RockOm

The dictionary definitions are not enough for those of us who are alive to the sense of the sacred which we find in so many unexpected places ... and are often disappointed not to find in so many expected places.

Perhaps a better question is: what is the sense of the sacred? What does this word mean to us in a universal sense, in the context of our contemporary world of pluralism and multiculturalism, a world in unprecedented evolutionary crisis?

It is my belief, based on travel, research, and the experience of performing sacred music for people of radically different worldviews and religions, that religious tolerance, like interfaith dialogue, is growing by leaps and bounds, far outstripping the old intolerances and insularities we are all too familiar with. The mass media might make it seem otherwise --- but as we know, they thrive on bad news, and are parsimonious in reporting the good news which is happening right under their noses.

The best short response to this question I've heard is from Pierre Rabhi, founder of agro-ecology, and author of the book As in the Heart, So in the Earth : "The sense of the sacred is a sense of humility, where gratitude, knowledge, wonder, respect, and mystery all come together to inspire and enlighten our actions."

This would have seemed pretty obvious to people of ancient times. Only in the last few centuries of modernism and postmodernism has it become fashionable to ignore and disdain the sacred, much as it has become fashionable to ignore and disdain beauty, and to revere irony.

But for those who will not allow this sense to wither in them, listening to sacred music can be a heart-opening experience, even when it comes from a tradition or a culture which is strange or bizarre to them, even if they disagree with certain doctrines of that tradition, even if they reject all religion, and even if the music itself has no formal connection to any sacred tradition.

The awakening of this sense, at least in listening to music, does not depend on having specific beliefs, or even on knowing the meaning of the texts that are being sung or chanted (though it can of course be infinitely deepened by knowing and studying their meaning).

Music can be an ambassador for peace where other embassies have failed. I first learned about this power of music over twenty-five years ago, when I participated in a two-day conference at an American university, which sought to bring Jewish, Christian, and Muslim (mostly Arab, but a few Persian) students together in dialogue concerning the Palestinian problem. This was in the days of the Carter administration, when such hopeful attempts were more common. I was part of a small student musical group (oud, santur, percussion, guitar, and a male and female vocalist) thrown together at the last minute, and our job was to offer a short concert of a mixture of Arab and Jewish songs at the close of each session. The first day was very difficult, because we had to play after a stormy session with several shouting matches, much anger in the air, and little if any real dialogue. On the second day, we asked the directors to let us open the program instead of closing it. We had to beg, then insist, and they reluctantly agreed. What a difference it made! Not only was there no shouting during that conference, people really listened to each other --- and there were even some friendships made! I can't attribute it to the quality of our music (my oud-playing was pretty amateurish in those days), but I did learn something important about the power of the intent of music. Whatever our shortcomings as an ad-hoc musical group with too little rehearsal together, our individual and collective intent was so strong on that second day, that it communicated a message of peace which words alone could not have done. Last, but far from least, our motivation, on that day at least, was for our music to serve --- to serve something higher than the usual desire to shine, to thrill, or entertain, that had previously motivated us.

This was also my first inkling that the influential modernist doctrine of l'art pour l'art --- art for art's sake --- is a fatuous dead end. From the earliest times of performance art, all the way back to its beginnings in shamanism, authentic performers have always known that they are at their best when their art serves something higher than art. Individually and collectively, we are beginning to rediscover this ancient truth, but in new and mysterious ways...

By Joseph Rowe
http://www.naturalchant.com

also, see my significant other's site:
http://www.myspace.com/catherinebraslavsky

and my memoir of my teacher, Hamza El Din:
http://www.naturalchant.com/hamza.htm

In this week's podcast episode (#66, "Stripping Away"), musicians Carly Simon and Heather Maloney share interviews with RockOm. Carly talks about stripping down her hits for the new album Never Been Gone and singer-songwriter Heather Maloney shares about the stripping away process that occurs in meditation.

CLICK HERE to visit our Podcast page to download this and other episodes of the RockOm Podcast. While you're there, be sure to hit the Subscribe link to get automatic downloads of episodes as they come available.

By Trevor Harden, Trevor@RockOm.net

Modulation (mod-yoo-LAY-shun)
1. The process of changing from one key to another.
2. In electronic music, the term is applied to a change of frequency, amplitude, or other changes of similar nature possible through electronics.

(Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary)

Modulation, in music, is the act or process of changing from one key or tonal center to another. You can hear samples of various different kinds of classical music modulations - including Direct Modulation and Pivot Tone Modulation - HERE.

