Music for Objectivists?

Posted by davidmcnab 10 years, 2 months ago to Culture
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One of the greatest bonding and energising agents for a culture is its music. However, I'm scratching my head to think of music in the 20-21st centure popular repertoire that promotes Objectivist identity, at an intellectual, emotional or spiritual level.

So much of the pop repertoire is taken up by X wants to mate with Y, X is overjoyed at being with Y, X is pissed off an leaving Y, X got left by Y and is feeling blue, X feels ripped off by Y, etc. How many songs are there which glorify the individual human spirit?

One very vague possbility I can think of is Bob Marley's classic Get Up, Stand Up, whose lyrics exort people to give up their afterworldly dreams and focus on bettering themselves here on Earth.

Can anyone suggest any songs? Yeah, there's a ton of great classical music which promotes the good feeling, but what about the contemporary genres? Surely there's gotta be some good folk, pop, metal, reggae, techno etc pieces which put across those beautiful lifted liberated feelings.


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  • Posted by xthinker88 10 years, 2 months ago
    "It's my life" by Bon Jovi.

    It's my life
    It's now or never
    I ain't gonna live forever
    I just want to live while I'm alive
    (It's my life)
    My heart is like an open highway
    Like Frankie said
    I did it my way
    I just wanna live while I'm alive
    It's my life
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  • Posted by RonC 10 years, 2 months ago
    nothing comes to mind. I have wondered what elevator music will sound like 20 years from now. Today many of the old swing era Sinatra songs have been trimmed down to musak. With unique melodies even without lyrics they are still recognizable. Will the next generation of elevator music be, "boom-chaboom, boom boom-chaboom, yea baby"?
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  • Posted by radical 10 years, 2 months ago
    "Forever Young" sung by Rod Stewart, "Flashdance" from the movie. "I gotta Be Me" as sung by Sammy Davis Junior.
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  • Posted by Snoogoo 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I have a life shattering memory at age 8 that I still remember vividly to this day. I begged my dad to let me go with him and my older sister to a Rush concert, but they said I was "too young". I was devastated. 21 years later and for some reason I still have yet to go to a Rush concert. Screw that, I'm buying a ticket right now!
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  • Posted by sdesapio 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I still find myself humming "Time Stand Still", "Spirit of the Radio", all of "Moving Pictures", amongst others, at random times after all these years. Greatest band ever. I don't even know how many shows I've been to. Not sure If I'm going to be able make it this time, but I'll be there is spirit... of the radio.

    All this machinery making modern music
    Can still be open hearted
    Not so coldly charted
    It's really just a question of your honesty, yeah
    Your honesty
    One likes to believe in the freedom of music
    But glittering prizes and endless compromises
    Shatter the illusion of integrity
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  • Posted by 10 years, 2 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Great song. However, Ayn might have had an issue with one of the lyrics: "It's time the fat-cats had a heart attack"
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