You know that feeling you get when you listen to a really good song? You close your eyes and let the music engulf you. It takes you out of your head and brings you to a place of peace, the ultimate zen. Few artists are able to transport listeners to another place, but when they do, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s what gives
music power.

When I think of powerful music, I think of the 1960s counterculture. It was an explosion of creativity and artful music that spoke of peace and love in a time of domestic and foreign turmoil. It gave rise to one of the most epic music festivals in history, Woodstock, where people peacefully enjoyed music for three days straight. 

The Beatles sparked this Rock Revolution, inspiring many people to start bands and make music. While they sang of love, everyone interprets the meaning of lyrics differently; the Beatles had the hearts of young girls and unfortunately Charles Manson, who convinced a whole “family” of people that the Beatles were speaking to them, told them to start a black-white revolution, and they listened.

The interpretation of the Beatles’ music led them to commit some of the most gruesome murders of all time. So music has the power to do good and bad; it’s all in how we listen. 

Mythically, it holds power too. In “The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice,” Eurydice dies and Orpheus goes into the underworld for her and plays a song.“That was the first time ever in all the world,  The Furies wept.” 

The gods of the underworld, the Furies, allowed him to reclaim his love and bring her back to life if only he didn’t look back. It’s beautiful, really, how much power music has held for so long.

However, listening to the most popular music of today, I can’t help but think about the lost art of writing; the songs that become hits have the same meaning and feel to them, making them nearly
indistinguishable. 

The counterculture, on the other hand, gave rise to creative bands, each distinctly different from one another. Musicians were unapologetically themselves, masters of their craft. 

NMU students value the lost art of writing and music making; students here appreciate live
music and jam bands, understanding and supporting the art of
making music. 

Music has the power to bring people together; at NMU, music appreciation feels like a collective identity students share, which is a rare and special thing.

Cameryn Cass is a freshman, undeclared major.