Pop culture references to sexual relations.

[Factory]

I was listening to a disk with assorted MP3's on it the other day, with bands from the 80's right up to last month on it.  I noticed a pretty significant difference in tone in several of the songs.  Most of this could be traced to when the song came out.  For instance:

The Cure: Boys Don't Cry....

"I would do most anything to get you back by my side, but I just keep on laughing hiding the tears in my eyes, cause boys don't cry."

Linkin Park:

"I've become so numb I can't feel you there, become so tired, so much more aware.  Becoming this, all I want to do, is be more like me, and be less like you"

Seems to me the disconnect between the sexes is growing pretty far apart.  "selective" example aside, I have noticed a fairly marked shift.  Women sing about men as no good jerks that deserve to be taken for everything they are worth.  Men sing about women as slutty gold diggers that use men and toss them when they're done with the fun, not to be trusted and definitely deserving no respect.

One half of this is fairly widely publicized, not the other.  But the startling thing is there is precious little dialog about this phenomena....and there isn't a soul alive that could convince me that pop stars have no effect on society.  So where is this leading us?

Well, I for one have noticed an abrubt shift in the last ...say...three years.  The songs from men have gone from an "I'm sorry for being an idiot, please forgive me" sort of tone to a "You're impossible to satisfy, and frankly not worth the effort anyway, so fuck off" sort of trend.  Of course music and movies etc being what they are, there are TONS of exceptions to this rule...but if you went even 10 years back I seriously doubt you'd find more than a few songs by men basically telling women "Fuck off Princess, you're not worth my time".

Thoughts?

[lkanneg]

....and there isn't a soul alive that could convince me that pop stars have no effect on society.

I think pop stars' song lyrics are more of an effect of what is already going on in society than a cause.  But that's just my opinion.

[Mr. Bad]

I've noticed this too, and not just in pop culture - blues songs have been moving in this direction as well.  

Personally, I think this is a good thing.  It shows that men are finally waking up and putting women on notice.  Perhaps the next step will be that the powers that be will take notice and move to change things pronto before men rise up and make the shit hit the fan?

[typhonblue]

I don't know.

There has always been an undercurrent of men singing about how women are hurting them.

I remember one song from the seventies that was basically about a man feeling like he was being used by his wife. I can't remember the title though.

And then there are classics like "American Woman" and the song with the lyric "soul of a woman was created below..."

[lkanneg]

And then there are classics like "American Woman" and the song with the lyric "soul of a woman was created below..."

Led Zeppelin, "Dazed and Confused"  

[PinkGender]

There has always been an undercurrent of men singing about how women are hurting them.

The whole point he was trying to make was, those songs about men getting pissed off about women has been rapidly increasing.

[The Biscuit Queen]

How about Lola?

[Mr. Bad]

"Bitch" - Rolling Stones

"You Can't Hide Your Lying Eyes" - Eagles

"Cross-Eyed Mary" - Jethro Tull

"Party Girl" - ??

"Heartbreaker" - (the one by the old blues dude, not Pat Benatar)

"One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer" - Muddy Waters(?)

"Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)" - ??

"Delia" - Johnny Cash

"Tom Dooley" - The Kingston Trio(?)

"She's Acting Single, I'm Drinking Doubles" - (some country dude)

And yeah, lkanneg has it right with "Dazed and Confused" ("soul of a woman was created below" <dun dun dun dudududududududu dun dun dun dudududududududu>).   "American Woman" was a 3+ rant minute rant asking her to "stay away from me, momma let me be,"  etc. , which I very much liked when it came out while I was in my teens.

[realman]

I've noticed a subtle shift I think. Even though men have probably always said bad things about women or said how hurt they were by a woman, it was more of the "evil woman" thing that goes back for milennia, or the "I feel like I should just go and die now because you left me", or the "bend over and drop your panties, bitch" varieties.

Today, especially in the more grunge/alternative (although it's not really "alternative" anymore, in fact it's quite mainstream...) music, you hear a lot about things to the effect of men telling women to "stop fucking with my head", "you're totally screwed up", "I love you but I'm not gonna live my life enitrely through and for you, etc."

Could be a reflection of some healthy shifts in how men think about women, love, relationships, etc... it would probably be good if the old model of "relationships are about men "measuring up" to women's standards, and then keeping the woman happy" was trashed. Things do seem to be slowly moving in that direction as men start to wake up and go "it's not all about her, relationships take two."

[Factory]

I was kind of hoping not to get a list as long as my arm of old songs that share the theme...I'm a music aficionado, I know they exist.

I was more or less pointing out both the proliferation and the tone of the songs.  Where once it was "I'm gonna drown my sorrows, my woman done me wrong", today it's more like "you conniving bitch you ruined my life, and there's not a drop of humanity in you" sort of variety.

There's a definite trend toward anger and refusal in today's songs....don't ya think?

[typhonblue]

There has always been an undercurrent of men singing about how women are hurting them.

The whole point he was trying to make was, those songs about men getting pissed off about women has been rapidly increasing.

And my point was that I don't know if I agree.

However I don't listen to a lot of modern music.

And the question can't be answered without some sort of survey of music over the last fifty years or so.

[The Gonzman]

Yeah - there's a big difference betwen old songs about "a bad woman" and modern songs about "Bad Women."

[slayton]

Don't forget

Van Halen - You're no good (originally by Clint Ballard, Jr.)

[typhonblue]

Yeah - there's a big difference betwen old songs about "a bad woman" and modern songs about "Bad Women."

What's the difference?

BTW, I've thought about creating a database of song lyrics to illustrate the difference between how men and women view eachother (and what they're allowed to get away with saying.) Also men tend to be specific, and women general.

[lkanneg]

"One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer" - Muddy Waters(?)

George Thorogood!  Just bought his "Greatest Hits" CD.  It is so awesome.

And yeah, lkanneg has it right with "Dazed and Confused" ("soul of a woman was created below" <dun dun dun dudududududududu dun dun dun dudududududududu>).

ooh, you got me goin now..."Waaaaaaanted a woman, never bargained for you...

"American Woman" was a 3+ rant minute rant asking her to "stay away from me, momma let me be,"  etc. , which I very much liked when it came out while I was in my teens.

Actually, I thought I read someplace that "American Woman" was actually a Canadian perspective Vietnam-era anti-American song (the Guess Who was a Canadian band), not really about a woman or women in general at all.