a back-alley as we speak.  And I'd be running round a forest looking for elves (or possibly emos to slay)... :rolleyes:
 
"If our music killed people, there would be dead bodies all over the streets."- Rob Halford.

*That quote came from memory so it probably isn't completely correct, but you get the point* :oops:
 
Of course it isn't to blame, the responsability rest solely on the individual. Even if they found their inspiration to kill in music they could've easily gotten it from video games, movies or cereal boxes. Can I blame Nike for watching one of their ads and after they tell me "Just Do It," I go upstairs and kill my wife, and simply say "they told me to do it".
 
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/content/articles/2005/11/23/cradle_of_filth_this_world_feature.shtml">This may be old news and you may well be familiar with it</a>, but am I the only one who see's that the only one blaming the music is the father of a dead boy?
 
Only a moron could ever truly believe that music made someone kill themselves.  And even if someone was dumb enough to kill themselves because of music that is in no way the artists fault... its the morons.

I dont know where the rest of you are from, but I live in America and I can honestly say that if i had the money to do so I would move to Europe.  Im sure Europe has its problems too but Im so sick & tired of the idiots in this country making excuses for peoples stupidity and always looking for a scapegoat.  America is far from the haven of freedom and opportunity that our propaganda would have everyone beleive.
 
jmcatrow said:
Only a moron could ever truly believe that music made someone kill themselves.  And even if someone was dumb enough to kill themselves because of music that is in no way the artists fault... its the morons.

I dont know where the rest of you are from, but I live in America and I can honestly say that if i had the money to do so I would move to Europe.  Im sure Europe has its problems too but Im so sick & tired of the idiots in this country making excuses for peoples stupidity and always looking for a scapegoat.  America is far from the haven of freedom and opportunity that our propaganda would have everyone beleive.
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Europe's not that much better, to be honest.  I'm not entirely sure about the Mainland, but in the UK Political Correctness runs rampant.  It's ridiculous, and the leniency of the criminal system is laughable.  And our government sucks.  Move to Germany, so you have easy access to Wacken. ;)
 
Not to long ago (maybe a couple of months) it was very prominent in the news that the U.K was indeed ridiculously PC about the dumbest topics...
 
The system is very two faced however...
programmes such as "Little Britain" and "Family Guy" are popular in Britain yet whenever somebody makes a joke about suicide bombers or disabled kids outside of television, they get slated and made scapegoats out of.
 
hmm, like racist jokes in the U.S! Carlos Mencia and Dave Chapelle can make them all they want, but average citizens are villafied.
 
jacen110091 said:
Are parents using music as a scapegoat here? Shunning their own responsibilities and failures onto music or other forms of popular entertainment?

Or is it just a case of the young mind gone astray? Depression & drugs making the final call on the disillusioned youth?
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Short answer: I think you've found the answer right there.

Longer motivation: If your child dies or does something terrible, you want to blame someone /-thing else than yourself, I think. Why not blame music? Especially when it's a music style (or video game/tv show/movie) that appeals to the young when their parents have no clue as to what it is. I think I, as a parent myself, would lash out blindly and blame anything and everything I could find as long as I wouldn't have to blame myself to much. Imaging the guilt if your child dies due to something you've done or didn't do? I'm not sure I could live with that.
 
Anomica said:
Short answer: I think you've found the answer right there.

Longer motivation: If your child dies or does something terrible, you want to blame someone /-thing else than yourself, I think.
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or your child. People have a hard time accepting that some people are just bad apples. The parents can be the best in the world, but the individual doesn't live in a vacuum, he goes to school, has friends, watches tv and listens to radio... in short their are other influences other than the parents. In fact one can argue that in today's society "the family" is actually a very weak if not the weakest link an individual has.
 
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