Ever since the turn of the century, I have been continuously perplexed at my generation's insistence on being "unique". However, everything that we consider to be "unique" has been played out and standardised for decades.
Take gangsta-rap as an example. Actually, no... take it to be an icon, a monolith, a veritable monument to standardism. The formula for a hip-hop, R&B, or gangsta-rap piece hasn't changed since the genres' introduction in the '80s: a simplistic acoustic or synthesised melodic loop consisting of one measure in 4/4 time, non-musical verse loosely superimposed over it, and a bass/drum line designed to destroy your lower-end car-stereo speakers.
Now, in the case of R&B, a variable-note improvised vocal part, typically a female voice, is added to the list as well. In the case of gangsta-rap, the verse tends to speed up, perhaps in an effort to sneak profanity and graphical descriptions of violence past the label's censors.
Now, for some reason, much of my generation have taken hip-hop to be the manifestation of rebellion. Somehow, this standardised formula which has been copied by hundreds of so-called "rappers" since the '80s has become the thing people think of when they rail against "The Man". A number of R&B songs have been written with current events in the subject matter. Anti-Bush, pro-choice versus pro-life, the election of President Obama, anti-war sentiment, Christianity versus Islam, that sort of thing. I even heard a gangsta-rap thing the other day about breaking into jail and decapitating Bernard Madoff, among other things (mostly about freeing fellow gang-bangers from prison).
Anyway, hip-hop et. al. has become something of a dumping ground for disestablishmentarian sentiment. Not only that, but it has regularly been mistaken for "music". The Webster's New World Dictionary, Second Collegiate Edition defines music as:
The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds or tones in varying melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre so as to form structurally complete and emotionally expressive compositions.
That's the crux of the whole matter right there -- varying melody and harmony. Neither hip-hop, nor R&B, nor gangsta-rap have any of the above. There may be a simple melody, but nothing that varies. Compare Hans Zimmer to Eminem... it's like comparing a violin to an elastic band. Both will create constant harmonic tones if plucked with the finger, but only the violin has the staying-power to create a vast sequence of musical notes, where the elastic will eventually break.
Unfortunately, standards have fallen since Webster's Second Collegiate dictionary was published back in 1970. Internet Explorer's built-in Encarta Dictionary: English (North America) defines music so:
Sounds, usually produced by instruments or voices, that are arranged or played in order to create an effect
...Essentially, something you knock up in a few minutes that you can get gunned down in the street for releasing.
I have no qualms about saying this: hip-hop, R&B, and gangsta-rap were all responsible for the downfall of And Now for Something Completely Different. Adopting the felonious attitude and pigheadedness of millionaire rappers, the hosts of the hip-hop "music" programme on KZUM managed to slide around professionalism and co-opt the programming director into participating in their scheme. I am convinced that the rapper credo of "why ask for something when you can steal it?" was the inspiration behind the conspiracy which eventually ended my radio programme.
But, enough personal inferences. The point of this rambling, apart from "to waste space on the Tripod servers", is this.
Rebellion is only rebellious so long as it remains unique. If enough people begin rebelling in the same way, then the rebellion, itself, sets the new standard of normalcy. Even the anarchy so desperately fought for by the subjects of the rap will still retain a measure of order if achieved. ("What?") Consider, if you please, the ancient Greek and Roman eras. No real centralised government existed until Rome's downfall was near. In effect, anarchy. The "Empire" was, in fact, comprised of hundreds of individual city-states with their own laws and societal mores. What was legal in Town A may have been a capital offence in Town B.
The point: rebellion doesn't get you anywhere. Basically, instead of creating chaos from order, you create a new kind of order which future generations may seek to overthrow with their own "rebellion".
