Maya+M’s+OpEd+Article

** "Now That's Music to My Ears" by Maya M. **
media type="youtube" key="Sx--plYIEsk" width="425" height="350" align="center"

media type="file" key="mayam-muckraker-0910.mp3" It’s one thing to enjoy a song, but it’s an entirely different story to immerse yourself in the music, and flow with the melody until it completely consumes your entire soul. So, it is entirely obnoxious and aggravating, to have peers jeer and snort at your own taste, just becuse they don't think whatever it s you are listening to is a "good song". To me, a "good song" is one that makes you feel. It doesn’t have to be any particular type of music either, just the music that reminds you of a good or bad time, the music that you sing along to when sitting alone, the music that carries you as you dance, leap and jump into the air, literally or hypothetically. If it makes you smile, cry, recall old memories, or sing and dance, then chances are, it’s a good song.

Music has always been that universal language throughout the world. Whether it’s ancient tribal chanting that is accompanied by drums or even the sound of drops of water accompanied by synthesizers and keyboards, it is still music. And much of it can be hated or loved; either way, it’s still an obsession.

It stays with us, gets stuck in our heads, pushes us to dream and challenges us to think. It define ourselves, even the parts that we don’t understand it ourselves. Like dreams, music seems to unlock that part of ourselves that even we don’t want to look at. It’s beautiful and ugly and will always make up our minds for us. No matter who the artist is, they are putting out the what they consider good music and there will always be that small population of people who listen religiously and hang posters up in their rooms.

I’m an avid music lover. Sure, I don’t understand fifths and eighths, but isn’t it enough just to listen and love? I don’t think you have to know the history and entire backgrounds of the artist to like they’re music. Isn’t it just enough to like one or two albums? I probably don’t know the backgrounds or history of half the artists I listen to, but I listen to a lot of music, and in my honest opinion, I think it’s all extraordinary. So why must I be judged based on my little knowledge of actual music notes? Can't I just enjoy the emotions and rythms of sound? Of course there would be probably, many, many people who would disagree with me. It doesn’t matter much to me. The music I listen to would be far from normal anyways.

Music is it’s own kind of feeling, I almost would say it’s an emotion on it’s own. Whether it’s Bach, Mozart, Tribal Hawaiian chants, Cat Stevens, The Beatles, Beyonce, or Miley Cyrus, it’s all music. And it’s sad to see that there are people who spend more time defining it, rather than enjoying and immersing themselves in it. I would rather lay back, close my eyes and stop judging and start listening. When does the listening start anyways?

Next time you turn off your friend’s radio because “you don’t like their type of music”, take a step back, understand where they’re coming from and just listen to what they have playing in their stereo. Let the sirens of song take you to a different place; it’s not all that hard to open up after all. You can find love in and throughout music, because etched between the sweet lines of a song, the artist has put the time and the love into that song…no matter what genre it is.

Maybe certain types of music is not considered “good” to your ears, but my ears are always open. And depending on my mood, I’ll be listening to any genre. As Cat Steven’s sings in “The Wind”:

“I let the music take me where my heart wants to go.”