Rock music, The Devil’s Music. Dungeon’s and Dragon’s, The Game of the Devil

Not too long ago, I was given two books to read, from a church library. One was titled ‘Stairway to Hell’ by Rick Jones another ‘The Truth about Rock Music’ by some fundamentalist who’s name I can’t remember. In the first one, it talked about things which would inevitably lead a teenager to hell, and then it talked about how a teenager could be a saved by ‘Jesus’ love’. http://www.chick.com/catalog/books/0204.asp

In both of them, they condemned rock music as being the music of the Devil. Saying things like ‘This rock musician’s lyrics encouraged listener’s to kill themselves’ or ‘This rock artist is a Satan worshiper’ . In particular they spoke of fans or musicians committing gross atrocities and acts. The one point which is wrong with all this is that they are singling out all rock music, these books claim all rock music is Satanic. Many fundamentalist churches claim the same thing. Forgive me if I am wrong, but I know of many more non-Satanic rock bands than Satanic ones. How do you define Satanic music? According to them it is something like ‘Loud distorted guitars and aggressive vocals’. That defines nothing, just because it is loud, or because teenagers like it, never means that it is a bad thing.

What was even worse (or more funny) was the fact that the second book, ‘The Truth about Rock Music’ was written by a guy who knew nothing about music at all. He described rock music as ‘Derived from Satanic drumbeats in Africa where the tribal natives would work themselves into a frenzy and dance luridly to the beat’.

First of all, most rock music doesn’t follow any African drumbeat, they have largely different timings and rhythms. I would know, I am a drummer and have been playing for six years. Also last time I heard any African drumming I was sitting in a chair, not up and about dancing like a maniac. I have never heard or seen evidence of insane Africans dancing to tribal beats, most of their dances are either tribal rituals or a retelling of perhaps some story passed on from father to son.

Second of all, ‘The Truth about Rock music’ made some claim about ’syncopated Satanic beats’. Well I am sorry, next time I play on my drumkit, I’ll remember to play all my notes with the beat, instead of on any off notes or odd parts of the bar. Won’t that make for a more non-Satanic and more exciting song?

The book also made claims like ‘Jazz music involves vulgar dancing and gyrating’. Are you sure you are not describing a strip club? The author places the same allegations against all the other forms of music, including African tribal music, rock, country, rock’n'roll and anything inbetween, saying they all involve some vulgar movements, dancing and gyrating.

Finally, my favorite part of the book says ‘Research has shown that rock music ’s tempo causes rats to eat their newborn, and plants to die’. I don’t know where that research came from, but I suspect the Professor of anti-rock music, running the experiment, didn’t feed the rats, or water the plants.

Now in the first book ‘Stairway to Hell’ it said that Dungeons and Dragons, the fantasy board game was Satanic. Why? The following quote from a D&D rulebook ‘Every player should have a patron God, and can call upon their patron God for assistance’. For God’s sake it’s a game! If you take such things seriously then I really don’t know what to say, except that I would have to stop playing Warhammer 40,000 because it says ‘The Blood God sits upon a brass throne atop a mountain of skulls’.

Now the other evidence of D&D and Satanism lies in the fact some D&D players apparently saw something like ‘Flying Demons’ or ‘Killed their friends’. I don’t really know where the evidence linking D&D and Satanism is, but first of all, anyone could have done that, second it wouldn’t be surprising if a D&D player was also a Satanist, but the two things were largely unconnected, and finally I know several D&D player in my school who seem fairly sane, ableight somewhat mischievous, and I don’t think any of them have been around recently sacrficing people or summoning forth demons.

These fundamentalists make far too many unsubstantiated claims. For God’s sake, neither of them even know anything about music, let along have they ever heard African tribal music? Fundamentalists like these always try to control the lives of teenagers and church followers alike, dictating their every action, decision and desire. These two books and their authors are merely foolish blinded religious followers, who merely dictate their theories as truth, without even proving them or trying to confirm them. Has Rick Jones ever played D&D? Has the other author even listened to African Tribal music, a non black metal rock band or something other than some boring droning church choir or perhaps most of all has the guy even grown a brain, which isn’t shaped like the Bible? Have either of them ever looked outside of their thick spheres of faith and seen that they are too far behind, in the 1950’s or have they noticed they are older adults who merely regard teenagers as rebellious because they like or behave differently from teenagers in their day?

~ by Charybdia on September 16, 2007.