An analysis of selected songs of popular music based on the concepts of existentialism

Abstract

The existence of man with the individual identities amid the miscellaneous social realities has been defined and observed through the disparate social and religious ideologies thus elucidating it depending on their beliefs, prejudices and judgments. Thus the existential identities of the social being tend to waver between distinct realities questioning the true essence of their existence. Viewing this perplexing social milieu the philosophical ideology ‘Existentialism’ with a broad perspective addresses the dichotomy between the negation and acceptance that the individual identities confront in front of the meaninglessness and absurd nature of the social sphere. Popular music which has evolved through diverse genres extends its scope towards the prevalent societal and individual issues which relate with the oppression and liberation of the social being thus developing a critical discourse on the identity, survival and empowering one’s own self. Elaborating on these argumentative perspectives this research has focused on identifying the linkage between existentialist ideas and the themes of the popular music and on examining how and to which extent the concepts and thematic notions of popular music address existential viewpoints. Within the analyzing process the songs of Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody), Metallica (Master of puppets, Nothing Else Matters, The Day That Never Comes), Simon and Garfunkel (The sound of silence), Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead have been examined based on the prominent notions of existentialism and the theoretical perspectives of Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir have been given a thorough concentration. Due to the socio-cultural, sociopolitical and psycho-social conditions, the individual, his actual identity and the true essence of the ‘self’ have been moulded into an incomprehensible shape with zero identification and validity, thus thrusting their identities and lives to revolve in a futile cycle and negating and disrupting the individual who breaks away from the meaningless, absurd social pattern.