[Qeiafib]

great thread, everyone!

i've played and taught rock and blues guitar for decades, and also at one point became fairly proficient at old school scottish/celtic fiddle playing at one point in my life.

i'm also a great fan of baroque, classical and romantic era symphonic and chamber music. a good piece of music, regardless of genre, will often cause me to not only cry, but sob uncontrollably!

a 'good' piece of music is, of course, subjective to the listener -- my sons will often exhibit the same emotional response to 'cop killing, ftw and hate all women' style rap music that i do with my music, although i personally find that style of rap repulsive.

many kids are angry with the world they find themselves in, and somehow this resonates. is this music intrinsically evil?

all paths being equal, it seems to me that this music draws out their anger, and perhaps in some way allows some kids to explore the dark depths of their anger and feelings of alienation, perhaps preventing a more dangerous form of self-expression?

i don't know. but i know my kids are all basically loving people, trying to find peace and accomodation with the world, as do many of us. they play their music for me, and laugh at my distaste as they try to scandalize me. when they ask if i think it is evil, i answer, "whatever resonates with you and draws you along your own path of evolution, so be it."

some of the rap they dig (oh, no, i'm really showing my age! ) is surprisingly tender, touching and loving as well.

perhaps they do well to discover, in the world of 'violent' rap music, that they are not alone in the world with their anger and distaste of certain conditions they experience in life. it's not for me to judge anyone else's chosen path in life. sometimes, in order to make spiritual gain in the world, people have to start where they may have left off, so to speak, at whatever tonal level they have been at in prior life experiences.

i often think of those who have died violently in wars after brutal suffering, and after witnessing the worst of human behavior. i imagine that many people in the world today have suffered these experiences in their recent past. who among them wouldn't need to express the horrors of their experiences, or resonate with expressions thereof, to begin the healing?

music is indeed a powerful tool for becoming.