When you're in many commercial spaces--box stores, coffee shops, what have you--music plays at a low volume from overhead speakers. Often, you can make out the vocals and a little bit of the musical textures, but we all automatically tune this music out without even noticing it. I think this is part of the reason live musicians (who aren't the focal point of a concert you paid $50 to see) are so constantly neglected. Not only do music listeners have three lifetime's worth of music available to them in rampant digital formats--they are unwittingly conditioned to hear music as a background soundtrack that simply adds atmosphere.
That is not to say there aren't still dedicated music listeners who focus on the song that's playing Now and nothing else; those folks are still with us, and may they prosper. But I believe that our American lifestyles are conditioning the majority of us to turn music into a mere element of atmosphere and not a source of spiritual enhancement or thought provocation. Do you agree?
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A Jaunty Exploration of Northwest Folk Blues Music
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