I’ve been thinking quite a bit about music these days. And its role in rhetoric. I don’t know. It just seems like as much as we try to keep the disciplines apart, they keep strolling down lovers’ lane hand in hand.
Music is so integral to most societies worldwide–whether they define it as “music” or no. For instance:
1. My boss not too long ago criticized a coworker for having rap on her ipod and then promptly handed the scissor sisters for her to listen to. What happens if the under-person does not accept the higher-ups version of what is “good” or “acceptable/respectable music?” Does their relationship change in some way? Does their dynamic dampen because they don’t cherish the things that the other person does?
2. I will be driving some coworkers (of a different job) on a 2/3 hour trip. Trust me, they will be forced to listen to my music and the things I like. Now, I will try to be sympathetic and stay away from some of the most polarizing kind of stuff (ie Linkin Park–you’ll either love ’em or hate ’em), but I don’t think they’d want to hear my Aphex Twin or Boards of Canada either. Which I guess will make us stick with something that most everybody likes (The Temptations it is–or Clapton, no one can “no” to Clapton) or just not play anything at all. Does this mean that we might actually have to talk to each other!?
3. Abstract music intrigues me. What’s it trying to say exactly? Hmm, I think it is trying to communicate, even to persuade in some way, but what is it that it’s trying to communicate to me? For example, from Opsound, a piece called “sailing.” I mean, how exactly is this “sailing” and how does it connect to the overarching message of the piece?
I guess, I just think it’s there. It’s worth exploring and delving into the many, many facets that music encompasses–from social connections to identity to what the music does itself. Seriously. The musician (in most times) very intentionally choose a minor key over a major key for a specific reason and that reason is trying to communicate with its audience. It’s just another form of persuasion.
The interdisciplinary ideals make me salivate.
Photo from [nati] of Flickr.