Music in American Culture | capitolpictures.info

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche said that “Without music life would be a mistake”. I believe that to be true. Can you imagine your daily life without music? Without feeling how music makes you feel? Music is the center of American culture. No matter what corner of the United States you may live in, chances are that you have a varying taste in music. When someone asks me what my favorite song is, it’s hard for me to ever find an answer. The truth is that there are so many amazing songs in every single genre of music, that it’s virtually impossible to pick just one favorite.In fact, I don’t think it can be done. It is used in every aspect of our lives including celebrations, therapy and funerals. The healing benefits of music are just beginning to emerge, though most music enthusiasts have known this for years. To most of us, it is a huge part of our lives. With technology today, your favorite songs are at your finger tips. Remember when cars were actually sold without radios? I don’t, but I know one thing to be true, I couldn’t drive a car on a daily basis without tunes blaring on the radio.Music is at the center of social culture in America. Every get together, whether for a simple birthday party or night at the club revolves around music. It is used in weddings to express love. In funerals music is used to express sorrow. Music sets the mood and tone for the entire event. Music is a mood lifter and mood changer, especially for me. It distracts the mind, encourages daydreaming and can provide a deep emotional release. Most of my music is compiled in lists that depict a certain mood or feeling. There is a list just for soothing music for times when I cannot fall asleep. There is a list of sad songs for times when I need healing. And there are lists of songs that make me feel good, happy and ready to dance.Music is a huge industry in the United States and across the world. Music is a multi-billion dollar industry. Combine that with the income generated from using music in movies and television and the numbers become astronomical. A movie is only as good as its soundtrack. In television, most of the music is used as special effects. Cable has created channels that are devoted to music. And reality based games shows are now created solely around music. Log onto the internet and type “music” into any search engine and you’ll get thousands of pages of resources for anything music related.The internet has exploded with music over the last few years. Now musicians are using social networking websites to get their music out there. The internet has also changed the way we listen to radio. A listener can now log on to just about any radio station’s website and listen to live, streaming radio. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of resources for listening to and buying music online. The internet has also changed the way we purchase music.Remember the days of records and those eight track tapes? What about taping over the holes of a cassette tape to record your favorite music off the radio? That seems like an ancient memory now. Music fans can now log onto their choice of websites and download their favorite track. No need to purchase an entire album now to get the one song you want. Considering the ways music has evolved, it leaves you wondering; did technology change music or did music change technology?