Death by Music

Music; sounds that soothe the ears, relate to our emotions, express our deepest feelings, and fears. When we are happy, we sing. When we are angry, we sing. When we are lonely, we sing. Music has become one of the top ways of expressing ourselves. Each and every artist in the world expresses themselves through their music, their lyrics, and their experience. One of the reasons why music from all different genres becomes so popular is because that song or that music tone reflects what a person is feeling.

Throughout the years, music has also been associated with being a cause of suicide among fans. The most known cases are that of the heavy metal genre. The band Judas Priest had been blamed in 1985 for a pair of men from Nevada shooting themselves two days before Christmas after listening to one of Judas Priest's albums.

Ozzy Osbourne has also had some controversy over his song "Suicide Solution". A teen had shot himself while listening to the song, headphones still around his ears. "Suicide Solution" has been misinterpreted among teens and is often seen opposite of what Ozzy intended. The song was written after Bon Scott, a member of the band AC/DC, who died of hypothermia after drinking heavily one night in winter and had passed out in his car. The song is meant to speak about how deadly alcohol can be.

Ozzy also faced some controversy when another young adult went out one night and stabbed someone after listening to Ozzy's song "Bark at the Moon". The 20 year old stated that listening to the song made him feel like stabbing people.

Ozzy and Judas Priest were never charged with any crimes and the Judas Priest case was actually thrown out of court. Some people may as why? Well, in truth, the music didn't cause their suicide or their need to stab someone. Suicide is defined as the act of intentionally terminating one's own life. That means that the person who is terminating their own life is actually the one doing it to themselves.

In an odd way it's almost as the old saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." Words don't kill. Lyrics do not kill. These things are not actual objects, but they are only written or spoken sounds. A word can't pick up a gun or a knife.

Heavy Metal music is full of a lot of common themes such as sex, violence, romantic tragedies, as well as lyrics that are inspired by poetry and even mythological stories. Heavy Metal always seems to be the 'bad guy' in music, but if you look at other types of music genres, the same themes are all over the place. Country music may be all happy and jumping with love songs, but there are thousands of country songs out there that talk of drinking, drugs, heartbreak, vandalism, and even suicide. Examples of this would be Miranda Lambert's song "Kerosene". This song talks of soaking society in kerosene and lighting them up and watching them burn. Garth Brooks long version of "The Thunder Rolls" adds a lyric where the wife grabs a pistol from her bedroom when she finds out her hubby cheated on her.

Whatever the genre or even the lyric, the artists are innocent when it comes to their fans turning to crime or taking their own lives. In the Judas Priest case, the parent of the teen stated that there was a type of subliminal phrase hidden in their song "Better by You Better Than Me". The subliminal phrase was "Do It". The parents stated that Judas Priest was subliminally telling fans to commit suicide. Now, saying the words 'do it', is far from saying 'kill yourself'. 'Do it', well do what? 'It' is a very broad term. Whether or not the lyrics said to do certain things or not, its almost like when you were a kid and you did everything your friends did and your mom or dad would say, "If they jumped off a cliff would you do it too?"

It's not the music, it's not the lyrics, its not the subliminal messages that causes a person to take these dark paths. There is always something going on that has been building for a while, some underlying issue. Society has a way of always passing the blame. Instead of looking into what the kid, teenager, or adult has been doing for months prior or even years or even taking a look at their habits, we turn to blame it on what society thinks is the bad guy.

So the lyric said 'pull the trigger', in a person's right mind they know that's not the right thing to do. They also know that if they don't like this band's lyrics or music they can turn off their radio or throw away their CD. Many of the metal music cases of suicide and or follow the paths of crime there have been evidence of alcohol and drug abuse and or an emotional or mental instability that had been left untreated.

Many parents think that they know their son or daughter, but in reality you have no clue. They turn to certain genres of music because they understand what they are feeling and going through. As adults, it is the same characteristic as well many times. We control our own bodies, but when there are other substances involved, we loose that control. When I say substance, I don't include music, music is NOT a substance.

If your teenager is interested in artists such as Ozzy or Judas Priest or KISS or any genre of music, try connecting with them. Have an open mind and take a listen for yourself. Ask your child why they are attracted to this type of music and listen to what they say, you may find out something interesting or you may find an internal problem that they are trying to cope with but don't know how. You may not like what you hear either, their reasons may include you; who knows, you may even relate to the music yourself or even relate to your children's feelings.

In conclusion, country music, metal, rock, opera, all of these music genres and more are full of amazingly talented and really respectable and admirable artists. You may not like the music, or you may not like the lyrics, but the music is not the cause of death. I believe once people stop putting the blame on where it doesn't belong and realize that a musical note and a word can't cause physical harm the controversies will end.

In the mean time, keep listening to the greatest art of all time: music!