Musical Influences

Stairway to Heaven or Highway to hell?

Led Zeppelin’s famous ‘Stairway to heaven’ and AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ are not merely two World-famous songs but also the two paths a person can take in life, especially in the influence of music. The music industry is full of artists of different genres from pop, punk to death metal. Each one of them competing against each other to create that one song that would top the billboard charts for days and bring them even more fame.

Apart from the glitz and glam of this industry, there is also a very ugly side to it. My father recently expressed to me his dislike for people who ‘find it cool to indulge in smoking, drinking and doing drugs just because their favourite musicians are doing it’ There have been famous rock stars like Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley, Iggy Pop who have penned down influential lyrics for the World to remember. But what about their self image? It’s a shame that they carried themselves in a self-destructive, wretched and miserable manner. But instead of being despicable, this image has become ‘cool’ for today’s youth. Recently the famous pop-star Miley Cyrus ditched her innocent avatar of Hannah Montana by giving a raunchy live performance and by producing two objectionable music videos. I can’t imagine what a huge influence that would have made on millions of her fans around the World, most of them being tween and teen girls. With today’s fast-paced and internet-based World, access to an uncensored song is just a click away. Children have musicians as their role models and a little carelessness on the musician’s part can have a huge effect on their minds and their demeanours.

Music is highly influential and can be used as a medium for protesting against wrongdoings and dealing with problems instead of using it in a negative way which can corrupt the listener’s thought process and thus influence one’s life. Like Jimi Hendrix said ‘Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.’ Listening to powerfully positive music really brings a change in the character of a person and the kind of music you listen defines the kind of life you live. So it’s up to you, if you want to take the Stairway to heaven? Or The Highway to Hell?