Influential Music
The Problem with Music Criticism
Soul-stirring folk music at Pushkar
Virtuoso: Is music really just for humans?
What does a song contain that makes us act in different ways? For years music has existed to help us express our emotions, our ideas. Some genres of music helps us relax, concentrate; others get us pumping, or they help us disconnect from the world that surrounds us. Some songs put us in a state of euphoria, some reduce us to nothing more than an emotionally depressed being.
What’s in a song? Obviously you need a rhythm, that’s primarily made up of sounds from different instruments. There’s wind, brass, strings and percussion instruments. Then you can most of the times find lyrics that go with that rhythm. These lyrics are then sung; these are the basic elements of a song.
Even the untrained ear can hear most of the sounds that are made either with the instruments or the voice. Which of these takes us away to the state of mind that we WANT to be in?
Is it the way the guitar is played (for example is it the way Jimi Hendrix or Carlos Santana jammed away on them), or maybe the drums (the way Lars Ullrich slams down on them), is it the lyrics that we might not understand but it gets to us (like the lyrics that Jim Morrison strangely placed together). Or in the end could it be the unison of all of the above.
Does any of this really have an effect on our actions? The sound is perceived by the ear, then after passing through various parts of the ear it reaches the cerebral cortex of the temporal lobe. And from that point, every brain creates its own sensation.
I write every brain creates its own sensation, because the theme I'd like to consider are the actions influenced by music. What’s in a person’s brain that after listening to Radiohead they feel depressed, unstable and reach limits of committing suicide? Or the recent murders in schools that were supposedly provoked because of music from Marylin Manson. Were these crimes truely induced by violent lyrics?
The only conclusion I can come to is : with every action there is a reaction. The reactions that we have are always caused by actions. The way I see it, music cannot take the blame for our actions, not physically, emotionally, or even legally. We seem to put the blame on music, because it’s the "OBVIOUS" explanation for events. It's so much easier to point fingers than find to face the true reasons behind our actions.
It’s easy to say that poor little Jimmy shot four of his friends and committed suicide at school, because of music. Is there the slight possibility that little Jimmy was an unstable person? Did little Jimmy threaten anyone before the tragic event?
The evils that we cause are not brought on by music. Some people have evil intentions, misconceptions of reality, or simply mentally and emotionally burst.
We all want to be entertained, but we have to understand that our backgrounds are what cause the things that we do, not our hobbies.
