Music is universal. Music is in every culture on earth, and was on the Voyager spacecraft we sent outside of the solar system, so now it's one with the universe.
However, there is a disturbing trend that I must speak of even though it's a bit of a generality. I speak of the lack of meaning in music. Much of music today is fluff or stuff done without meaning. (Again, generality of course.) While I love all types of music (most country music being an exception. Just don't....) the fact is that some things out there have no feeling. No soul. No nous. Music needs to have a meaning to it. A catchy beat is good, but it's not something that you'll find thirty years from now playing on an oldies station. I mean the Partridge Family had 7 Top 40 hits, but when's the last time you heard one of their songs on the radio? (Aside from "I Think I Love You" I mean.) Think of iconic scenes in movies with 1960s music playing in the background. The opening of Mean Streets with "Be My Baby". "The End" playing over the credits for Apocalypse Now. Any Scorsese film with "Gimme Shelter" from the Stones. Can you honestly tell me you'll hear any of the songs from today playing in movies in 20 years? I doubt it.
Music is a base instinct in my opinion. You get across emotions you might not be able to speak about, but the tone of the music can get you there. As an example Berlioz wrote "Symphonie Fantastique" which was a full fledged story, using notes and sounds to convey a man in love with a woman, his infatuation with her, her death, his execution for her death and then his soul in hell without the use of words. Telling the cellists to turn their bows over and play with the wood on the strings to sound like skeletons dancing was inspired, and the turning the theme of the beloved from beauty to a wicked jig in the last act was brilliant.
Queen could do that with their music. Buffalo Springfield's awe inspiring "For What It's Worth" is a brilliant example. What else, besides music, can exude meaning just by playing two notes over and over on a guitar.
To be fair, I feel a lot of the soul from music has been lost due to technological influences. The feel of live musicians adds a lot to the sound. I'm probably biased since I did play an actual instrument, but it's less cold and calculated.
I do know there are exceptions to this rule. St. Paul and the Broken Bells is now a favorite of mine, as is The Lumineers. But a lot of the disposable stuff lately just leaves me cold. Hopefully there is a backlash against it and people start making music again with guitars, drums and a singer.
While I'm at this rant: Get off my lawn!
