When we think of music, music is the soundtrack of our lives. If music is the soundtrack of our lives, it should evoke some feelings or move you. I see the current landscape of music today. From Serato Studio to Garageband, music today can be made by any and everyone. Billie Eilish, along with her brother, created the song of the year from the home. Now to the novice music lover or casual lover of music, that may sound like a huge accomplishment. But it also illustrates how music has changed. The passion in the music of the past could be felt in the chords of the songs, the love of music was felt in the arrangements of the instruments. Loverboy's 1980 hit "Turn me loose" is a perfect illustration of the passion that music radiated to its listeners. When you hear the first cymbals of that song along with the keyboards, you felt the energy in that song. There was a certain buildup of the song that you knew that the musicians loved what they did and it emanated through the song. On the other hand, music today has no emotional connection, when music is mass-produced, there is no human element required. Music also is supposed to be a reflection of the times. Weirdly, music today is a reflection of society. Music used to be the reporters of the streets, from N.W.A. to Eric Clapton, music was supposed to give you a snapshot of that era. Social media, reality shows have forever changed the way people perceive reality. Music now is about likes and followers. Music has become watered down to the point where it is no longer escapism of music past. It is the escapism to superficial and unrealistic realities. Another reason that music is passionless is music has become a cash cow or ticket to riches. When your money as the forefront and not the artistry, it's inevitable that music will be able what the consumer wants, not what the artist feels. With the advent of streaming and various platforms to release music, it's easier to make music to release and the more music that's release, the more money can be made. Music also should evoke harmony and unite people. In the 1970s, Disco was genre originally made by blacks and Puerto Ricans but all races and colors were dancing to disco. That was the only, and perhaps the last, time that music brought everybody together. Disco Music had passion because they were telling people to enjoy life. After all, we had to go through so much in the '60s. Songs like Chic's "Good Times" or McFadden and Whitehead's "Aint no stopping us now" were a reflection of the times. They had passion because the music was speaking to people in real-time. Disco music transported people to what a society could be and should be. Passionless music is music that does not inspire the good in people, but an image of what people perceive is good. When artists start caring about what the music sounds like and talk about real-life events, then the passion will come back to music, and people will be able to connect to the music. How can the passion come back to music you ask? First, are you making music that you want or for the money? Secondly, what story are you telling? Is the story a real-life experience or just what you think people want to hear? Thirdly, are you a student of your art or just a fan that's singing? If you can answer those questions honestly, then you are the path of making music with passion again. People love music that you feel the love, passion in song. One thing about entertaining is that if you don't believe in what you're doing or singing, they are going to feel that and they won't feel an emotional attachment as well. That's why when a song comes on nowadays, it may be cool for a little bit, but it fades away quickly. Getting the passion back into music is the first step in revitalizing the quality of music. Can we get to that point again? Only the artists can answer that.
