Music Should Never Be Harmless

Too much of the time, listening to music is a passive experience. Music is great for background noise while studying, cleaning, cooking or just hanging out and because of this, it’s easy to forget that every song was written with a purpose.

Every time a musician picks up his or her instrument or puts pen to paper to write lyrics, he or she is writing about something. There is something inherently personal about music. The artist is offering a little part of him or herself to those who listen to the music. And they are taking a great risk in doing so.

Everyone goes through this experience, albeit on a smaller scale. Each day we venture into the world we offer ourselves to be judged by our peers, but musicians offer themselves to be judged by everyone. By their peers, by their fellow artists, and by critics. Critics, whose job it is to judge and analyze the musician’s art.

But critics should not be the only ones that analyze a musician’s art. It is the job of every listener to do that for him or herself. In every piece of music, there is something from it that each person can learn, appreciate or feel. And although the artist has a distinct vision and feeling when he or she is writing the song, each listener will have a distinctly different experience with the song.

This is at the root of what Robbie Robertson of The Band meant when he said, “Music should never be harmless”. It should inspire a feeling or thought with every note. This is what this blog will be about. Songs, issues, and other topics in music that inspire feeling and thought. Because if you’re not feeling or thinking about the music you’re listening to, you need to find some new music.