For a person with no music theory background this all most likely sounds like incomprehensible jargon. It's one of those things you have to hear to fully understand, but the truth is you've heard it many times.

Take this song for instance. Listen starting around the 3:00 mark; do you notice the upward shift at 3:17? That's modulation or a key change.

Well, Pir Vilayat Khan (1916-2004), the great Sufi master once said that "Meditation...could be defined as the art of modulating consciousness." The same could be said for prayer or other forms of spiritual discipline. Like a song that suddenly or gradually shifts one key higher, doing the work of spiritual discipline shifts our consciousness a notch or two closer to the "Divine Reality." As lay monk Brother Wayne Teasdale says in The Mystic Hours: A Daybook of Inspirational Wisdom and Devotion:

"To modulate our consciousness through meditation is to allow for its transformation, the change from self-preoccupation to God-realization, from ego-fixation to Divine Love... Gradually, as we learn to fine-tune our normally uncontrolled thoughts and preoccupations, we tune to the Divinity already ever-present in our consciousness."

If you have the ear to do so, as you hear modulations or key changes in the music you listen to this week, let it be a reminder to continue in your spiritual practice. Like tying a ribbon around your finger to help you remember, allow musical modulations to be "a reminder message from the universe" to stop and take a moment to pray or - in some other way - align yourself with Divine Love.

By Trevor Harden, Trevor@RockOm.net

Sixteen years ago to this very day, one of the cheesiest pop songs to ever reach #1 on pop radio topped the charts and remained there for five weeks.

The seven-minute, overdramatic epic was the foundation upon which one very... uh... beefy rock-God belted out the catchy hook that had people across the planet simultaneously singing along and scratching their heads...

"I would do anything for love.
Yes, I would do anything for love.
I would do anything for love,
But I won't do that."
[Meatloaf, "I'd Do Anything for Love"]

Wait, what? You won't do what, Mr. Meatloaf?

In a world yet to be saturated with the Almighty Google, blogs or online forums, we were left wondering what in the hell that one thing was. In one breath he proclaims love as the highest ideal, to which he gives the entirety of his heart, mind and soul; in the next, he is hung-up. The limits had been tested and the test came back negative. To misquote ESPN's Chris Berman, "He... could... [not]... go... all... the... way."

Most of us are also like this. We claim that love is both the road upon which to walk as well as the ultimate goal. Because of our spiritual convictions, we're first in line to say that because all people are sparks of or children of the divine, that unconditional love and compassion should be the foundation upon which we build our lives.

Then comes the application...

The truth is that most of us have limits. We're willing to be loving and compassionate - but to a point. I will do anything for love, but...

• ...that jerkwad just cut me off.
• ...I don't really deal with those kinds of people.
• ...you offended or hurt me in some way.

Remember these immortal words from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, "Everyone I know has a big 'but.' C'mon, Simone, let's talk about your big 'but.'" Indeed, we all have a big "but." Very few of us are spiritually developed enough to love completely and at all times.

Fortunately, in this life - at least as I experience it - there is a divine grace that blankets our shortcomings and there is therefore no need for guilt or shame, even when we blow it. And it's not even that love and compassion are required of us anyway. If we choose to not make either a priority, that's our prerogative. It's just that most of us who have chosen to pursue Truth have discovered that Love is indeed worthy of our entire heart, mind and soul.

Over the next few days watch for where you come up against your edge. Try to discover your "but" - that place where you reach the limits of your love. Don't beat yourself up about it; we all have a threshold. But see if you can lean in to your "but", your limit, just a little. Through love, attempt to see other people for who they really are, instead of what they have done to you or who they may appear to be through your projections.

We may never get to the point where saying "...but I won't do that" is truly absent from the way in which we love others, but through practice we can enjoy getting as close as we can.

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By Trevor Harden, Trevor@RockOm.net

You probably remember Venn diagrams from high school (or perhaps you're still using them in your classes or business). While each circle signifies a unique set, overlapping sections represent any common ground.

Since the beginning of known culture, religious traditions have remained mostly within their own circle, rarely choosing to overlap into its neighbor's territory. It's an egoic defense mechanism that shouldn't be blamed; in fact it makes perfect sense. Thankfully though, we're beginning to move into a postmodern era where the overlapping of circles is becoming more and more common. Doing this brings with it not necessarily a diminishing of each individual circle (as traditionalists would have you believe) but an attitude of acceptance and coexistence.

