Hair Nation

"And when power ballads come back, we'll get big hair again."

- A musician on Hair Nation music

 

 

It always starts with a song you hear on the radio while flipping through the channels. A song that gets you doing mental damage by thinking about the past and where you were when that song broke out. Satellite Radio carries a station called Hair Nation devoted to vintage metal rock music from the 80's and early 90's, when everyone had big hair and band members had really outrageous big hair. 

Another popular output within this genre of big hair music was the metal head bands coming out with power ballads to attract a wider audience. They called them power ballads, but what they really were was just another form of love songs. Now did you really think a heavy metal band would come out with a sappy love song and damage their reputation by calling it a love song? I think not.

 

When I accidentally  (yep, that's how I am choosing to word this) came across the hair band Poison singing

Something to Believe in, what attracted to me to this song on this particular day of accidental listening were the lyrics. I remember when this power ballad came out in the early 90's, but the lyrics resonate today even more on the society in which we live in.

 

The lyrics talk about:

 

 A television evangelist taking people's money (in association with the Jim and Tammy Baker fiasco in the writer's mind).

 

A Vietnam Veteran struggling with an America who won't support him while he still struggles with forgiveness in what he had done there.

 

A best friend who was a lonely man who died alone in a motel room on Christmas Eve.

 

And, what drove me to pieces when hearing this song,

 

 I drive by the homeless sleeping on a cold dark street
Like bodies in an open grave
Underneath the broken old neon sign
That used to read JESUS SAVES

A mile away live the rich folks
And I see how they're living it up
While the poor they eat from hand to mouth
The rich is drinkin' from a golden cup

And it just makes me wonder why so many lose, so few win

 

Throughout the song the singer cries out,

 

 And give me something to believe in, if there's a Lord above
And give me something to believe in Oh, Lord arise

 

It's hard to imagine that we still struggle with these same societal issues today. It kind of makes you wonder what are we really doing here? Are we making sacrifices for others? Are we helping out those in need? Or are we just living life out, traveling upon a road minding our own business?

Just yesterday my Pastor reminded us to, "See people through the eyes of God."

Some wise words and appropriate for living in today's society. 

May we all valiantly begin to see and do things differently.