THIS is the most accurate thing out there. I was a metalhead with short hair in high school because my parents told me that I was free to have whatever outlandish hairstyles I wanted, just as long as they got to take pictures to mock me about later in life with my children. That pretty much broke me of wanting to do anything crazy.
I’m another fine upstanding highly educated citizen (MS, MBA, Eagle Scout) who happened to be a metalhead in middle school, high school and part of college.
The main thing is that if you’re already teaching your kid right, he may like the music, but not let it change his convictions. I mean, back in the day we could listen to stuff like Tupac or NWA, and not have any fantasies about living the West coast gangster lifestyle, or girls can listen to Katy Perry and not seriously think about kissing other girls or having 3-ways.
It’s not any different with heavy metal, other than the music and vocals are more dark and aggressive-sounding than the earlier examples.
The thing I think is weirdest though, is not letting your 13 year old kid play “M” rated video games. 99% of them mainly have violent content, and a very little profanity. I haven’t seen any nudity yet, and the gore factor is rather small in most of them.
Don’t see why. At 17 he’d be expected to still be in high school and living at home. Choice in music doesn’t necessarily mean anything about someone’s work ethic or grade average, either.
If he’s 17 or 18 and in a basement room listening to death metal…rock on, man.
Work ethic!? grade average!? Project much?
I say, it was a joke, son!
But, if he is stagnant in his musical choices and has not branched out to discover and explore other bands or other musical styles and genres in these 4 years, that would be strange since all our musical tastes grow and evolve between 13 and 17. Alot.
FTR I am a lifelong metalhead and have played guitar for over 30 years but have spent time listening and playing all kinds of music from folk to rock, punk to metal or whatever else affects me to jam to it.
I don’t think there’s a single band or genre in my life that I’ve grown out of. If you’ve been a lifelong metalhead then you’d also understand - just because you start listening to blues doesn’t mean you stop listening to metal. So if he’s still listening to metal (because why stop?) no problem from me.
Anyway, I suppose it was projecting, 'cept the whole start of the thread was focused on a dad thinking that listening to metal would do nefarious things to his son, like turning him into a lazy stoner. When the joke sounds like a simple extension of that, well…
(I also kind of have a shitty sense of humor so I took it as a “I’m hiding a serious thought inside this joke” as you can tell)
At first, I chuckled at this, assuming you were kidding. From the rest of your replies, though, I’m getting the impression that maybe you were, uh, really serious after all? Were you?
If so: Have you actually heard Die Walküre, or the Ring in general? Read the libretto, or at least a summary? It’s all about death and suffering, and old pagan gods, and dragon-slaying, and hey, lookit - brother-and-sister incest, too. No more wholesome than the latest Ofermod album.
No. I listened to “nasty music” as a lad, and still do - my parents were (thankfully) never pissed off, and pissing them off was never my intention.
I was of course putting one over on everyone. The themes in classical music are often just as dark and nasty as those in Death Metal or whatever they call it. But the music is far better. Yes, I have several of the Wagner operas, on DGG CDs, of course, including Die Walküre. But I cannot stand American jazz. Too many trumets and piercing instruments. I hate all that 50s and 60s ‘cool jazz’ stuff. Ugh! All the so-called ‘great’ jazz…I loathe it all. (e.g, Mile s Davis)
OK, I guess.
Except you’re still projecting. I didn’t say he should grow out of those bands. I was explaining that musical horizons should have expanded and evolved over that time. I also never suggested he should stop listening to anyone.
The only thing a parent should be concerned about their kids is if they do drugs, have unprotected sex, and school, and all music advocates either one of two or both. You should let your kid explore different aspects of all pop culture, and make sure he or she makes proper decisions in life, like not doing drugs. Hence the music he listens to doesn’t matter as long as he makes proper decisions. Censorship is never the answer and it only causes revolt and disdain towards the censor.
All I can say is thank God my parents weren’t like you when I was that age. You shelter and coddle way too much, just let him explore the music he wants to explore, don’t be overbearing
Anywho, my tale … step-father was a self-righteous lout loudly proclaiming one night at dinner that Led Zeppelin played backwards was Satanic incantations … I was quick to point out that played forwards was also Satanic incantations … [sigh] … spent the rest of my growing up using mislabeled cassette tapes … “Of course Peter, Paul and Mary played heavy electric music, get with the scene step-daddy-o.” …
I feel for the OP … drugs can definitely lead one to this kind of music …