I'm reminded of the famous story by Thich Nhat Hahn:

Twenty years ago at a conference I attended of theologians, and professors of religion, an Indian Christian friend told the assembly, "We are going to hear about the beauties of several traditions, but that does not mean that we are going to make a fruit salad." When it came my turn to speak, I said, "Fruit salad can be delicious! I have shared the Eucharist with Father Daniel Berrigan, and our worship became possible because of the sufferings we Vietnamese and Americans shared over many years." [from Living Buddha, Living Christ]

Notice he didn't say fruit purée. A banana still remains a banana and the apple chunks are still apples. Similarly finding common ground between Islam and Hinduism, for example, and allowing their Venn circles to overlap doesn't necessarily mean the loss of either's unique identity.

What does all of this have to do with music?

As various bloggers, musicians and writers have said many, many times here throughout the pages of RockOm, music is one of the tools that allows people within different circles to begin the process of moving toward one another.

Take the old dichotomy of 'secular' vs. 'sacred'...

This week two very interesting articles piqued my interest. The New York Times reported about a church in Brooklyn that, because of dying church activities and attendance, opened its door for artists to use the building. Non-religious musical groups began rehearsing in a space that, in a previous era, may have been looked down upon because of their 'secular' bent. In a remarkably similar story, a blogger at musicthinktank.com shared last month a very cool story about overcoming reservations of performing 'secular' music in a church setting. She shares,

"I find it encouraging to see more mainstream Christian churches are also seeing that artists like myself are not off topic at all. For a few hours a month, they allow their house of God to also be a House of Blues, where secular artists entertain, educate, and inspire people to do good..."

So what do we make of all this and why do I even bring it up? For a couple of reasons...

1. Cease seeing other as other | Please be cautious of the times where your inclination is to draw a line in the sand, believing someone to be different than yourself. Their circle may overlap with yours more than you think. At least consider giving that person or group the respect to be who they are without requiring them to transform their circle into one that looks like your own.
2. Allow music to help you break down walls | Rarely are people as closed-minded about their musical tastes as they are about their religious belief systems. Get to know folks by asking them about their favorite music (everybody has a favorite!).  Or attend a concert and notice how 'different' everyone is from you, yet they're there as well, enjoying what you're enjoying.
3. It's all 'divine' | If you're a person of faith, consider allowing the lines to blur a bit between what you consider 'sacred' and 'secular'. From a musical angle, see if you can find God in a pop song or can connect to something larger through a rock concert experience. Or simply use whatever music is on - Jay-Z, Megadeth or Miley Cyrus - to help center you in the present moment.
4. You can still be you | Begin to understand that in finding common ground with others, your own beliefs and preferences aren't threatened or lessened in any way. There is a way in which we can drop our guard and find acceptance and understanding toward others while still standing firm and being rooted in our own tradition and convictions.

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An interview with Himalayan/Tibetan Bowl Sound Healer Diáne Mandle

What are your observations with people experiencing change and self-discovery through sound?

Diáne: Healing through sound is a movement from disharmony to harmony, a spiritual awakening with a profound impact on the physical body. As we awaken and our perspective shifts, a domino effect ensues that also shifts our vibration and our cellular make up. The shifts cannot occur as separate entities - they affect the whole of who we are and extend infinitely. This transformation of consciousness is the foundational principle of the Himalayan Singing Bowls. Tuned to the vibrational frequency of AUM, the sound of universal perfection, their sound reawakens in us our connection to the universe. Their frequencies gently penetrate and calm the body/mind, balance the hemispheres of the brain, initiate the relaxation response and decrease, fatigue, pain, stiffness, and emotional tension. My clients often report that during sessions they feel completely transported to another dimension while being aware of that which surrounds them, and return feeling revitalized, deeply relaxed and filled with joy (a sense of wholeness). I work with many cancer patients and they report that pain and the effects of chemotherapy is greatly diminished, enhanced sleep patterns, more clarity, energy and a shift in attitude that contributes to their quality of life. Other reports from patients include lowering of blood pressure, positive changes in relationships and the ability to act on issues which they could not act on in the past.

The Tibetan Buddhist philosophy that the singing bowls are rooted in teaches us that embedded in the energy and frequency of the singing bowls is the idea that nothing exists independently of anything else. Healing is a process where we are released from an ego centered finite perspective of ourselves in the world and move into our essence where our vibratory energy is connected with the universe and where, even at a cellular level, we can experience the interrelationship of all things. Without healing, the core issue that caused a physical condition in the first place is likely to manifest again. Sound is the train that helps us get to healing.

