# Music.



## synrgy (Apr 17, 2009)

My dad (a well respected performer and Doctor of Musicology in his own right) forwarded this to me today. I found it an excellent read and thought I'd share it here where it could be appreciated further.

Dr. Karl Paulnack, pianist and director of music division at the Boston Conservatory, gave this welcome address to the parents of incoming students at the Boston Conservatory on September 1, 2004:

One of my parents deepest fears, I suspect, is that society would not properly value me as a musician, that I wouldnt be appreciated. I had very good grades in high school, I was good in science and math, and they imagined that as a doctor or a research chemist or an engineer, I might be more appreciated than I would be as a musician. I still remember my mothers remark when I announced my decision to apply to music schoolshe said, youre WASTING your SAT scores. On some level, I think, my parents were not sure themselves what the value of music was, what its purpose was. And they LOVED music, they listened to classical music all the time. They just werent really clear about its function. So let me talk about that a little bit, because we live in a society that puts music in the arts and entertainment section of the newspaper, and serious music, the kind your kids are about to engage in, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with entertainment, in fact its the opposite of entertainment. Let me talk a little bit about music, and how it works.

The first people to understand how music really works were the ancient Greeks. And this is going to fascinate you; the Greeks said that music and astronomy were two sides of the same coin. Astronomy was seen as the study of relationships between observable, permanent, external objects, and music was seen as the study of relationships between invisible, internal, hidden objects. Music has a way of finding the big, invisible moving pieces inside our hearts and souls and helping us figure out the position of things inside us. Let me give you some examples of how this works.

One of the most profound musical compositions of all time is the Quartet for the End of Time written by French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1940. Messiaen was 31 years old when France entered the war against Nazi Germany. He was captured by the Germans in June of 1940, sent across Germany in a cattle car and imprisoned in a concentration camp.

He was fortunate to find a sympathetic prison guard who gave him paper and a place to compose. There were three other musicians in the camp, a cellist, a violinist, and a clarinetist, and Messiaen wrote his quartet with these specific players in mind. It was performed in January 1941 for four thousand prisoners and guards in the prison camp. Today it is one of the most famous masterworks in the repertoire.

Given what we have since learned about life in the concentration camps, why would anyone in his right mind waste time and energy writing or playing music? There was barely enough energy on a good day to find food and water, to avoid a beating, to stay warm, to escape torturewhy would anyone bother with music? And yetfrom the camps, we have poetry, we have music, we have visual art; it wasnt just this one fanatic Messiaen; many, many people created art. Why? Well, in a place where people are only focused on survival, on the bare necessities, the obvious conclusion is that art must be, somehow, essential for life. The camps were without money, without hope, without commerce, without recreation, without basic respect, but they were not without art. Art is part of survival; art is part of the human spirit, an unquenchable expression of who we are. Art is one of the ways in which we say, I am alive, and my life has meaning.

On September 12, 2001 I was a resident of Manhattan. That morning I reached a new understanding of my art and its relationship to the world. I sat down at the piano that morning at 10 AM to practice as was my daily routine; I did it by force of habit, without thinking about it. I lifted the cover on the keyboard, and opened my music, and put my hands on the keys and took my hands off the keys. And I sat there and thought, does this even matter? Isnt this completely irrelevant? Playing the piano right now, given what happened in this city yesterday, seems silly, absurd, irreverent, pointless. Why am I here? What place has a musician in this moment in time? Who needs a piano player right now? I was completely lost.

And then I, along with the rest of New York, went through the journey of getting through that week. I did not play the piano that day, and in fact I contemplated briefly whether I would ever want to play the piano again. And then I observed how we got through the day. At least in my neighborhood, we didnt shoot hoops or play Scrabble. We didnt play cards to pass the time, we didnt watch TV, we didnt shop, we most certainly did not go to the mall. The first organized activity that I saw in New York, that same day, was singing. People sang. People sang around fire houses, people sang We Shall Overcome. Lots of people sang America the Beautiful. The first organized public event that I remember was the Brahms Requiem, later that week, at Lincoln Center, with the New York Philharmonic. The first organized public expression of grief, our first communal response to that historic event, was a concert. That was the beginning of a sense that life might go on. The US Military secured the airspace, but recovery was led by the arts, and by music in particular, that very night.

