Music and Time

One of my greatest fears is to grow out of touch with what's new regarding music and movies. Getting older usually contributes to this, so does having children, a drug addiction doesn't help so much either. I am getting older, but the other two are not quite in my life yet- one I hope to have, the other not so much.

Ever met that guy that is listening to the same music he did ten years ago? I don't want to be that person. I counter this by spending a little time a week listening to NPR: All Songs Considered and DayTrotter as well as having people in my life that look for good music even on daily basis. Of course, I trust their opinion and they're usually right.

As I spend the afternoon going through new music, I realized for the first time as I'm watching the little dot on the bar that shows the song progressing that music and time are related, closely related. Tempo, time measure, and even the seconds ticking by as a song plays all point to time. Music exists in time, but I wonder if in some way humans attempt to transcend time through music.

I went to see Sufjan Stevens in concert this week and I felt above time for a good bit of that concert. Good music absorbs the person and time stops, but in order for that to happen, there has to be structure in time, the foundation that gets us to heaven, so to speak.

Music is around us more than ever, but do we have a philosophy of music or think of its purpose. I can't think of a church that doesn't have music, even the ones with no instruments are singing. Music might be part of the divine image we are created in. This is something I'd like to research more.