Music that makes you dumb.

Today, I read a pretty intriguing article on the correlation between people's music tastes and their intelligence. Perhaps not as much intelligence, but their test taking skills as judged by the SAT, juxtaposed with their corresponding band preferences. In "Music vs. Intelligence" I found it funny how routinely certain genres appeared to fall at the base of this chart. Popular music artists that fell under the genres of "HIp hop" and "R&B" commonly fell at the bottom. Despite the chart included in this article, the author fails to make an undermining conclusion to these findings. With this presented information, one must ponder much like the chicken and the egg debate. Is it our intelligence that drives our choice in music? Or is our intelligence already determined, thus music is the varying factor that raises or lowers this standard?

I have reason to believe that both sides of this debate may have valid standing in their arguments. Much like newspapers today, which are written on the level as to be comprehendible by as young as 7th graders, mass radio is dumbed down to a very basic level. As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of all things music, I find the depth of these widely regurgitated "Top Hits" sickening. The lyrics fall flat. Overall their subject matter is animalistic and appealing to very basics of the human psyche. Talking about "getting wasted", "booties", "chicks" and "getting some" and you'll be covering all the bases of what people want in music. Not quite. Looking at this music from a stylistic stand point, simply the subject matter, the template is simple. The message is one sided. The beat may be "sick", but the lyrics have no more depth than Paris Hilton. Metaphors are limited to "lollipops" and "egos". Voices are reduced to synthesized substitutes for talent. I'm just using some simple deductive reasoning here, but dumbed down music = a dumbed down bunch of people.

Now before you go getting all offended, let's take on this argument from the opposite side. Those of the population who have been deemed "above average" and/or "intelligent" by means of SAT scores, let's say they're disgusted with the current state of the radio medium. Their "intelligence" has turned their interests into a direction of less trodden music territory. They have made the decision to turn to music with more depth. The kind that intrigues them, perks their interest with lyrics that speak to them. Did the music make them smarter? Gee, they haven't even listened to it yet. They just knew they wanted something different. This perhaps gives kudos to the theorists who believe that intelligence deems music choice. On the other hand, this might aggitate those mothers who feel "fill-in-the-blank" music stunted their child's intellectual growth. Thus meaning their chid was just always on that intelligence level to begin with. Hmph. What a debate we have.

Perhaps I lean towards the side of those who believe that based on your innate intelligence level, you choose your music. It is not the music that chooses you, or the music that makes you "dumb or smart" as the article suggests. Undeniably music is powerful. It speaks to the listener. It suggests lifestyles and I may even go as far and say it unconsciously influences us. As a people we are drawn to the things that most intrigue us and music is no different. Music should challenge us, change us, and speak to us in ways words solely cannot do. It is an undeniable and inescapable force that is everywhere. It shapes us emotionally, so it is no wonder we question its affect on us intellectually.