From these two experiences, I have come to understand that music is not part of arts and entertainment as the newspaper section would have us believe. Its not a luxury, a lavish thing that we fund from leftovers of our budgets, not a plaything or an amusement or a pass time. Music is a basic need of human survival. Music is one of the ways we make sense of our lives, one of the ways in which we express feelings when we have no words, a way for us to understand things with our hearts when we cant with our minds. Some of you may know Samuel Barbers heart-wrenchingly beautiful piece Adagio for Strings. If you dont know it by that name, then some of you may know it as the background music which accompanied the Oliver Stone movie Platoon, a film about the Vietnam War. If you know that piece of music either way, you know it has the ability to crack your heart open like a walnut; it can make you cry over sadness you didnt know you had. Music can slip beneath our conscious reality to get at whats really going on inside us the way a good therapist does.

I bet that you have never been to a wedding where there was absolutely no music. There might have been only a little music, there might have been some really bad music, but I bet you there was some music. And something very predictable happens at weddingspeople get all pent up with all kinds of emotions, and then theres some musical moment where the action of the wedding stops and someone sings or plays the flute or something. And even if the music is lame, even if the quality isnt good, predictably 30 or 40 percent of the people who are going to cry at a wedding cry a couple of moments after the music starts. Why?! The Greeks. Music allows us to move around those big invisible pieces of ourselves and rearrange our insides so that we can express what we feel even when we cant talk about it. Can you imagine watching Indiana Jones or Superman or Star Wars with the dialogue but no music? What is it about the music swelling up at just the right moment in ET so that all the softies in the audience start crying at exactly the same moment? I guarantee you if you showed the movie with the music stripped out, it wouldnt happen that way. The Greeks: Music is the understanding of the relationship between invisible internal objects.

Ill give you one more example, the story of the most important concert of my life. I must tell you I have played a little less than a thousand concerts in my life so far. I have played in places that I thought were important. I like playing in Carnegie Hall; I enjoyed playing in Paris; it made me very happy to please the critics in St. Petersburg. I have played for people I thought were important; music critics of major newspapers, foreign heads of state. The most important concert of my entire life took place in a nursing home in Fargo, ND, about 4 years ago.

I was playing with a very dear friend of mine who is a violinist. We began, as we often do, with Aaron Coplands Sonata, which was written during World War II and dedicated to a young friend of Coplands, a young pilot who was shot down during the war. Now we often talk to our audiences about the pieces we are going to play rather than providing them with written program notes. But in this case, because we began the concert with this piece, we decided to talk about the piece later in the program and to just come out and play the music without explanation.

Midway through the piece, an elderly man seated in a wheelchair near the front of the concert hall began to weep. This man, whom I later met, was clearly a soldiereven in his 70s, it was clear from his buzz-cut hair, square jaw and general demeanor that he had spent a good deal of his life in the military. I thought it a little bit odd that someone would be moved to tears by that particular movement of that particular piece, but it wasnt the first time Ive heard crying in a concert and we went on with the concert and finished the piece.

When we came out to play the next piece on the program, we decided to talk about both the first and second pieces, and we described the circumstances in which the Copland was written and mentioned its dedication to a downed pilot. The man in the front of the audience became so disturbed that he had to leave the auditorium. I honestly figured that we would not see him again, but he did come backstage afterwards, tears and all, to explain himself.

