WMV Music Web Log

Carl, I agree in principle with your observations about art and spirituality. But I'm not sure about this in terms of music being produced and consumed in practice.

It would appear that it is the rare musician who can both move people spiritually and make a decent living from just doing music. It's a lucky composer, for example, who is both supported by a well-heeled person or family or institution and also turns out music that moves the human spirit. Many would say Bach (supported by the church) and Mozart and Beethoven (supported, I believe, by the aristocracy) are examples of this. Not everyone on the planet, however, is moved by their music, even the "best" of it.

Now, in this day and age, can we say, for example, that the corporations who appear to own popular singers and musicians are supporting music that can move the human soul?

Probably yes, in some instances. So much, however, depends on the listener's own tastes. I can listen to a song and be irritated to the core, while my neighbor may love to hear it over and over. Having a high regard for my own taste, I tend to ask: Is it the soul of my neighbor that is being affected, or something else more basic, or even vulgar? But if I try to be fair to my neighbor, I must also ask: What is the line, or the distinction, between "physical" and "spiritual"? Or, from another angle: Are there not aspects of both the physical and the spiritual in human beings that may be considered reflections of the goodness of humanity?

Thanks again for your thoughtful and thought-provoking observations!

Mike Strand