All right, where do I go from here?
As much as I’d like to only talk about music, I’m going to resist that temptation and lay down some principles concerning music that I feel very strongly about. This is not going to be a scholarly discussion, but I am not aware of anyone else approaching music the way I intend to. By the time I am done discussing these, there should be quite a few. I, myself, have never written them down before, so this is new for me, too. I am also going to number them so they’ll be easily referenced -as well as seem more impressive than they are.
Principle #1: I Still Believe That Music Can Save the World
Now, that may seem like a corny thing to say, but I think it’s true, and I’ll give you some examples.
Since man (or woman) discovered how to make music, over time, music and instruments were adapted for various functions. As more people developed their musical skills, more reasons were found to actually have it played. I mean, we brought fife and drums into The Revolutionary War. (Sorry. As I’m typing this, the “Good Sir Robin” song from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is going through my head as an example.) Music is still used to start and end the day on military bases around the world. It is also used to wake up the astronauts in space. As a matter of fact, while writing this, I watched Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame play a flute duet with someone on the space shuttle (synchronized by Pro Tools, of course).
Music was used to further class struggles by people like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. It was then used to take on the Civil Rights struggle. I don’t remember who is responsible for this quote; it may have been Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson, who told Aretha Franklin it would have taken him years to do what her “Respect” song did in such a short span of time. There is something powerful about a simple, constructed song created for a specific reason. Otherwise, why would we bother to sing in church?
I think that one reason why progressives in the U.S. are struggling politically is because no one is writing good protest songs. If you don’t believe me, check out what Billy Bragg has been using against banks in England for the past couple of years. A good protest song has some intrinsic quality that is stronger than any iniquity it goes up against.
So, I believe that music still can save the world!
Until next time, take care of yourself, and take care of each other!
Peace
Q