What he told us was this: During World War II, I was a pilot, and I was in an aerial combat situation where one of my teams planes was hit. I watched my friend bail out, and watched his parachute open, but the Japanese planes which had engaged us returned and machine gunned across the parachute chords so as to separate the parachute from the pilot, and I watched my friend drop away into the ocean, realizing that he was lost. I have not thought about this for many years, but during that first piece of music you played, this memory returned to me so vividly that it was as though I was reliving it. I didnt understand why this was happening, why now, but then when you came out to explain that this piece of music was written to commemorate a lost pilot, it was a little more than I could handle. How does the music do that? How did it find those feelings and those memories in me?

Remember the Greeks: music is the study of invisible relationships between internal objects. This concert in Fargo was the most important work I have ever done. For me to play for this old soldier and help him connect, somehow, with Aaron Copland, and to connect their memories of their lost friends, to help him remember and mourn his friend, this is my work. This is why music matters.

What follows is part of the talk I will give to this years freshman class when I welcome them a few days from now. The responsibility I will charge your sons and daughters with is this: If we were a medical school, and you were here as a med student practicing appendectomies, youd take your work very seriously because you would imagine that some night at two AM someone is going to waltz into your emergency room and youre going to have to save their life.

Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft.

Youre not here to become an entertainer, and you dont have to sell yourself. The truth is you dont have anything to sell; being a musician isnt about dispensing a product, like selling used Chevy's. Im not an entertainer; Im a lot closer to a paramedic, a firefighter, a rescue worker. Youre here to become a sort of therapist for the human soul, a spiritual version of a chiropractor, physical therapist, someone who works with our insides to see if they get things to line up, to see if we can come into harmony with ourselves and be healthy and happy and well.

Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music; I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I dont expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because thats what we do. As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.


----------



## lucasreis (Apr 17, 2009)

This is hands down the best text I&#180;ve read in years about music. I agree 100&#37;. Music is part of life, I can&#180;t imagine ONE day of my life without music, it&#180;s just impossible to survive without it. Music is my drug, is my therapy, it makes me happy, I can let the frustrations go away. If I&#180;m feeling bad it makes me feel good, if I&#180;m feeling good it makes me feel even better. Music is, without a doubt, the most beautiful form of art available on earth. It is like food for the soul.


----------



## EliNoPants (Apr 17, 2009)

that is great, thanks for posting that

i wonder just how many people, if they were being honest with themselves, would have to admit that music had saved their lives, i know i've got plenty of friends who can point at the specific album that made them say "i wanna do THAT" and got them focused on music rather than the self-destructive things they were doing


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 17, 2009)

I was thinking about this the other day: there really is no medium that can replace music, and music really does serve a fundamental part of human society, hence why it is everywhere. I even have a cat that comes running over to the piano when I'm playing (and runs off when I pick up a guitar, oddly), so I'm convinced that there is a part of being that recognizes artistry and organization.


----------



## ShadyDavey (Apr 17, 2009)

Absolutely first class post.


----------



## Daemoniac (Apr 17, 2009)

+1 to all the above, i couldn't have said it any better myself 

Music is _the_ reason im here, im sure of it. Theres not a second that goes by that im not thinking about it, or thinking about what i can do to make it, bend its rules, and create something new.

Great post!


----------



## poopyalligator (Apr 17, 2009)

What a great post. I think it is crazy how much music affects most of our lives. Every single emotion that you can feel can be brought out through music. Something in our brain immediately connects a piece of music to a certain emotion, and i think that is such an amazing thing. This writing makes me think of when i was younger, and i felt like there was something missing from my life. I always knew that i loved music but i couldnt really figure out why. Finally when i was a freshmen in high school i picked up the guitar, and i immediately felt that the void i had in my life was now filled by this. Guitar was one of the most important things in my life, and wanting to play it well and bring out the emotions that other music had was important to me. Even today it matters just a much or more to me than it did then. I find myself spending any extra cash that i have on music equipment. Any time i have free time i spend it doing something with music. When i am sitting by myself I think of a tune. Music reminds me that i am alive.


----------



## estabon37 (Apr 17, 2009)

That was fucking beautiful.


