You might not have heard about this, but Collective Soul's 1994 hit "Shine" was apparently a favorite of Virginia Tech shooter Cho Sueng-Hui. Though no one was blaming Collective Soul for the shooting in any way, it had been reported that Cho enjoyed the song "Shine" and used to listen to it over and over.
Just to clear up any possible misinterpretations, Collective Soul issued the following statement to CNN (thanks to The Rock Radio for this):
It is an enormous tragedy and we deeply regret the loss of life. The issue is not about the song. It is about the innocent lives that were lost that we regret deeply, as do all Americans.
Sample lyrics from "Shine" include the following:
Teach me how to speak
Teach me how to share
Teach me where to go
Tell me will love be there
Oh, heaven let your light shine down
Not exactly the type of thing you picture a killer listening to. Not that there's really any positive to take away from what happened at VA Tech, but hopefully this will help dispell the myth that music is to blame for people's extreme actions.
"Shine":
