One of the mutual friends among young people is music. Music is timeless in the sense that it remains ageless. Of course it remains current and relative to the time/era to which it was composed, but it does not show signs of ending. Music has existed before man and will outlive them, with the sounds of nature. Music in many ways is beneficial to the mind, body and soul; not to sound like some ridiculously over-the-top philosopher.
Some medicinal practices use music in music therapy which has been proven to “promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, enhance memory, and improve communication.” “These sessions include making music, listening to music, singing to music, discussion of, and/or moving to music (dancing).”(Pujic)
If you truly think about it, music is one of the closest things we have to time travel. I know from personal experience that whenever I hear an old song, especially a favorite, I can almost relive the life/age that I was during the hit song. Many songs are linked to specific times in my life, and when I hear them now I can remember everything of that time.
Being a child of the nineties, I love all of the old hip-hop, rap, and the start of pop-electro music of the decade. I am in no way ashamed of admitting to jamming to Mariah Carey’s Fantasy or trying to ‘go hard’ with Notorious B.I.G’s Juicy. The feeling that I get whenever I listen to songs as such, or any music that I find to indulging to ignore, outweighs any sort of embarrassment I could ever receive. I get a feeling of freedom, lighter and not weighed down by the stresses of life, and most importantly I can instantly change my mood from whatever to serene and happy.
“Undeniably, music had an inherent ability to reach through to people with sound, melody, rhythm and lyrics. It can touch a person’s soul, soothing pain, providing comfort and relieving stress. It can bring clarity to an otherwise foggy situation. Sometimes the best medicine can be as simple as listening to your favorite CD”- which in my case is currently Lady GaGa’s Born This Way. (Pujic)
Pujic, Anja (2009, December, 7). The Benefits of Music Therapy. Retrieved from http://anja-pijic.suite101.com
Pujic, Anja (2009, December, 7). The Benefits of Music Therapy. Retrieved from http://anja-pijic.suite101.com
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Now don't take this the wrong way, but here's my thoughts on your post this week: it gave me the shivers! Here's why: you might know that I'm writing my Ph.D. dissertation on the fact that writing "does not end." What you say here about music mimics my point about writing (and what is music if not text with accompanying sound?)
ReplyDeleteBut I would love to argue one point with you here: is music "timeless" in that a particular type always stays "in style"? I agree that it's timeless in that if we have the recording (or even remember it in our own minds), then the music lives on (and as a child of the 70s, I have no shame in jamming to Rod Stewart or even Jefferson Airplane/Starship). But I guess it all depends on what we call "timeless": either we mean that it lives forever or we mean that it never goes out of style. Seriously, Rod Stewart went out of style a loooooooonnnnng time ago.
Great post!