----------



## jaybles (Apr 17, 2009)

Favorite post ever


----------



## Daemoniac (Apr 17, 2009)

I really wish i could thank that post again... i just re-read it, and its just fucking fantastic.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Apr 20, 2009)

lucasreis said:


> This is hands down the best text I´ve read in years about music. I agree 100%. Music is part of life, I can´t imagine ONE day of my life without music, it´s just impossible to survive without it. Music is my drug, is my therapy, it makes me happy, I can let the frustrations go away. If I´m feeling bad it makes me feel good, if I´m feeling good it makes me feel even better. Music is, without a doubt, the most beautiful form of art available on earth. It is like food for the soul.



^^^ this, this, this, this, this.


----------



## synrgy (Apr 23, 2009)

bumping for anyone who may have missed it, since this one is clearly an inspiring read. (hope the regulars don't mind the bumpage, sorry if they do!!)


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

this is proof that escapology should not be completely barred from one's life, regardless of what Evangelicals may say.


----------



## synrgy (Apr 23, 2009)

Scar Symmetry said:


> this is proof that escapology should not be completely barred from one's life, regardless of what Evangelicals may say.


 

I'm too lazy to look up the word, but if it means what I'm assuming it does (to 'escape' life once in a while to recharge emotionally and physically) I'd say it's the only way one can expect to survive this bat-shit-crazy world without going completely mad.


----------



## BurialWithin (Apr 23, 2009)

This has been my favorite post by far . That was great man !! What a great a read thanks a lot!!!!Music has been with me my entire life starting with my grandparents to piano lessons and classical music to guitar and death metal !!!!!!!!!!!!! ha ha i love it!!


----------



## Monk (Apr 23, 2009)

An excellent read. Thanks!


----------



## Curt-Platt (Apr 23, 2009)

This is the one of the best text i have read on this forum.


----------



## JoryGriffin (Apr 23, 2009)

Thanks for Bumping it 

I did indeed miss it the first time. I normally lose interest in these long spiritual kinda things but it's all completely spot on. Thanks


----------



## scottro202 (Apr 23, 2009)

am I the first to say sticky?


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Apr 23, 2009)

synrgy said:


> I'm too lazy to look up the word, but if it means what I'm assuming it does (to 'escape' life once in a while to recharge emotionally and physically) I'd say it's the only way one can expect to survive this bat-shit-crazy world without going completely mad.



yeah escapology is anything that takes you away from reality and places you in a world of pleasure or fantasy i.e. sex, food, movies, games, tv, music etc

some Christians believe it's 'evil' because it takes us away from reality where everything isn't really that great.

I say fuck that, Christianity has caused millions of deaths, music (despite claims from Marilyn Manson haters) has not killed anyone.

thanks for posting this man, it truly brightened up the day that I read it


----------



## Koshchei (Apr 23, 2009)

Thank you for this.


----------



## willyman101 (Apr 23, 2009)

That was so amazing. So true. Music is the most beautiful thing on Earth, and I'm honoured to be able to say that it is all I think about most of the time. What an amazing feeling it must be though, causing such emotion to arise in some people. It is the essence of the soul and it's like Andy Dufresne says in Shawshank Redemption...

"That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music? ...Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget that there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours... hope."

Thanks for this man


----------



## jaredowty (Apr 23, 2009)

Great read, thanks man.


----------



## Swippity Swappity (Apr 23, 2009)

Oh wow. Just great, nothing else to say.


----------



## Patriclese (Apr 24, 2009)

What an awesome thing to read in the morning. My day is going to rule now.

Thank you, what a beautiful post.


----------



## LordCashew (Jun 5, 2009)

Very inspiring. 

Hope no one minds the bump! I hadn't seen this yet, hope others will!


----------



## Esp Griffyn (Jun 5, 2009)

Interesting.


----------



## budda (Jun 5, 2009)

that's loooong - i'll read it later


----------



## Æxitosus (Jun 5, 2009)

for an opinionated a-hole, that was a very intelligent thread to start. 

