1. Queen, "Don't Stop Me Now," Rock, 1978.
2. Panic! at the Disco, "Lying is the Most Fun...," Pop punk, 2005.
3. All Time Low, "Dear Maria, Count Me In," Pop punk, 2007.
4. The Audition, "Warm Me Up," Pop punk, 2008.
5. Mayday Parade, "Jamie All Over," Alternative rock, 2007.
Aim Number Two: Community Service
1. Bill Withers, "Lean On Me," Soul, 1972.
2. Simon & Garfunkel, "A Bridge Over Troubled Water," Folk Rock, 1970.
3. The Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," Rock, 1969.
4. Cyndi Lauper, "True Colors," Pop rock, 1986.
5. Jewel, "Hands," Pop rock/Contemporary, 1998.
Looking at aims #1 and #3, I defined “pleasure” as “anything that pleases the self” and “community service” as “helping others (in various formats).” Naturally, I could think of many songs dealing with different aspects of pleasure, as pleasure is a very popular topic. It was a great deal more difficult to think of songs dealing with community service and helping people. Perhaps society as a whole prefers promoting selfish – selfish simply meaning matters dealing with the self, not necessarily referring to the bad connotation that arises – whims, while encouraging others to be of use to their community and the world is put on a back burner in comparison. For aim #1, it was hard for me to select only five songs to post. There are a lot of choices! I decided to go with more blatantly “pleasurable” songs. Songs #2 and #4 are about lust and sex – the “dirty” side of pleasure. Song #3 is about a stripper – while not everyone’s idea of a good time, some go for that sort of thing. Songs #1 and #5 talk more about having a good time, making good memories, living life to the fullest. Aim #3 was another matter all together. When I think of community service, I think of Habitat for Humanity, a food pantry, helping a little old lady across the street, etc. I guess I was dwelling more on actions, not on an emotional level. It was the “emotional” that kept popping up when I was searching for applicable songs. All five of the songs listed for aim #3 deal mostly with helping people in need of emotional encouragement.
What did I observe?
The main observation I found, and no surprise here whatsoever, is that frankly people like a good time. It is in our nature to seek out pleasurable things: cute animals, sunsets, being in love, sex, alcohol and other substances, you get the idea. A pending observation, one that I’m still pondering over, is the fact that there aren’t as many (still quite a few when you do some sifting of course) songs in popular culture about helping those in need. I’m still contemplating the reasons of why that is.
The main observation I found, and no surprise here whatsoever, is that frankly people like a good time. It is in our nature to seek out pleasurable things: cute animals, sunsets, being in love, sex, alcohol and other substances, you get the idea. A pending observation, one that I’m still pondering over, is the fact that there aren’t as many (still quite a few when you do some sifting of course) songs in popular culture about helping those in need. I’m still contemplating the reasons of why that is.
How does the Hindu understanding of the four aims of life differ from what was expressed in American pop music?
Is there much of a difference for the first aim of pleasure? Pleasure is pleasure. Perhaps it is different for the fact that in Hinduism, it is believed that eventually one will tire of seeking pleasure and will instead turn to seeking the greatest aim of salvation/liberation, while the American understanding appears to not enforce the eventual lack of desire to seek pleasure. I feel that there is probably a greater difference for the third aim of community service. As I said earlier, the majority of songs that I did think of are about helping others on the emotional level while I think the Hindu understanding focuses also on the physical needs.
Is there much of a difference for the first aim of pleasure? Pleasure is pleasure. Perhaps it is different for the fact that in Hinduism, it is believed that eventually one will tire of seeking pleasure and will instead turn to seeking the greatest aim of salvation/liberation, while the American understanding appears to not enforce the eventual lack of desire to seek pleasure. I feel that there is probably a greater difference for the third aim of community service. As I said earlier, the majority of songs that I did think of are about helping others on the emotional level while I think the Hindu understanding focuses also on the physical needs.
Your response was very organized and easy to read, I really like how you broke both topics down.You brought up a very good point at the end of your response about the biggest difference i think between hindu understanding and a more American understand of community serivice. Hinduism focuses on a life journey to serve your role, your family as a way of life. Where as some Americans do communtiy service as a way to get out of jail , a ticket or just to make mom happy. You see less the idea of selflessness behind it in Americans.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that pleasure songs were abundant and it was hard to narrow it down to just 5. Whether or not society promotes selfish whims is something I would debate. I do however agree that all people do like to have a good time.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point when you said people are generally selfish. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though- just the way it is. I also wanted to say that in Hinduism, they practice their pleasure in moderation, and in western cultures, over indulgence is promoted. Just think about how many songs talk about getting drunk in the club...
ReplyDeleteHaha, I like your example of cute animals as pleasure. I believe that having community service songs would mean that we are admitting that there are problems in this world, immediate problems that must be addressed. Songs like that wouldn't sell as well because a number of people either simply don't care about the problems of others, focus on only what is happening in their own nation, or they simply just want to pretend that everything in the world is fine.
ReplyDeleteWhat I noticed about the songs you put up for community service (and what I noticed when I was looking for songs for that aim myself) is that it seems like a lot of pop songs that fit this aim are directed at helping an individual rather than a large group. Songs like "Lean on Me" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" seem to focus on that kind of person-to-person support of helping a friend rather than trying to better the community as a whole. In this way, it seems to me like even when westerners are being compassionate, we can't quite grasp the large scale of community service as put forth by Hinduism.
ReplyDeleteI know the very "first" people who were involved in hinduism will agree with me that when they talked about pleasure as an aim of their religion, they did not mean it the way we see it today. Thus, drugs, alcohol, sex, and all the worldly pleasure you can think of.
ReplyDelete@Casey--I agree with Americans predisposition to selfishness and our use/abuse or it but I also believe that popular culture under represents the amount of good that we are actually doing as well. I believe that there are just as many people participating in community service to those that do not. I think that the idea of community service or helping others is a value that is instilled in us as children. Consequently, if we are to change our attitudes towards community service for everyone, I believe it starts with teaching the youth to be more willing/understanding of helping the unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem that our culture is continually reinforcing this constant need for fulfillment or pleasure. One simply has to turn on their television and there are a number of commercials advertising beautiful clothing, vacation getaways and other goods. The Hindu idea of a cycle and the idea of being caught up in the wheels of capitalism seem to be very similar ideas--at least in the sense of being caught up in something, sometimes with no sign of liberation.
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