Most everyone loves music. There are some lyrics or rhythms that make us respond by bouncing, dancing and, sometimes, even trying to sing along. My wife and I will be riding somewhere and out of the blue I will start (try) to sing a song, a song I will only know a line or two of. If I repeat that line too many times she will ask me to stop. Sometimes she likes the song well enough that she will share the rest of the lines with me and we may try to sing it together. She loves music and when she finds a station on TV that has oldies, or opera, she will listen all evening to it.
There are concerts and there are concerts. There are concerts where the classics are performed and then there are concerts, of today, who perform music that is popular among the younger generations. I don’t remember ever going to a concert. The idea of going has never excited me, even though most all of my children and now my grandchildren think concerts are one of the coolest things to do. It may be an exciting experience for them, but if anyone were to ask me, I would not agree that the sound was amazing. One critic stated; “Why! Because it wasn’t amazing. The sound at ‘live shows’ is mostly bad. Usually it’s awful. The biggest reason why it is, is because they just need to turn the dang PA system down. There’s a macho need among venue operators to create the most noise possible, fearing otherwise that people somehow won’t feel like they were at a concert. This is even worse at rock concerts, where bands actually used to battle to push the decibel meter past 100, the PA system equivalent of 11 on a Spinal Tap amp. The problem is, this makes the PA vomit out a noise that sounds like a hand grenade and chainsaw battling in a giant dumpster.” Back to me! I thought that the only reason I had that same feeling was because I am an old man but when I get confirmation from an expert, I’m confident that I am right.
I may pass by a concert channel on TV when I hear that loud cacophony and think how can those young people listen to that. I have a sweet young granddaughter that loves to attend concerts and she will pay a lot of money for tickets. I wonder how such a sweet young lady can listen to that noise. To that, I can only say, “To each his own!” But I do agree that most everyone loves music of one kind or another. I have an 87 year old neighbor, who, at least four days a week, travels to nursing homes or senior citizen centers where he plays a Banjo with others who sing and play instruments for the enjoyment of the elderly. I like a lot of western music but I can “take or leave” Banjo music.
Most all of my adult life, I had a large and very nice yard, that some would even say, it was beautiful. I spent much time caring for it. While working in my yard I often sang one of the old songs that I knew as a youth. I could only remember a line or two but I would repeat it over and over till even I became tired of hearing it. Every once in a while, my wife would come to the door and say to me, will you please stop singing that same line over and over. While I worked our sweet little dog would always be lying nearby but she never seemed to mind my repetitive singing. Yes, I believe everyone loves one kind of music or another, even though the other’s music may drive them away. There is a song that includes the words, “To each his own …etc.” but that’s all that I can remember of it. And I’m not even embarrassed about it, why! “To each his own”, applies to all music lovers.” Because I know my one liners are no worse than the cacophony from young people’s concerts. They are blasphemy to my ears. Music, in general, is beautiful but like food it depends on our individual appetites.