Surrounded.

By Charlie Ford (a Salem Academy student)

As you walk through the mall in the early morning, it wafts above your head. It empathizes with your road rage as you merge onto the exit, screaming along. Blasting into your ears as your foot catches the treadmill below, pushing you further. It serenades the wasted minutes spent on hold with the health insurance rep. When your lids begin to grow heavy with sleep, it’s there to lull you deeper. Music has become an omnipresent force that accompanies us in even the most menial of tasks. In a culture that’s no stranger to overconsumption, the idea of silence has become almost prehistoric. What competition is the chirping of birds to the runs of Ariana Grande? 

Prior to the current digitalization of music, it was a deliberate luxury to pop a CD into the car radio or put a record on during a dinner party. It was an experience in and of itself. To dissect the symbolism in each lyric, notice the heartbeat-like rhythm of the bass, and wonder how many times the chorus would repeat before fading into nothing. To sit in a concert hall with the raw intention of listening. History proves that music has always been meant to be absorbed consciously, felt and daydreamed and danced to, resonated with. This is a code of conduct that has been lost within this rise of the digital age.

In our current media-riddled society, it has become incredibly easy to accept constant stimulation as the norm. Oftentimes, we are even deprived of consent in listening to music. There is no riding an elevator or walking into a grocery store without being graced with a bright jingle.

Now, more than ever before, the consumption of music is largely unintentional and completely unavoidable. Rather than an enlightening pastime, we are witnessing this art becoming simply a secondary component to activities deemed more fulfilling. Why read your book, walk your dog, or sob in silence when you can do it accompanied by the comforting belts of Adele?

Have we so horribly misinterpreted the ways music is meant to be digested? While this can be viewed as a gluttonous phenomenon to occur amongst the mass media, it would be unfair to compare each culture of consumption given the polar contexts. Though easy to denounce and blame digital platforms, at some point we must accept the new value and presence of music. With this, it is important to remember that you are ultimately in control of your own consciousness while listening. We can do our best to regulate and find equilibrium in our listening activity, but this article begs simply for consciousness. Listen intentionally.