What is energy healing & healing energy emission?

Diáne: The sound of Tibetan bowls entrain our energetic system to resonate with them in their perfection. In the universe every dissonant chord tends toward becoming a harmony and that’s what they help our bodies to do. The harmonic resonance of the bowls literally pulls us back into a more universal energetic flow. They effectively transmit their soothing and peaceful vibrations through our body in a way that affects our entire nervous and immune system and initiates the relaxation response bringing us into a Alpha/Theta brainwave state (waking dream state that is home to creativity, inspiration, intuition and where we can let go of our ego boundaries, of our consciousness of our physical state and connect with the non-physical, non dualistic.)

Who and how can people benefit from energy healing?

Diáne: Healing with sound is about getting back into alignment with the benefic energy of the universe. It is experiencing a vibration that connects us all to everything. Anyone can benefit who is willing to open to this energy.

What is the role of the patient and client in the process?

Diáne: We are equal partners in the process. The ultimate role of the practitioner is to empower the client to remember and strengthen his/her inner wisdom and healer. Ultimately the client is the healer, the practitioner is the guide back to that rediscovery.

About Diáne: Diáne Mandle has been practicing Himalayan/Tibetan Bowl Sound Healing since 2000 when she was already working as a Polarity practitioner and a Life Coach. Wanting to expand her knowledge of energy work she began a two year course of study of Tibetan bowls on the east coast with Sacred Sound Workshops and became their first certified practitioner. After relocating to California Diáne established a private practice integrating Polarity, Sound Healing and Coaching and in 2004 became California’s first State Certified Tibetan Bowl Practitioner/Instructor. Her work includes educational workshops, trainings and concerts nationally. Presently associated with the San Diego Cancer Center as one of its Complementary Therapy Team members she offer regular sessions to their patients. To date she has produced three acclaimed CDs, Return to Om and Sarasvati’s Dream and Being Well: The Journey, as well as two books Ancient Sounds for a New Age: Introduction to Himalayan Sacred Sound Instruments and How to Clear Space with Sound Using Tibetan Bowls & Tingshas. Diáne has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, been published in a multitude of journals, magazines and blogs and has traveled to Nepal and India to select high quality instruments and expand her understanding of the originating culture and healing modality. In June of 2008 in answer to an increasing demand for skilled sound healing practitioners she, in association with Sacred Sound Workshops opened the Tibetan Bowl Sound Healing School. The schools mission is to help create and maintain a high standard of practice with the Sacred Sound Instruments.

Find out more about Diáne, her books, music and healing work at SoundEnergyHealing.com.

This week, considering that it's Halloween and all, we've decided to share with you articles about the darker side of music, death, and all that is frightening and spooky. After all, part of spirituality is dealing with and coming to grips with death, so we wanted to help provide you with some musical inspiration for your Halloween weekend.

Below that we've also included our normal RockOm Roundup links, all that's going on around the world in the areas of song and spirit...

Halloween Roundup

• A Halloween Playlist: The Scariest Albums Of All Time - "I've created a list of the scariest albums ever made. It wasn't easy (seriously, I could've included every black-metal album ever made or Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing), but rather than focus on visceral screams, I went for ephemeral chills. These are psychological thrillers — dense, raw, positively horrifying albums, guaranteed to turn your Halloween into a total fright-fest." (mtv.com)

• Scary songs to put a shiver in your Halloween party - "It’s Halloween and time for some scary songs – and, no, I don’t mean Bobby 'Boris' Pickett’s 'Monster Mash.' I mean really scary songs. Here are 20, arranged chronologically, that’ll give you the chills..." (leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com)

• Slayer to stream entire new album on MySpace Music for Halloween weekend - "Thrash legends Slayer will take over MySpace's Music portal this Halloween weekend to promote their upcoming album, World Painted Blood." (examiner.com)

• What are the scariest rock songs ever?- "Aside from the truly frightening new release by the Backstreet Boys or Bob Dylan's new Christmas album, what are the scariest rock songs to tingle your spine and rattle your senses?" (blog.mlive.com)

Miscellaneous Music & Spirituality Links

• The RZA: Hip-Hop's Prophet - "In his new book, Tao of the Wu, RZA tells the story of his own rise, from the streets of Staten Island to the top of the hip-hop world. He describes the lessons he learned about life, music and spirituality--many of them hard--in the simple, elegant prose of a hip-hop poet." (pbs.org)

