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Opinion

Modern music loses its soul 

Reid Midgett
Opinion Columnist

Modern music is meaningless.

In a time of great political crisis and world issues that affect every person in this country, pop musicians have failed to acknowledge anything past their self-involved lives.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, rock ‘n' roll music reflected the discontent individuals felt toward the government and world issues. The Vietnam War sparked inspiration in musicians across the country, leading to some of the most well-known songs in rock history.

Whether it tells a story, provides genuine entertainment or merely expresses the inner desires of the song's creator, music is one of the most personal and captivating forms of art. A painting cannot express the emotion found in inflection of voice, a book cannot accurately express every feeling the author experiences and a television show is a vapid wasteland compared to the richness and originality that can be found within a song.

Music allows one to create a powerful emotional testament that is constantly reinforced within the framework of notes and melodies. Musical pieces played by grand orchestras can tell a story without ever uttering a word, while the ferocity and speed of the lyrics and sounds of a punk rock song can enter one's head and leave nothing unchanged.

Music is controlled by the creator and shaped and molded into the perfect narrative, yet each song can easily be interpreted by an active listener to fit his or her life. Ask a man his favorite painting or book, and he may not provide an answer. Ask him his favorite musical piece, and surely an answer will come swiftly.

But something has happened to music. It has been simplified, manufactured into meaningless noise. Mainstream music is all the same, with songs that are merely carbon copies of the songs before them. Music has lost its soul.

The music industry no longer cares about the songwriter and the opinions of the active listener. The music industry only cares about the largest output of music, which in turn means more profit. What started as something deeply personal has turned into just another moneymaking product.

It is up to the listener to change this. This country must demand the high quality that was once prevalent in music. We must stop consuming the music that is handed to us and we must start searching for the rare music that still knows how to affect us. We must inject the soul back into the veins of mainstream music and allow it to flourish and grow into a cultural necessity once again. 

Only then will music begin to take hold of our lives once more and affect us in ways nothing else can.
 
 
 

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