It has recently come to my attention that the issue of the use of synthesizers in Rock n Roll is music’s version of the Roe V Wade debate.

Only more important.

When is it ok to use synths in a rock genre? Is it ever ok? DOes it’s use violate god’s natural order?

Good questions all. I myself have been split on this issue over the decades. I must admit that to some extent I have pushed the debate aside in my mind so as to not have to take sides.

But let’s look at an early example of the dilemma this has caused me. Van Halen was the group that saved me from the sugary emptiness of pop music. Until I heard Eddie’s guitar I was on my way to life in Hell listening to Michael Jackson and Duran Duran. BUt shortly after this all started out came Jump. Jump is of course all about Eddie dropping the guitar and pressing a lot of buttons on a machine. And David Lee Roth jumping low budgetly.

One could say by softening the sound at that early stage of my development it made a transition from gay music to grown up music more palatable. Sort of gateway keyboards if you will. But there has always been a part of me that can dig a good synth sound. Provided it’s timely. I dig The Cars. I love their sound. But are they the kind of band where synth judgements lose meaning. Dismissing them for their usage is like instantly dismissing Slayer because their lyrics can’t be understood.

It’s who they are. You either like that or not.

On the other hand, though it was who they were there can be little doubt that Europe (think heavy keyboards on FInal Countdown) were deserving of mocking. THeir music might even be said to be gay.

Now by gay I don’t mean for homosexuals or made by homosexuals. Gayness in the pop cultural sense  has other far deeper connotations. Sexual gayness is swell. A benefit to me even. Gayness in music, movies etc is another matter. That leads me to a subquestion of this debate. Does the use of keyboards in rock genres mean a song is gay.

Now I’m not inferring these are the most important questions of our time.

I’m saying it.

THese are the most important questions of our time.

Until we have fully dealt with this it will continue to haunt the national psyche as it has since the 80′s made gayness in music such a cliche we stopped even being able to recognize ironic gayness or full on gayness in music.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I have many gay friends and this is an issue for them as well. No American is left behind when it comes to the effects of keyboards in a rock song. THis is a topic worthy of fuller flushing out but I have to go to work now. Sometime in the next few minutes I will have to make a personal choice:

To listen to a ballad, straight on rock song, or a hybrid along the lines of Journey whose use of keyboards can be viewed as either groundbreaking or society destroying depending on your point of view. But I will deal with this choice head on.

Will you?