Music is a peculiar force in the universe. It can single-handedly change your mood and thoughts. It’s born from and plays on the part of human consciousness that gives it its meaning. For thousands of confirmable years mankind has made music, be it with flutes made from bone or synthesizers crafted with the finest available electronics. It’s perpetual motion, it was introduced to our lives however many years ago and has yet to ever stop. Today we’re exploring the sound spectrum in the most imaginative and creative ways we can possibly think of. We’ve delved exponentially deeper into the infinite possibilities of sound and we’ll continue to do so until the day humans go extinct.
Music is an ineffably important part of society and the culture it bears and it’s hard to choose just one aspect of it to discuss so I’ll just ramble. It’s a product of its time, a unique snapshot of an idea or feeling. Its cultural impact, which in turn impacts human history as we know it, is massive, and it’s still growing to this day. Changes and revolutions in music have ushered in drastically different ages for society, the births of the blues, folk, pop, jazz, rock and roll, punk, metal, electronic and the vast array of subgenres within them inspire new ideas to the listeners.
Some of it changes very little or remains unheard, some of it provokes cultural shifts and movements millions of people in size. The British Invasion and Rock and Roll in general broke the prude music barriers of the previous generation and reached millions of people on an entirely new level. It was the rising tide of new ideas and ways to go about living, and the tide grew. The musicians and listeners grew with it, as did the variety of music being made. Then came the hippies. I mean just look at the hippies, man, millions of peaceful souls all on the same page, peace love and music. And good psychedelics, but that’s another story. The music fueled them, became an absolute form of expression used to project ideas of peace and humanity. It didn’t reach everyone, but it was heard.
Then came the rest of the wave of classic rock, with the same care-giving vibe as the previous era. Punk and heavy metal came later with themes of rebellion and anger and opened the doors for more explicit ideas to come through, giving birth to even more branches of musical history. Hip-hop emerged from a Jamaican DJ reciting poetry over re-sampled disco records and gave people the incentive to just have a beat and voice, and resonated well with - get ready for it - black people – a cultural influence that still stands today nearly as strongly as rock music. The use of beats and the astounding advancements in technology at the time gave way for a seemingly endless source of electronic music that continues to expand. To this day we draw influence from all of it and continue to create something new.
Music is an equally important part of the human experience. It is an art form, and art transcends the expressional limits of spoken language at the expense of being more abstract whereas language is more concrete. But that’s the thing, music describes the abstract, the ineffable, what can’t be put into words. It’s for that sole reason that people make music. It’s the expression of the wordless ideas, and when coupled with lyrics, makes use of language to help help better convey the abstract, coming together in perfect harmony. This is why music is powerful. It cuts deep down into our very souls and hearts and minds and evokes images and thoughts and emotions that help us become one with ourselves and others around us. It has the power to change things. It’s a damn shame that popular music is in its current condition, but at least it will make way for real musicians to keep the ball rolling.
In conclusion, music is pretty cool.
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