A couple of nights ago I found myself in Brixton, London at an Imagine Dragons concert. And in addition to the incredible show the band put on, and I mean incredible, absolutely incredible, the lead singer, Dan Reynolds, said a very profound thing, “Music is the world’s fastest communicator”.
Worth saying again, ‘Music is the world’s fastest communicator’. Just stop and have a think about that.
In the last few days this has just played over and over in my mind and I think about the friendships I have made over the years and yes many of them are in no way related to music at all, in fact if I think about it carefully I have absolutely no idea what type of music some of my closest friends even listen to. But then there are the friendships that have formed and grown on the basis of music. The passing comment of ‘have you heard this song?’ to ‘oh my word, there’s this new band, you HAVE to listen to them’ or the casual YouTube link here and there. Well those relationships take a complete different form. Music adds a dimension that so many friendships sadly miss. They say that a picture speaks a thousand words. If that is the case a song speaks a million words.
Which brings me to my next thought, in what way could we use music as a means to communicate ideas and how could we take this form of creation and use it to facilitate reconciliation and growth in our societies? Just imagine a world were music was used to influence the lives of people in a positive way, to mend broken relationships or to break down barriers. Yes, I am perfectly aware that music may already do this but imagine if this was done on a much larger scale, across nations and political divides instead of in the trifling matters of our individual everyday lives.
Anyway, this is not some idealist ‘let’s change the world’ rant. Just a casual thought mixed with perhaps a little bit of hope. Ironically, I am listening to a song with no words, how that is going to change the world I do not know but as a wise person once said, “Sometimes there are no words…”
Serious Underground Dance Vibes - Twin Atlantic
The River - Imagine Dragons
