Recently, on a drive down from Choudrant to Pineville, I had the (dis)pleasure of listening to two hours of non-stop Top 40 radio. The trip started off well, with Outkast’s Hey-Ya; nothing quite wakes one up like being told, tongue in cheek, to “shake it like a Polariod.” From there, however, it went downhill.

Opening the set was Enrique Iglesias’s Hero; following were Britney Spears’s Me Against the Music, Simple Plan’s Perfect, Evanescence’s My Immortal, and Clay Aiken’s Invisible.

Let’s take a look at what I was subjected to: a blubbering mass of man-jell-o whimpering, “I just want to hold you;” today’s pop-queen and her washed up material girl mentor exhorting listeners to “get on the floor and lose control;” a kid whining about how his dad doesn’t like him; a woman abusing her piano and wailing about how absolutely painful her life is; a creepy stalker anthem hidden behind poppy guitar riffs– and I quote: “If I was invisible/ Then I could watch you in your room/ If I was invincible/ I’d make you mine tonight.”

Enrique needs to grow up; he obviously has an attachment problem. Britney’s reputation as pop’s reigning slut–whether or not this title should be bestowed on her is debated, but not very much– precedes her, and this song doesn’t help. Simple Plan’s lead singer needs to stop trying so hard to be an angsty teenager– his dad probably didn’t like the fact that, despite all of his parental efforts, his son is now practically unemployable by virtue of the fact that he looks like he escaped from some kind of punk-anarchist prison camp. Evanescence’s Amy Lee needs some kind of therapy–seriously; every one of their songs is about despair. Clay Aiken? He’s an American Idol castoff who has fared better than the winner, and yet his single, happy-sounding unrequited love song that it is, comes off as slightly menacing. Admit it– that song would scare the average person silly if Cannibal Corpse had been the ones recording it.

I haven’t even addressed the musical aspect of it, but there’s really no need to– everyone knows that popular music has degenerated into formula genres that produce forgettable tunes. What sells this sub-par media is lyrical content; people sympathize with the messages these performers present. Who hasn’t felt desperately lonely? Who hasn’t wanted to burn out? Deep down, I think that is what Me Against the Music is really about. What teenager hasn’t felt as if they can’t live up to their parent’s expectations, or that they have nowhere to turn? As for Evanescence–people identify with Amy Lee’s pain.

What about Clay? Sorry, I don’t think that many people [should] identify with that.

The state of popular music is just a symptom that points to the real problem of our society, and the world as a whole– people need Jesus. Lost souls look for relief in everything except God, be it in a relationship or self-pity. That, more than anything, is why I do not like Top 40 radio– the desperation of the lost shows through so easily.

No, Christianity is not a panacea– Amy Lee, as a professing Christian, seems to prove that this is not true. In another sense, however, it is; it helps us realize that the pain of this world and this life are just an evanescence. Our future is greater than our present, and though we may not see it now, Christ’s victory over death and pain is certain, and was made certain from the foundation of the world.