I'm sending this to all my friends now, those who don't understand why I am so into music especially.


----------



## TheHandOfStone (Jun 5, 2009)

I love this thread. It makes me realize just how much music means to me. I mean, I can be completely sick of it and it still never leaves my head.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jun 5, 2009)

can we get this stickied?

all in favour of it getting stickied say aye?


----------



## Æxitosus (Jun 5, 2009)

AYE.

definitely.
change the title too.


----------



## TheHandOfStone (Jun 5, 2009)

Doesn't need to be stickied yet. Wait until the posting action dies down a little and people start to ignore it. 

*records "Aye" and mails it to the future*


----------



## Æxitosus (Jun 5, 2009)

TheHandOfStone said:


> *records "Aye" and mails it to the future*


how snazzy of you


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jun 5, 2009)

so that's 3 'ayes', including me.


----------



## Æxitosus (Jun 5, 2009)

Scar Symmetry said:


> so that's 3 'ayes', including me.


how many do we need? 

if this counts, I "aye" again


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jun 5, 2009)

I don't know really, it won't make a difference anyway, I'm just in a piratey mood.


----------



## Æxitosus (Jun 5, 2009)

Scar Symmetry said:


> I don't know really, it won't make a difference anyway, I'm just in a piratey mood.


all this usage of the word "aye" reminds me of some of this.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jan 26, 2010)

It's time to bump this thread.

Newcomers and those who missed out, read what is possibly the most inspiring thing you will ever read.


----------



## Daemoniac (Jan 26, 2010)

I still wish I could re-rep this post


----------



## JohnIce (Jan 26, 2010)

Good initiative, Dave!

Everyone, musician or not, should read this.


----------



## techcoreriffman (Jan 26, 2010)

Carl and Dave. You are getting rep. This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read.

I used to have an extreme form of depression. Then one day I decided to start learning the guitar, and I have been one of the happiest people on the planet. Music literally saved my life. Music FIXED me. It is the ultimate form of therapy, and everyone loves it. If I had to go 1 day without music, I would probably have a heart attack.

I am literally almost in tears right now. I'm so glad I could read this. IT has to be stickie'd.
Thank you


----------



## Janiator (Jan 26, 2010)

This is a great read, thanks for posting it. I absolutely agree with the text in that music makes us human.


----------



## Tybanez (Jan 26, 2010)

Thank-you for posting this! It was a beautiful read!!


----------



## bobrob (Jan 26, 2010)

Thanks for bumping, nice read. Warms the heart it does.


----------



## EliNoPants (Jan 26, 2010)

is it time to get this stickied yet? i'd vote yes


----------



## DeathMetalDean (Jan 26, 2010)

amazing read 

+1 on the sticky


----------



## techcoreriffman (Jan 26, 2010)

This definately needs to be stickied.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jan 27, 2010)

techcoreriffman said:


> Carl and Dave. You are getting rep. This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read.
> 
> I used to have an extreme form of depression. Then one day I decided to start learning the guitar, and I have been one of the happiest people on the planet. Music literally saved my life. Music FIXED me. It is the ultimate form of therapy, and everyone loves it. If I had to go 1 day without music, I would probably have a heart attack.
> 
> ...



Yeah man that's how I felt when I read it too, it really hit home and made me realise that being a musician is just as important if not more so than being a Teacher, a Fireman or a Missionary. We all help people and we all save lives in different ways.


----------



## Varcolac (Jan 27, 2010)

I'm with this 100% until the word "chiropractor" in the final paragraphs.

Music is so much better than their pseudo-scientific back-prodding.


----------



## Fzau (Jan 27, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> yeah escapology is anything that takes you away from reality and places you in a world of pleasure or fantasy i.e. sex, food, movies, games, tv, music etc
> 
> some Christians believe it's 'evil' because it takes us away from reality where everything isn't really that great.


