Music
“Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast.”
Actually, the quote is breast, but that just gets my
thirteen-year-old self to giggling.
Does anyone not like music? It does so much more than soothe a savage
breast. Music can address any
attitude. It can create many moods.
My friend Frog introduced me to
Bluegrass. Frog played a mean banjo
until his fingertips had a fight with a table saw and the table saw won. I remember Frog laying down a lick on “Soldiers
Joy” and saying,
“Doesn’t that just make you happy.”
I replied, “Yes, but I can feel my IQ dropping!”
It’s true, Bluegrass makes you happy and
stupid, though it is generally a short-term condition. Which comes first, happy or stupid? It seems to me that really smart people are
never very happy, like they are so smart they are more aware of all the things
that can go wrong in life and are miserable for it.
Music has something for that condition
also.
Classical music.
Classical music lets your mind wander to
more pleasant things. It relaxes and
calms. I have never seen a savage breast
when classical music is played.
Frog now plays the bag pipes. Bag pipes make you want to go to war. They were invented to scare the crap out of
opposing armies. Three pipers on the
other side of the river sounds like a whole shit load of angry soldiers. It
would make me retreat. I tell Frog that he
has no insects or rodents in his house because he practices the pipes.
Rock and Roll of many varieties all does
the same thing, it incites rebellion or
at least releases feelings of rebellion.
My youngest son loves RAP music. I don’t get most RAP. There is some that I do
enjoy, though if I listen long enough I feel like punching a random stranger in
the face.
Remember calypso? Calypso just makes you happy. Why Mr. Tallymon tallying me bananas makes
you happy I have no idea; that is the magic of music.
Why is it that jazz mellows and does not
jazz you up?
Folk music makes me want to protest
something…anything…when I hear Joan Baez sing, I want to grab a sign and
complain about something and or demand somebody stop doing something.
Does an Irish tenor make you want to call
your mom? Does an Italian crooner make
you horny? Does the sitar make you pull
your hair out and contemplate jumping of a cliff?
Emotions are enhanced by music. There is not an emotion that music will
not have you experience. Many emotions are best experienced only through music.
Music is the universal medium that brings
people together. Any random group of
people will never all share the same attitude or opinion, but put 1000
people from all over the world in a theater, play a little “Soldiers Joy,” and there will be
1000 feet tapping in unison and for several minutes the room will be filled
with happy stupid people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgdW2t1Z_r0
Regarding today's comments, "OMG people do you not get satire? I friggin love Bluegrass music...DAMN!!
Regarding today's comments, "OMG people do you not get satire? I friggin love Bluegrass music...DAMN!!
“Yes, but I can feel my IQ dropping!” Snob!!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove me some bluegrass. For 9 years I handled the audio for a local folks festival, banjos aflame!
As you know, I'm married to a musician. We have different tastes in music. He likes jazz; I'm not super crazy about it. I'm thankful for the most part we listen to Christian radio or music. Enjoyable for us all. Its fun to watch the wee one being by the radio listening to the music and dancing along. He wants everyone to join in (and most times we do).
ReplyDeletebetty
Your 13-year-old self better be careful, it's a SAVAGE breast!
ReplyDeleteI like any music except jazz. It's too meandery (I make up words as I go) for me. Lately, I've been enjoying The Pogues as music to scratch lottery tickets by. Not sure what that says about my IQ.
One of these days, I may try some tunes from this century. Or I may not.
I tried to listen, but after 35 seconds I'd had more than enough. Not a big fan of Jazz either and I can only listen to a certain amount of classical before I have to turn it off. Rock and Roll makes me happy, unless it's heavy metal.
ReplyDeleteI like everything but modern jazz, traditional jazz I can take. No, I tell a lie... I don't like rap either.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points you make. I'm one of the few, apparently, who doesn't listen to much music. Actually I do in that I often have a classic Rock station on in the background, but to keep up with modern music...no. It just insults my ears. I do enjoy classic occasionally, and soft jazz, but in small doses. But you are right....music soothes the savage beast.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely yes.
ReplyDeletePsych folk from the 60s, prog rock from the 70s, black metal from the 90s, indie pop from the 00s, underground hop hop from the 10s.
I think that's my list of sounds.
When I don't listen to music for a couple days (it happens), I know something is wrong.
I listened, but sorry, this particular type of thing isn't really my thing. I don't see where music preference can mark a person's intelligence or the lack of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm just not going to say anything about savage breasts. . . not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent. . .
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear Joan Baez sing, I just think, what a beautiful voice. . .
And I dunno about bluegrass and falling IQ. The guy who supervised my master's degree played in a pretty good bluegrass band on the side; all the band members were university professors. . .
THe IQ drop is a temporary thing, at least for me I can't listen to bluegrass and think about anything deep, it just takes you to a happy place.
DeleteI've met a few people over the years who don't like music and it always make me stop and question reality for a moment.
ReplyDeleteYou are not listening to the right bluegrass, my friend.
Cartoons in the 30s and 40s were responsible for the confusion about that saying. Cartoon big game hunters were often shown soothing animals with music, prompting people to think the saying was "...savage beast," instead of "savage breast."
ReplyDeleteRegarding today's comments, "OMG people do you not get satire? I friggin love Bluegrass music...DAMN!!
ReplyDeleteI can't get into rap. I think it's the bad words and the disrespect. Outside of that, most music is very good.
ReplyDeleteAnyone for dueling banjos?
Have a fabulous day, Joe. ☺
I like most anything but country music.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple of genres of music i do not like, but only a couple. If there's no music, i tend to feel lost.
ReplyDeleteI like most kinds of music but not rap...I don't know why but I just don't like rap. It makes me feel like my head is going to explode. I really like Zydeco and Reggae....happy sounds.
ReplyDeleteI love all music except rap, which I do NOT consider music just weird, rude talking. My late father-in-law was vice president of Local 47, American Federation of Musicians here in Los Angeles. When he was 19 he had his own orchestra!!
ReplyDeleteLove music, pop, classical, country & western, mostly everything except rap and modern jazz.
ReplyDeleteThink you nailed it on all the genres. Laughed at your reaction to rap. I always wondered why rap made me want to give strangers the stink eye. Mean looks are as violent as I get:)
ReplyDeleteMy taste in music ranges from "You've got to listen to this!" to "Please don't judge me." I usually don't listen to rap, except at the gym (the coach plays it, not me)...for some reason it seems to go well with lifting weights.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy most music - although today's young female and male singers, all sound the same to me. My brother from Alabama plays Tennessee Blue Grass on a banjo. Pretty cool. I am starting to like country music - I must be getting old.
ReplyDeleteToday reading this post is the first time I have ever heard the term "bluegrass" -- I like all music except really, really harsh screaming heavy metal. OMG I hate that stuff. I used to make fun of country music, but the older I get the more I like it.
ReplyDeleteBluegrass is not my favorite kind of music, but it's an interesting form. The really good players often fade into grooves that are jazz like.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about people who play bluegrass is that I've found that many of them are really educated.
The south is an easy target. Believe me, we have our share of ignorance, but it's a strange and wonderful place when you come here and look around. Unless, of course you come here canoeing and get violated by banjo playing pig ********'s :)