• Bruce Almighty - "Springsteen saved me when I was a suburban Cleveland teenager, bored and unconsciously seeking fever and fire. My mom advised channeling that desire into the Catholic Church by praying more. 'Mass is what you bring to it,' she said." (philly.org)

• What makes music beautiful? Alfred Brendel knows - "Interpreters should never assume that understanding the structure of a work might automatically give them insight into the work’s character, atmosphere and spiritual state." (artsblog.freedomblogging.com)

• Sting: Obama best person to handle world's 'mess'- Sting says, "My hope is that we can start talking about real issues and not caring about whether God cares about your hemline or your color ... We are here to evolve as one family, and we can't be separate anymore." (news.yahoo.com)

Early today we posted an insightful interview with Christine Stevens of UpBeat Drum Circles. Now's your chance to hear the interview first-hand. Check out the newest episode of the RockOm Podcast to hear our conversation about how music bridges cultural and spiritual "differences" and to check out all this amazing group is doing in the world.

CLICK HERE to visit our Podcast page to download this and other episodes of the RockOm Podcast. Grab it for your commute and be sure to tell a friend we're here exploring the bond between music and spirituality!

By Tom Crenshaw, Tom@RockOm.net

Three melodic strings, a drumbeat and a passionate desire to connect with another can create a force that is larger than life. This immense, graceful force can be found in Christine Stevens and UpBeat Drum Circles as they travel the world, often venturing into hostile and war-torn territories to bridge cultural and spiritual barriers through music.

Music holds many keys for conflict healing and is an incredibly valuable weapon for promoting peace and reconciliation. Through music Christine Stevens has selflessly dedicated her life and resources in a mission to change the world one heartbeat and drumbeat at a time. Christine is an internationally acclaimed musician, author, music therapist and speaker as well as the founder of UpBeat Drum Circles. RockOm has made a dear friend in Christine featuring her work many times on our website.

We caught up with Christine recently to talk about bridging cultural barriers through music and instrumentation knowing she would have much to share with us on the subject. In connecting with Christine again we are introduced to the Strumstick: a three-stringed instrument whose small nature belies its capabilities. Through the Strumstick and drumming Christine has propagated goodwill, grace and peacemaking not only in Iraq but around the world as well.

Tom: In your work with Ashti Drum in Iraq, when you first are introduced to perform for a group is there an air of apprehension on either your part as a musician or those you’re meeting for the first time with regards to your being a Western musician? If so how do you make that first, all-important connection?

Christine: Well that’s a good question. "The beginning is half the whole" as they say and the first moments of a connection are crucial. A lot of preparation goes into going to Iraq. I dress according to the cultural norms; I dyed my hair, wore a hijab and prepared to meet people in their way. The first connection - what I noticed - it was all about making music and not talking at all.

More often than not, I introduce myself with drumming  and then wait and see if someone will answer you. [Laughs] What I love about the Strumstick and bringing a melodic instrument with me to Iraq to complement the drum circle program is that the Strumstick is in open tuning, like a drone. When you start to make that drone, people start to come. It’s a magnetic force for group gatherings. When you play a Strumstick it’s a call for singing and chanting. So I would play a simple open drone and often someone would just stand up and chant using Middle Eastern scales.

The idea for music for peacemaking has to do with some very important principles including inclusiveness and we get everyone to participate by handing out our rhythmic instruments. Everyone can join the beat. I love what Mickey Hart (drummer for The Dead) says, “When we drum together we create sacred space.” When we add the Strumstick and that drone - chanting and rhythm - we create a symphony of cultural sharing from the heart.

Tom: So using a Strumstick made the difficult work in bridging cultural barriers easier?

Christine: I would say that it makes it much easier because this time I had this fantastic instrument that was created by Bob McNally (he’s based in New Jersey and his information is at strumstick.com). What I love about it is that it’s three strings and no wrong notes! Anyone can play this! The biggest barrier is words, I think. As long as we’re aware of each other's culture and we’re sensitive, what is the real barrier? It’s words! With music, we can talk. We have to simplify to create that bridge for cultural connection.

The other thing I will say is that in my travels around the world with the Strumstick, everybody knows Bob Marley and you can play Bob Marley tunes on this real easily. According to the Dalai Lama, what we need to do to create peace on the planet is to have more music sharing and music festivals.