 
Not that I'm a Christian but not everything on that list is escapism.
It's only escapism when you consciously use it to escape reality.
Nothing wrong with food for example, but when people start to use it as a soothener for their life that's when it goes wrong methinks.
Either way, this is a bit off-topic.. just PM me if you want more of my humanistic existentialist point of view 

Back to the original post now, this man has great charisma! 
Personally, I couldn't live without music. You could take all my music from me but I would still have music inside of me. 
And just now the jazz part of PIE's Skylines starts, oh goodness!

Thanks for bumping this chaps 
STICKYYITNAOOOOOOO!


----------



## tr0n (Jan 27, 2010)

Thanks for bumping, first time I read this. Very good indeed.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jan 27, 2010)

Fzau said:


> Not that I'm a Christian but not everything on that list is escapism.
> It's only escapism when you consciously use it to escape reality.
> Nothing wrong with food for example, but when people start to use it as a soothener for their life that's when it goes wrong methinks.
> Either way, this is a bit off-topic.. just PM me if you want more of my humanistic existentialist point of view
> ...



Correct my man, but a lot of people do in fact use food as a form of escapism daily. Under the definition of escapism, you will find those things listed


----------



## Fionn (Jan 27, 2010)

inspirational! sticky indeed!


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jan 27, 2010)

What do we want? - STICKY!

When do we want it? - NOW!

What do we want? - STICKY!

When do we want it? - NOW!


----------



## Cheesebuiscut (Jan 27, 2010)

That text in itself was art.

Yes plz.


----------



## synrgy (Jan 27, 2010)

I love that every time this gets bumped, I get thanked a bajillion more times. 

I'm SO glad everyone else has found this to be as great a read as I did.


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jan 27, 2010)

synrgy said:


> I love that every time this gets bumped, I get thanked a bajillion more times.
> 
> I'm SO glad everyone else has found this to be as great a read as I did.



I take cheque and Paypal


----------



## synrgy (Jan 27, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> I take cheque and Paypal



Sweet, so you can transfer some funds to me through Paypal as your way of saying thanks for the thread?


----------



## Fzau (Jan 27, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> Correct my man, but a lot of people do in fact use food as a form of escapism daily. Under the definition of escapism, you will find those things listed


 
I didn't say eating couldn't be a form of escapism 

STICKY THIS kthnxbai


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Jan 27, 2010)

synrgy said:


> Sweet, so you can transfer some funds to me through Paypal as your way of saying thanks for the thread?



I'll take a rain check


----------



## SerratedSkies (Jan 27, 2010)

I just read this, sitting at my work desk. Beautiful. One of the greatest things I've ever read.


----------



## CrashRG (Jan 27, 2010)

absolutely beautiful words. I don't think anyone could have ever worded it better than that.


----------



## eventhetrees (Jan 27, 2010)

Amazing and inspiring read, thanks a lot for posting it!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jan 27, 2010)

A sticky would be great. It's a thread that needs to be read by everybody who loves music.


----------



## samurai7drew (Jan 28, 2010)

I read this a while ago and loved it. I was quickly reminded of it today after watching Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" for the first time. There's a scene near the end where a woman averts suicide after being touched by the sound of a neighbors piano piece.

needz teh stickeh plz


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Feb 1, 2010)

STICKY NAO.


----------



## MikeH (Feb 2, 2010)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> A sticky would be great. It's a thread that needs to be read by everybody who loves music.



Even for those who don't love music as passionately as we do (even though I'm quite sure there's noone like that on these boards. ). This is by far the best analyzation of music I have ever read in my life.


----------



## Emperoff (Aug 15, 2010)

This thread needs no excuses to be bumped. Let the newbs enjoy it as well


----------



## cvinos (Aug 28, 2010)

I do not like the fact that this text is war-oriented. This renders it worthless for use in a really good time. To me the words patriotic and pathetic are the same. There is no meaning to me in a soldier's experience. They are all murderers to me, of their own will or forced. And moderators, note this is not trolling, I am entitled to this opinion having been in the army myself, fucking compulsory service. I think if there are aliens out there in the universe, they must think we humans are all pathetic following false values, generally being deceived by our contemporary generations.


