Hook Me Up - The Veronicas

Amy Cameron | 20 August 2008

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Hook Me Up
The Veronicas
Warner
2007

Local duo The Veronicas first emerged in 2005 with their debut album The Secret Life Of….

The album spawned three top ten hits and launched the identical twin sisters as pop icons among Aussie teenage girls.

Their follow-up album Hook Me Up has seen their success increase with the album peaking at number 2 in the charts.

Hook Me Up offers a range of views of life, love and the world, but very few of which a Christian would want to embrace.

Sex, love, lust, loneliness, redemption, hate, and trust are the reoccurring themes in their songs. But it is The Veronicas’ portrayal of love that I found troubling.

The view of love in many of the songs is very selfish. The relationships The Veronicas sing about imply that a satisfying relationship is having a partner who does everything to please you. However, the vocalists say little to nothing about what we ought to do to please, satisfy or serve people that we love.

The Veronicas’ lyrics push a view that there’s no love without sex. This is perpetuated in almost every track. As a Christian, this really bothers me, as it directly contradicts the biblical view of love.

The Bible says nothing about sex being a prerequisite of love. 1 Corinthians 13 is a good place to look for God’s views on love. Paul writes, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”.

Sexuality is confused in ‘Take Me On The Floor’ with lyrics like “I wanna kiss a girl. I wanna kiss a girl. I wanna kiss a boy”.

Even the video for the album’s first single ‘Hook Me Up’ blurs the lines of sexuality. As shots of people kissing flash by it’s hard to identify any person’s gender.

‘This Is How It Feels’ and ‘Revenge Is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were)’ appear to promote the idea of karma. If a person hurts you, it’s fine to hurt them back. Lines like, “I can’t wait to see you burn,” suggest violent solutions to problems, yet the Bible gives Christians a higher calling when faced with conflict.

Such teaching contradicts the teaching of Jesus in the Bible, as he specifically says to love your enemies, bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you in his sermon on the mount.

A strong sense of morality is almost non-existent on the album.

Lyrics like, “And I don’t give a damn, what they say, or what they think,” and “Don’t even say what’s right or wrong or wrong or right,” suggests that love comes before morals, no matter what other people’s opinions are.

The Bible tells us to honour our father and mother. This means honouring their opinions. It is good to honour the wise counsel of trusted friends too.

If you are single, God knows who ‘the one’ is. Instead of rebelling, we ought to listen and pray to God for his guidance. As 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, “the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength”.

As a teenage girl I am bothered by the idea of my peers getting into this kind of music. Music is a strong influence on people my age. I know it influences me. When I listen to music I am drawn in by the melody, harmony or catchy beat. Then, if I really enjoy the song I want to sing along, so then I read the lyrics. Then I think about the lyrics. Then the lyrics start to invade my life. Soon I start to identify with the lyrics of the song in question.

The way ‘emo’ kids sometimes mimic the dangerous attitudes and behaviour put forth in the lyrics of heavy metal and alternative bands like Marilyn Manson or System of a Down is proof that what people listen to can influence their behaviour.

As far as the music goes The Veronicas’ Hook Me Up, has catchy pop/rock/techno sounds and great beats. The sisters also have great voices and it’s no surprise that they have attained such success. This, of course, makes the songs all the more attractive to young listeners. Youth, who are the primary targets of The Veronicas’ music, ought to be conscious of the lyrics they might unwittingly be singing along to or being influenced by.

While swearing is minimal, it is the selfish and ultimately dangerous views pushed through The Veronicas’ lyrics that make this album a cause for concern. So by all means, buy The Veronicas’ Hook Me Up if you enjoy this style of music. But proceed with caution.