Nick Schmeichel

Music is the rhythm of life. Everyone enjoys music, no matter what the genre. Music brings a purpose to life. Could anyone imagine the world without music? The reason for this column is to place a new perspective into the minds of the masses, a new perception on how music will change lives; to let people know that they should enjoy music to its fullest and not disregard any style.

I was originally going to write a column about the rap/hip-hop industry and how its music has taken a drastic change for the worse. When I started writing this column I thought to myself, “Who am I to judge?” I looked at music with a different perception. I may not enjoy that type of music, but others may find it very influential.

I was watching MTV yesterday, and I witnessed one of the most mind-numbing videos I have ever seen. Nelly has a new single out that places focus on his platinum teeth, or “grill.” I sat in amazement at the atrocity of the music being displayed before me. I couldn’t believe that someone had stooped so low as to create a piece of music that placed emphasis on someone’s teeth; however, I began to process the moment in my head. Who am I to judge this music? To some people, this music could be very influential to the lives they are living.

I immediately began to think about all of the people in the past who I have despised because of their lack for appreciation for the music that I enjoy. I have heard every blasphemous word possible about the music I listen to, although I am somewhat of a music connoisseur myself. I have heard people say that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were not the people who fueled Led Zeppelin, but it was their drummer, John Bonham, who was the influential piece of the band. I have heard that Jimi Hendrix was a “phony” because he stole Buddy Guy’s style. I have heard that Kurt Cobain was a drugged-out hack. I have heard that Anthony Kiedis was the worst front man in rock history. These words kept playing in my mind. I realized these words were coming from the same type of rock culture junkies that I am.

I realized nobody has the ability to say any of these things. Every piece of music brings its own style to the collective table. No band or musical artist is alike. No two people will have the exact same perspective on an artist’s music, and that is what makes music one of the greatest things in the world. Every listener can listen to a piece of music and find a different perspective in it.

Music is taken in the same way life is. Everyone has a different opinion on it. I believe that music is one of the greatest things in the world. I couldn’t survive without it. However, someone in this world thinks the exact opposite, which is what makes this world so great.

Jim Morrison said, “The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.” Music gives a person the possibility to open new doors in their life, but these doors will only remain open to people who have the ability to experience everything. Take the time to experience everything. If you don’t enjoy it, you at least have the ability to say you’ve experienced it. A person who doesn’t experience something before judging it is only judging the unknown.