The Weeknd's Songs: A Form Of Verbal Communication

“Music may appeal to crude and coarse feelings or to refined and noble ones; and in so far as it does the latter it awakens the higher nature and works an effect, though but a transitory effect, of a beneficial kind. But the primary purpose of music is neither instruction nor culture but pleasure; and this is an all-sufficient purpose.” (Herbert Spencer) Music is one of the strongest forms of verbal communication in today’s society. It is a universal language understood by all cultures and languages. Song lyrics are used to persuade, evoke feeling, and to relate to the masses. Through this form of mass verbal communication a person or group has the ability to affect many people all at once. Everyone has different tastes in music but lyrics

Since lyrics are a type of verbal communication used to evoke feeling and relate to others, the song having similar stories to that of the fans is what makes it a success. The Weeknd himself has sparked controversy in the fact that many of his songs use items such as drugs, sex, and alcohol as a main topic that is covered by very catchy and relaxing background music. This case was the same for “Can’t Feel My Face” since most of the song references drugs but the melody itself makes it almost unnoticeable. This caused problems among an older generation because many considered it to be disruptive to the more easily influenced younger generation. Although this happened it did not affect the success of the song itself or even the accompanying

This is where much of the controversy comes from because many who have seen the movie were able to make the connection and thought the song was just about drugs. With a more in depth look at the lyrics though, one comes to realize that the song is more of a comparison than straight to the point. Although the song is still referencing cocaine it lessens the intensity since it is more directed towards his feelings for the woman being like cocaine than the drug itself. This becomes relatable to the masses because it changes from an experience to a feeling. A person does not have to take cocaine to know what it feels like because with mass media an individual already