----------



## kazawoochie (Aug 28, 2010)

uhhh, paging Dr. Buzzkill.


----------



## liamh (Aug 28, 2010)

I just listen to the stuff..


----------



## BlackMetalVenom (Aug 28, 2010)

Absolutely beautiful, thank you.


----------



## clouds (Aug 28, 2010)

One of the greatest things I've ever read.


----------



## TheSilentWater (Aug 29, 2010)

Sticky?


----------



## jaretthale78 (Aug 29, 2010)

ive got goosebumps....nice post


----------



## guitareben (Aug 29, 2010)

Wow. Just wow. One of the best posts ever


----------



## Durero (Aug 31, 2010)

One of the best things I've ever read!!!


----------



## bigswifty (Aug 31, 2010)

That was amazing.


----------



## Phyllo (Sep 2, 2010)

First time I read it, so much beautiful ;_;
"Words fail to describe"


----------



## cerdom (Sep 6, 2010)

I feel validated.


----------



## KrewZ (Sep 6, 2010)

Very inspiring, I sent that to my Band Director


----------



## getaspacejob (Sep 20, 2010)

It's true. I know that every day I spend playing music that I grow to love life a little more.


----------



## durangokid (Sep 20, 2010)

thanks for bumping this thread!
It's hands down the best text i've read in my whole life till now...
i've read it listening to ''this will destroy you-Happiness: We're in this together'', and some tears of joy came out of my eyes when i've read it, yeah, been a musician is really so awesome, and i can say, that i can't live without music not even some hours in a day, and i'll never stop listening to it, definately, music is the best way to connect with ourselves...

Thanks for this fabulous bump!


----------



## Arterial (Sep 20, 2010)

f*cking brutal post.


----------



## voxhumana (Feb 24, 2011)

This needs bumpage now!

Holy crap, this is awesome. Truly inspired, amazing, blah, blah...

Fuck it, don't waste time reading my words, read the original post. Again if needs be.


----------



## metalheadblues (Feb 24, 2011)

most profound wall of text I have ever read


----------



## Malkav (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm sorry to do this, but I'm necrobumping this thing because the OP is so fucking awesome.


----------



## Duelbart (Aug 24, 2011)

Do not be sorry, for you are doing absolutely the right thing. I am grateful.


----------



## Blasphemer (Aug 24, 2011)

That was amazing. Thank you.


----------



## Alejandro (Dec 13, 2011)

this was truly amazing... the best comment about music i've ever read in my entire life, and i bet it is the best comment i will ever read... thanks for showing us the real purpose of music, and i agree with you in every single way, music is the voice of the soul


----------



## RevDrucifer (Nov 2, 2012)

This thread needs to be bumped once a week....

Fucking best piece I've ever read about music. Period. 

I'm teary eyed.....

I've been considering musical therapy as a career for the past few years, reading that kind of gave me a kick in the ass.


----------



## CyborgSlunk (Nov 2, 2012)

Thanks for bumping, what a nice read!


----------



## kamello (Nov 3, 2012)

I vote for sticky


----------



## StewartEhoff (Nov 3, 2012)

Very motivating, thanks for sharing.


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 3, 2012)

How sad that nowadays people who sell themselves and their "talent" are called artists and musicians. Real artists are hidden somewhere, hoping their art will see the light of day someday.


----------



## Nile (Nov 4, 2012)

STICKY THIS THREAD.

Or put it on the home screen of SS.org or something. Its too good not to. Its what we are all here for isn't it? Music?


----------



## m3l-mrq3z (Nov 4, 2012)

Nile said:


> STICKY THIS THREAD.
> 
> Or put it on the home screen of SS.org or something. *Its too good not to. Its what we are all here for isn't it? Music?*



No, djent.