Tom: Oh, I agree. More music and more music festivals. That’s the plan and a perfect prescription. Many times we get caught up with words, like you say, when we simply should just let the music speak for us.

Christine: I think we’re becoming energy linguists. In sound and in music we can communicate best… our heart, our feelings. When we communicate on that plane there’s no conflict, there’s no war. We create “sacred space.” What happens in sacred space? We create connections and harmony. Just the word harmony is a metaphor for what we’re creating on the planet right now, one beat at a time.

Tom: Why is it that some people think they could never learn a musical instrument when drumming and the Strumstick, with only a fraction of instruction, turn anyone into a music-maker?

Christine: The key is having a very easy, immediate learning curve. We give up on ourselves too easily. If I had to sit down and try to learn piano scales right away I’d probably quit too, but because you can get a sound immediately on a drum, and a good sound immediately on a Strumstick without any training, all of a sudden children who have never played an instrument before can be in a jam session. I think it’s time to remove that dualistic thinking that some people have talent and some don’t and recognize that music is who we are - that we are biologically wired for music. We all have a singing voice, we all have a drum beat called our heartbeat, and it’s time to let go of all those myths and lies, find the instrument that calls to our heart and be part of the music.

Tom:  In your experience how important are the arts, especially music in connecting us with one another and why aren’t diplomatic efforts on the part of nations engaged in peace making more focused on cultural exchanges involving musicians and artists?

Christine: That’s actually not true. There are many diplomatic efforts right now happening through music. If you look at U.S. history one of the first efforts of diplomacy was sending an African-American gospel choir to Russia during the beginning of the Cold War. Louis Armstrong was paid by the State Department to travel and play music.  I just think we need more of this and the vision that I hold is that before the United Nations talk - we have to have dialogue - first we would have music together. First there would be a performance and then there would be dialogue. I don’t believe it’s only about the music; I think it’s about the whole protocol of combining music-making, musical sharing and appreciation of each other’s culture, and true listening.

Tom: What’s upcoming in the near future for UpBeat Drum Circles?

Christine: We have opportunities to train people in the HealthRHYTHMS program that Remo Drum Company sponsors and we’ll be teaching more in the sacred drumming and peace building traditions in places like the Shambhala Mountain Center. We’re working on some new books and CDs about UpBeat Drum Circle's and Ashti Drum's whole journey in the Middle East hoping to continue to build our drum ashram, our drum ministry, our peace drum corps and continue to collaborate with RockOm. We love learning so much from visiting your site and tuning into what RockOm is doing. Thank you so much for that, Tom.

LINKS:

Visit Strumstick.com to learn more and to see and hear Christine demonstrate its versatility

Be sure to view all our features and interviews with Christine Stevens:

The Rhythm of Life

Social Change and the Power of Music

Global Resonance

By Trevor Harden, Trevor@RockOm.net

"People worry about kids playing with guns, and teenagers watching violent videos; we are scared that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobodies worries about kids listening to thousands - literally thousands - of songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss."

[Nick Hornby, High Fidelity]

As the old adage goes, "energy flows where attention goes." Does your music help point your attention to what is good, noble and true? Or do the sounds pumping into your head via your headphones pull your thoughts into the realms of despair and darkness?

Of course there are times for it to do both. Sometimes there's nothing like a good, angry Nine Inch Nails song or brooding Tori Amos piece to help you work through (or just wallow in) difficult feelings.

But perhaps what Mr. Hornby is saying is that music's ability to influence your emotions (or even behavior) shouldn't be underestimated.

My mind thinks back to the Columbine assassins who apparently listened to Marilyn Manson or how The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" infamously influenced the murderous actions of Charles Manson. Is this all folk lore or fact? Did the music influence the behaviors or did people prone to heinous acts simply and in an unrelated coincidence prefer a darker style of music? Who the hell knows.

I'm certainly not suggesting we only listen to New Age flute music in order to keep our minds positive. Most of what I personally listen to tends to have been pulled from a darker place, or at least a place that acknowledges the full expression of human emotion and reality. But if "we become what we behold," then consistently filling our minds with "toxic" music MAY have some affect on our physical/emotional state. Or does it?

YOUR TURN: What do you think? Does continued exposure to "songs about broken hearts and rejection and pain and misery and loss" affect the listener negatively? Or is all of this simply scapegoating, pointing to music as a straw man in order to take the blame off the individual?