The Role of Music in Teenage Life and Culture
Interviews by Ron Landfair

“Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song, a hymn in the assembly of the faithful.” (Ps 149:1)

For some, it’s just background noise to fill the otherwise silent spaces of their lives. For others, it’s the life beat of their existence, a rhythmic meter of the symphony of their heart. It lulls us to sleep, and trumpets our awakening. It soothes the wounded soul, and invigorates the hale and hearty. It’s all about the music, the message, the feelings and the person. Listen in on what some teens, and those who mentor them think about music and the role it plays in their respective lives, and the lives of others:

Marie Repovz (Resurrection, Lansing): “It’s fun -- I listen to music to have fun, it can change your mood if you’re feeling down. I don’t have a favorite group, I listen to lots of different genres of music. My favorite Christian group is Creed, but I like Point of Grace and Michael W. Smith as well. The biggest difference between secular music and Christian music is that the latter is more spiritual -- you can get that kind of vibe from it. Secular music is more about how people look and things like that. Secular music tends to focus on the external and is a lot more shallow than Christian music. I do like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I like to channel surf on the radio till I find what I like. Music ranks about a 6 on my scale of importance in my life.

Nathaniel Rea (St. Mary, Pinckney): “Music is about an 8 in my life. I could live without music in my life, but it would be pretty hard. There can be a difference between secular music and Christian music. I like some secular music as much as I like Christian music because there are some pretty talented musicians on both sides. There are some morally good secular bands that aren’t necessarily Christian, but with some very positive lyrics.”

Steven Salerno (St. John, Fenton): “I would say it’s about a 9 in my life. Music brings out emotions in services that otherwise I wouldn’t feel otherwise. Playing music is like a catharsis -- a way of letting my emotions out. When I’m playing music and just going for it, it brings out a deeper side of myself, that is just so very powerful to feel. I love all music, and it’s hard sometimes to draw a distinction. Some music directly says, “God is good,” and that is their message. Some people like me -- and I write music so that is what I’m always thinking about -- are saying just that, that God has given me a talent, and that is why I do what I’m doing, expressing my feelings about God through my music, and I’m sharing that with others. I think there are a lot of bands and musicians out there who feel the same way, and that’s sort of nice to hear. I do admit that I frequently raid my dad’s album collection. Sometimes I find some obscure band or artist who just has such passion in their music -- you can hear it in their music. Sometimes my whole family will just listen to one of them, and that’s really cool, to spend time together like that.”

John Rett (St. Catherine, Concord): “For me it’s about an 8. Playing the trombone and doing a solo -- it makes me the most confident and gives me the most joy when I give a great performance. I trust in the Lord that He will help me give a good performance in front of people. After giving such a performance, it makes me remember that I just have to trust in the Lord. Most of the music I listen to is instrumental (without words). Most of the music in my house that has words is my parents’ music. Since the music I like is wordless, I don’t have to worry about someone else cramming their thoughts and lyrics down my throat. I can form my own opinion about what the music is saying, about what it means to me. I like to get God into my performing whenever I can.

“Speak, you who are older, for it is fitting that you should,
but with accurate knowledge, and do not interrupt the music.”
(Sir 32:3)

Pat Rinker (Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry): “I don’t think that the role that music plays in the life of teens today is that much different than it was when I was a teen. It’s not just that they know the words to the songs and sing them in the car -- we used to do that, too. But what does blow me away is that current teens know the songs from my generation better than I do. Most of the music we’re playing (at youth leadership camp) is from the 70s and 80s, and they love it. They’re dancing to it and singing to it. If we put on a song by Diana Ross and the Supremes from the 60s, there are at least twenty girls up on the stage who are up and singing right along to it. Music is still integral to youth culture and I don’t see that changing. You still do have groups ‘in your face’ with their lyrics, but I’ve seen that as some musicians and groups get older, their lyrics and style become a bit more poetic and reflective and less in your face. One thing that is interesting is that yes, youth music is more blunt when talking about something inappropriate, but it is also more blunt when they are talking about peace and justice and caring about people.”

Rosa McNamara, 23 (St. Mary, Charlotte, youth ministry volunteer): “Music is very important to me in my life. It has a lot of power. If you sit down and really listen to the words in songs, you can get a lot of prayer from them, and I don’t think that has changed very much. I think you have to really listen to the lyrics to songs carefully -- you can hear a song a million times and never realize what it’s about until you sit down and really listen to it, what it’s saying to you. I think music has gotten a lot more ‘in your face’ than it was for me just eight years ago. There are a lot more parental advisory bands on music today. There is still good music out there, but you just have to listen to it a little harder to find it. I can find sacredness in secular music -- it’s not a question of lacking God’s presence in it, but more of a challenge for the listener in finding God’s presence.”

Dcn. Jim Corder (Holy Redeemer, Burton, parish business manager and parish coordinator of youth ministry): “Music has about the same level of prominence in the life of teens today as it did when I was a teen. It is so ingrained in the lives of young people of all eras, whether it be the 50s, 60s or today. It is so much a part of their lives that we still haven’t figured it out. It is so integral to their lives and what they do. The music styles change, the clothes change but the influence of music in the lives of young people never changes. What is funny is that the music that was popular when I was in high school is so old to them that now I can get away with playing it because now it’s popular again.
    “The curious thing is that I don’t think the lyrics are something that they consider as much as we do. I think we as adults are putting more emphasis and consideration into it, than they are. I think in youth ministry one of the biggest things we can do is to take that secular song and make it into something of meaning for them. We tend to use some secular music at leadership camp or retreats in parishes for different things, and if there is a popular song on the radio that can be something significant, we try and use that song and maybe the next time they hear it, we’ve put meaning behind that song that otherwise they might not have linked to it. So we can take that positive message song and hold it up and say, ‘Listen to the beauty in this song.’
    “It’s hard sometimes to find kids who buy into Christian music because you get labeled. Some do, but I think the majority of them are listening to what’s on the popular radio stations. It’s as if its OK to be an active faith-filled Christian, but just not musically. That pushes the envelope. It’s like they are saying, ‘I’m not going to have something jamming on my radio with my buddy present who only knows me from school.’ That is too threatening. It may be more of a threat to listen to Christian music among our friends than to wear a ‘Jesus Saves’ T-shirt. The shirt is politically correct, but the music isn’t. Like some Christian artists who have crossed over into popular music such as Michael W. Smith or Amy Grant or others, it’s hard for them to be in both camps, like our society won’t let you, and perhaps that itself is a commentary on the polarization that we have evolved into in a more general sense. We have to be willing to stretch ourselves to avoid that.”