Music in our Culture

Music has become very much a cultural necessity in much of the United States, especially with the introduction of mp3 players in our lives.

I am a University student, and I walk around my campus on a daily basis seeing that more than half of the fellow students I walk by have headphones in their ears. It is almost mind blowing when you think of the social isolation created by the fact that many people are in their music worlds, themselves alone with their music. There is hardly as much random passing by chatter going on, because of the fact that there rockin’ solo in this world of music.

Now, I am probably the person who would be farthest from judging these new worlds of music being created by the introduction of iPod’s, and cell phones that play music for you, and mp3 players… I am a music lover by nature. Now, I don’t know about you, but I can definitely say that music has affected my life in more ways than one. I find the world of music to be mesmerizing and therapeutic whether it’s from the lyrics or the melody.

New websites such as Myspace and YouTube have allowed new and upcoming, unsigned artists to show their stuff… They can get a fan-base before even releasing an album into the public. As well, they can experiment with their sound, and lyrics, finding just what suits them and what will give them the largest possible chance of becoming famous and establishing a large, culturally significant fan-base. I personally enjoy looking for those independent artists, because they offer so much diversity from the mainstream pop, or hip-hop, or what have you that are being played and marketed on the radio streams. Lyrically and vocally there are some talented individuals out there that just aren’t finding the right producer to market their work.

One of my favorite things to do is to scour the Internet for unknown music, music that can really touch your soul. Or go places like the Santa Monica pier and listen to the artists who are brave enough to power out their talent for the people around them to hear. There are plenty of coffee shops and bookstores that allow artists to come in and play what they have as well. If this is a new concept to you, really give it a try. Listen to the beauty and soul in an independent artists efforts to become something great, to attempt to have an effect on the world through music. It is really intense and powerful to hear their absolute admiration for what they are doing.

Television shows, such as American Idol, have really capitalized on this idea of giving people a chance. It is not an easy feat to break into the music business on your own. It takes dedication, and very hard work that would truly leave many to just give up. Even getting your music to a producer’s ear is a challenge in itself. But, being shut down by producer after producer because you don’t have the mainstream sound would just be completely disheartening to most.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that the big time artists out there aren’t something special. Many of them have worked hard getting to where they are now… and many deserve the attention and respect they get for their music. I being an absolute music lover have hundreds of albums from those mainstreamers, and listen to their words and messages intently. One thing I wish many of them would do, is give more credit to the people who wrote the songs for them…that is if they didn’t write the lyrics themselves. There are plenty of lyricists out there, who write the big hits, the beautiful ballads, and the mesmerizing soulful songs, who get little to no recognition for their work. Yes, it is the artist who brings those lyrics to life, but what about the fact there would be no life without the lyrics… Hmm thought for the day perhaps.

There is one aspect of the music-marketing scene that I really don’t understand these days, and that is the idea of downloading or purchasing songs online. I suppose I am a traditionalist in these views, because I like the whole package… I like going to the music store, feeling that cultural aspect of the music world just pulsating through the air, and looking though album after album, trying to find new artists to expose myself to. I like coming home with however many CD’s and opening the packaging, looking through the booklet that is put together for that specific album, and then having the ability to display my findings to all my friends with that substance of a CD now in my hands. I don’t much understand how so many people can now just click a button and download a song directly to their computers… no background, no excitement, just simple necessity to have a certain song, a certain artist. Yea, I understand that you can find the eccentricities in the song and devour it any way you wish, but where is the culture, where is the fun in clicking a button as opposed to looking through CD racks. I suppose it can be chalked up to our society having less and less free time. The times to enjoy a few hours in a record store have seemed to have diminished. We want the music, but we don’t have the time to get it the “traditional” way.

I suppose another of my pet peeves is the lack of having any kind of music culture these days… things such as knowing different genres, past artists, past hits and beautiful works of art… these ideas have almost diminished in today’s world aside from the real music addicts. I think the major contributions to this have been the introduction of music to the Internet, and the idea that radio stations have really sheltered their play lists… playing the big hits, the popular sounds, as opposed to mixing it up every now and then. Much of the younger generations really have no desire to see what the influences have been on the artists they are listening to. They would much rather just have the hits, the popular songs.

Any way you put it, pet peeves or not, it is plain to see that music is a huge part of our world. It is a huge part of our culture, linking many people together that would otherwise be diverse and hidden from each other. Music is therapeutic, and calming, and without it, we would be an incredibly boring lot of people.