Century: Looking Back

In commemoration of my 100th post, I thought I'd put up what is probably my first ever attempt at writing an article. I stumbled across it a few days ago and it seemed an apt way to bring up the century. Back in 2005 I was in college, and a friend of mine from the journalism college asked me if I'd like to write an article for the guest column of their bi-monthly newspaper. The paper was circulated within the university campus and was used as a training exercise for the post-graduate students of the college. Now, I've never been asked to write an article before, and I was naturally elated at the idea. So after a lot of draft posts and many complaints about me spending too much time on it instead of my studies, this was the end result.


So here I am, returning to hostel after a hectic and furnace-like day. I live on the second floor in the farthest corner of the building. On my roomward journey, I am struck by the familiar cacophony of music, sound and expletives. By the time I reach for my keys, I have already absorbed all forms of verbal abuse in at least 10 languages, a host of musical styles ranging from Boyzone to Black Sabbath, and some cheering from the TV room. As I sit on my bed, my first reaction is to reach for the remote control of my stereo and press the magical button marked 'play'. It seems ironic that after putting my auditory faculties through such a strain, I choose to flush my system with my own form of audio abuse. It was then that I got to thinking - why does music play such a big part in our lives?


No matter what age, race, class or sex, people are exposed to music from a tender age. Be it our parents singing lullabies or some dumb toy that plays a nursery rhyme when you wind it, music is one of our earliest sensory experiences. Growing up, we may choose to take interest in music, in artists, styles etc. By the time we hit our teens, each of us has distinguished some corner of the musical world that we identify with. It is quite common to find teens sharing music, ideas and opinions with each other, and now with the help of television and radio, a person has a world of musical knowledge at his fingertips.


But my question is, what is the big deal? What is it about music that can drive us to listen and sing along with it over and over again? Is it simply for pleasure, or is there some other more subtle appeal to it? Is our musical preference based simply on public opinion, or how 'cool' a group/singer is? Possibly. Perhaps we all need some place to start from. But where do we go from there?


Now don't get me wrong. I am not trying to be philosophical about this! But no one can deny that we do sometimes use music to either express or reflect our own emotions or our own character. Be it heartache or happiness or a plain "I hate you!", I am sure you can find some song, some tune, some chorus or some line that mirrors that emotion. Not only is music a vehicle for us to express our emotions, it also has the power to induce them. Simply put, sad songs make us sad and happy songs make us happy. We all have our own anthems, however small or insignificant they are. For example, how do students in MIT face sessionals month after month, with close to no preparation at all? Simple, for as their anthem screams, "In the end, it doesn't really matter!".


Well, maybe I'm going out on a limb with my last example, but it conveys the meaning that I am trying to impress. Music has a deep control over our innermost thoughts and emotions, processes that many learned men before us, and possibly many men after us, will never fully understand or decipher. And perhaps, that is its strongest appeal. Man has always been fond of mysteries, and surely there is nothing more strange and amazing than the mysterious way in which music speaks to our souls, soothing and stumulating at the same time.



To all you readers, thank you for your comments and opinions - they are all greatly appreciated!


Cheers!


G