Can you live without music?
Why are we so addicted to music? What is it about music that forces us to have it around us at all times everywhere we are? The answer to this question is complex yet simple at the same time.
What IS music in reality? You can’t see it, you can’t feel it, or taste it. It just comes out of the air right? Well, yea it actually does. Music is simply the sound that vibrating air molecules and particles make in reaction to exterior stimuli. Whether a guitar, drum or vocal chord, the movement of these objects sets forth a steady stream of vibrations into the air and into our souls. It’s a wonder that all of those little vibrations can translate into one flowing, organized sound that we appreciate as music. What is even more amazing to me is that we all recognize certain patterns of vibrations, or songs, to be good or bad. That is, we prefer to hear one pattern of vibrations over another. That however, is a concept for a philosophy class and not for this article.
So now that we know what we are listening to, we need to look at how widespread it is and understand that music is around us all day. How long do you go during the day without hearing music? The answer is much shorter than you think. Music is played at weddings, parties, funerals, religious services, parades, bars, in television shows, in movies, in the elevator and even when you turn on your computer! To see just how widespread music is, look how many devices we have from which to play our beloved music. Ipods, walkman, car radios, stereo systems, computers, cd players, record players, you get the idea.
But why is it that we need and love music so much? That answer is simple. Because it sounds nice and makes us happy! And as a 5 year old would ask, “yes but why?” I have always wondered why I love music so much and I believe it goes to the core of who we are as conscious beings, aware of our mortality, and in touch with our emotions.
When my mom died in November of 2008, I had never felt more alone and depressed. I could not find a way to express my sadness or explain the emotional rollercoaster my mom’s death threw me on. As I lay awake in the nights immediately after she died, I went on Youtube and starting playing Pearl Jam’s, “Release”. There is a line in that song that says, “I’ll wait up in the dark for you to speak to me.” That line, along with the song’s overall musical theme and melody, helped me soak in the emotion that I was feeling. The music allowed me to mourn and be sad, and yet it comforted me all the same. I was waiting up in the dark, waiting for my mom to speak to me, and hearing a song by someone else who thought the exact same thing helped to calm me down. And I was not alone. On the Youtube comment section, most of the posters had just lost a loved one and had flocked to “Release” as a tool by which to properly mourn their loved ones.
So music allows us to express and feel emotions that we may not have understood otherwise, or may have never told another person. Music makes us feel less lonely. If you break up with your girlfriend, you can just turn on the radio and hear a love song that in your eyes perfectly describes what happened to you. We all hear the same songs and feel similar emotions. Music unites us into one cohesive emotional body as we embark on our mortal journey.
For many people music is a motivator. At clubs, music helps people to dance and move their bodies in ways that may or may not make them more attractive to the opposite sex. Slow dancing can be a very intimate experience as two people move in unison to a slow melody while tightly embracing one another. Music helps to motivate us at sporting events, campaign speeches and rallies. The upbeat rhythms tempt us to coordinate our movements to their tempo.
I was talking to my friend John earlier today, and I told him about this article I was planning on writing. He told me that he could live without music, and I said “ok, what about movies and television shows?” I said, “Imagine an action movie with no music, a horror movie or a drama.” You can’t, because music is what makes the majority of movies work. Music is what helps movies communicate the emotion and feel of a moment when words alone are not enough. That’s why people play the soundtracks for movies alone, like “the Bodyguard.” At the end of the conversation, John realized that he too could not live without music.
I know many people who have made music the focal point of their lives, without music being their profession. My friend Josh is a music addict. He has more cd’s, music downloads and music files than anyone I know, and he constantly sends all of his friends links to certain concerts. He is obsessed. My girlfriend Jess should be a professional singer, but has not yet caught her break, and she too has made music the center of her life. We even met at a Phish concert. My friend Ben’s screename included the words “Benbejammin”. Music is just a core element of who he is.
I am listening to Phish’s “Harry Hood” as I am writing this article (listen here). I recommend that everyone listen to this song to experience the energy that comes from it. You cannot describe it. First time Phish listeners may not fully grasp the uniqueness of a Phish song until they let it play out and listen to it a few times. Phish exemplifies the power of music. And it is the difference between a Phish song and a Pearl Jam song that makes music so beautiful. Music has the ability to capture the entire spectrum of human emotions and circumstances from cradle to grave, and for that reason we just cannot live without it.
