When The Music's Over

I love music! It doesn’t matter exactly what the genre, rock and roll, blues, jazz, hip hop, new wave, country, Indie, classical but I couldn’t live without it. I think that music is the heartbeat of life, and I agree with the fierce sentiment expressed in the iconic Jim Morrison’s song. I think that music is a universal language that almost everybody can relate to.

No matter where you are born, every country has its own styles and favorite types of music. Music is something we can all relate to, and it can make us feel sad or happy or melancholy or energized. The point is, it makes us feel! Feel more alive, more connected with other people, better able to deal with the stress and strains, the ebb and flow of everyday life.

Music can take us back to those magic moments in life we treasure and cherish above all others. Our first date, our first mate, our first serious crush, the birth of our first child, are all marked and delineated viscerally by the power of music. The way we felt at that exact moment in time can always be magically revived when we hear that certain song again.

Conversely, music can take us back to sadder times, our first breakup, our first sense of emotional loss, the first time we got fired, the death of a loved one. Whatever songs that are playing in the background the moment we realize that our lives have irrevocably changed will always trigger an emotional response that brings us back in time to that searing reality.

A lot of people like to have music playing while they are doing household chores, washing the car, passing the time at their jobs, doing homework, walking, jogging, hiking. It gives us that boost to keep on going, the energy that allows us to feel in synch with our surroundings or activities, the sheer joy of being alive. The feelings of being in tune with ourselves and others.

The violent, vibrant vibes of punk or rap or Indie rock alienation, frustration, and anger are also healthy outlets for our inner selves. Music can let us vent, let us lash out against the power of the corporate monoliths that rule our lives in modern-day society. Music has the ability to change and reinforce the way we think, and the way others think simultaneously.

Dancing is the best of all. Music lets us dance to the inner rhythms of our souls, our hearts, our minds. It doesn’t matter whether we are dancing at home, in small, intimate clubs, or a huge, festival-like live music concert.

The sheer release of our physical frustrations can be so cathartic, so self-validating when we hit the dance floor! It’s a primitive, basic, universal way to free ourselves from the cares and worries of our daily life in a deeply fulfilling way. It can approximate a frenzied almost sexual release or a deeply shared melding of emotions, thoughts, and community. Or both.

I have known people who manage to live their lives without music but I don’t understand how they do it. I feel sorry for them, because they will never know the sheer joy of music, never know what they’re missing. Some authoritarian governments repress music. They fear the power of free expression because they know how incredibly liberating music really is. They fear the power of music, they fear their own people.

That’s exactly the point! Music is freedom, music is power, music is joy, music is freeing ourselves from all external sources of discontent and tuning into our inner selves. Personally, I could not live without music, listening to it, playing an instrument, and especially seeing live bands creating that special feeling of empowerment together with their audience when they play their music.

Until then, let’s celebrate the music, every day in every way. Whether it’s a “Somebody Done Somebody Wrong” song, a classical symphony, a Delta blues, a rap poetic rhapsody, a pop favorite flavor of the day song. It’s still music, a force of human nature, a mirror to our souls, a joy to our spirit.

Music is power, music is life. Music is a universal positive constant for all of us. We just need to tap into it.

When the music’s over, turn out the lights.