A couple of weekends ago I was looking for Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (and I found it). I came across some other awesome music, and listened to tons of clips. My favorite was The Tallis Scholars Sing Thomas Tallis; they were amazing, and even though I didn't really know the words I still felt uplifted, and the music was obviously God glorifying. Besides knowing that they were singing church music, the tone of the songs and masses clearly showed what the goal of the music was/is.
Thinking about how music sounds reminds me of what my Rhetoric teacher said to my class last year: If you listen to stupid music, you become a stupid person.
He speaks the truth!
This is rather obvious. Many people know of and have heard bands like Green Day and Coldplay. Both of these bands (to use them as examples) have a depressing tone to them; and if I understood the lyrics I know they'll be depressing. Coldplay is more depressing; Green Day is just plain negative. I admit, their musicians have talent and the music is interesting, but if we listened to the radio constantly (which I am tempted to do since I drive alone a lot) we will be submerged into a stupid, narrow mindset. Our worldview will be set to the default messages the pagan artists brainwash us in every song. Some artists, not unlike Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato (ever heard of them?), have stumbled across more life-giving lyrics and messages which are very close to the truth and an honorable way of looking at the world. But this is rare, so to listen to the radio in hopes of those songs coming on isn't the best time management.
What about buying CD's? Well, same thing, use wisdom. I don't buy CD's that I have a problem with. I always check out the particular album I want, and try to look up the lyrics and listen to clips to see if I appreciate and enjoy their music.
It is rather nice that we don't have to go through the lyric problem in classical music.
Unless we flip over to the classical station/buy more classical CD's that have Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Andrew York (he's more modern, but I like some of his stuff), Beethoven, Dvorak, Stravinsky, Bizet, Bernstein, Handel,.....I'm running out of names, but they're out there!.....unless we balance our musical diet and add some of these to our daily supplement, we too will become depressed and negative in our actions like Green Day, thinking from the perspective of Nick Lachey (scary thought), and feeling like All American Rejects. Listening to Smashing Pumpkins and Christina Aguilera all day is equivalent to being musically overweight.
I'm not saying that classical music alone will change you, but what kind of music you listen to does matter. It does affect your nature.
Because my last few jobs over the past couple of years have involved lots of driving by myself, it's easiest to turn on the radio to something fun and exciting, like the pop/rock station. However, I'm easing myself back into the Classics, along with Big Band, Swing, and the Gregorian Chants. I'm trying to appreciate a wider variety so that I won't be so restricted in my diet and knowledge of music.