----------



## Takemyevil (Nov 5, 2012)

i vote for sticky!


----------



## mcleanab (Nov 18, 2012)

Another bump...

Right up there with Daniel Levitin's THE WORLD IN SIX SONGS...

Love it...


----------



## Nykur_Myrkvi (Nov 19, 2012)

In one word:

WOW.

In more words:

That was moving in a way I cannot even begin to describe.


----------



## goldsteinat0r (Nov 19, 2012)

Great post. Truly awesome. Thanks, OP.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Nov 19, 2012)

Saw this forever ago when I had first joined and was too lazy to read the damn thing. This is awesome. Thanks for posting. 

(Better late than never amirite?)


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr- (Nov 19, 2012)

Historically, internment camps are specifically designed to hold artists and remove their influence from society. It is their main cultural purpose. 
*To dispose of those that would uplift humanity.*

Not only in Nazi Germany, the Gulags archipelagos of Russia or the US interment of Japanese immigrants, but throughout history. 
Many fine works have been created during imprisonment by political prisoners, such is the nature of the artist given long periods of time with few distractions.

After all, how can men be remolded into ruthless automatons while the joys of music and the arts sonorously ring out the bells of liberty?

Interestingly, the firearm that American soldiers were issued, and are commonly depicted in the movies as liberating Europe with, was invented by a prisoner...

_David Marshall Williams_, invented key components of the M-1 Carbine during his stay, at the Judge's pleasure, in Caledonia State Prison Farm in Halifax County, North Carolina.







https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Marshall_Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbine_Williams

*You must read about his story, it's pretty amazing!*

*_Japanese internment - strangely, not heard any good records out of that one, it's just there for balance. I would guess the British kept all their camps overseas, military prisoners don't count, they are the only camps I know of on mainland Britain, off the cuff. I'll take a look to make sure I haven't let them off the hook for anything!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concentration_and_internment_camps#Wales




Wales

During the 1910s, there was a concentration camp in Frongoch, Merionethshire. First German POWs, then Irish political prisoners were held there. The prisoners were very poorly treated and Frongoch became a breeding ground for Irish revolutionaries.

Click to expand...


According to this, Canada has had quite a few!!!  So much for politeness, hockey and good manners! 

_*

Also, just posted in the current "Why racism exists thread" about Bluenote records. A jazz label primarily known for promoting the work of African American horn players, it was founded by German exiles who fled their homeland and immigrated to America, fearing the rise to power of national socialism.

Here's the link again, in case anyone wants to avoid any more dystopian threads.


----------



## budda (Nov 19, 2012)

How did I only find this now?


----------



## Splinterhead (Nov 19, 2012)

Stunning post. 

(as usual I'm late to the party)

I don't really care that if its about war, patriotism, religion... whatever. 
The truth of the matter is when humans are tested, truly tested, music has a way of helping us survive. Pretty cool.


----------



## RevDrucifer (Jun 10, 2013)

Bumping this because it needs to be read.....for the many who won't care, there are the few that do and who this pertains to...


----------



## getaway_fromme (Jun 10, 2013)

Funny, I was contemplating the same problem until I read this post. Thank you for the inspiration.


----------



## jehu12141987 (Jun 10, 2013)

Nice to see this dug up.


----------



## lemeker (Jun 10, 2013)

Worthy Bump, and awesome post.


----------



## jonajon91 (Aug 21, 2013)

There was a point half way through reading this that I almost cried. I was halfway though Devin Townsend's 'Ghost' which set the mood completely and I started thinking about one specific moment at my Grandads funeral where someone put on a backing track for a hymn and everyone kind of started reluctantly half singing. About two verses in the CD player cut out, but everyone kept on singing. I upped my volume enough to keep everyone going, but not to draw attention to myself. I just found it sad that something had gone wrong, but everyone made the best of it.


----------

