Nobody Listens To Music Anymore

Nobody listens to music anymore.

People say they do. In fact, when you ask most people what kind of music they like, they say. "Oh, I listen to everything." Well, besides that fact that nobody listens to everything, I think most barely even hear what they purport to listen to. We have music all around us almost all the time, to the point where we don't even notice it. I may be better than average at actually listening,  but I find myself doing it too. I have some music on and suddenly realize that I don't remember the last couple of songs. Or I put on headphones and actually try to listen to something but then I start feeling guilty that I'm not doing something. Well, dammit, I am doing something! I'm listening to music! There's a verb in that sentence...that proves it!

Back a hundred years or so ago, before recordings and radio became so easily accessible, if you wanted to hear music you had to leave your house and go someplace where music was being played. Or you learned to play an instrument and made your own. Music was special because you had to pursue it. It wasn't just there at your fingertips. Music now is too much of a "thing": a chair, a lamp, a wallet...an iPod.

I'm not saying we should toss our mp3 players. All I'm saying is that sometimes, maybe we should turn off the tunes. Save them for a time when there are no other distractions. A time when we can sit down and relax and just...appreciate.

You hear music all the time. When was the last time you simply listened?