Thank you for the music: World Music Day

Music is said to soothe the savage beast, however, over the years music seems to have, in fact, created quite a beast within us all. Not a day goes by for anyone of us without listening to a song or humming a tune and if we are lucky enough shaking a leg too.

Over the years, music has changed and how!! From the wonderful instrumental pieces from Bach and Mozart to the vivacious and sexy numbers from Beyonce and JLo! From the beautiful lyrics of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole to the loud and in-your-face rap numbers of Eminem and Snoop Dog! Music has definitely come a long way.

June 21 is celebrated as 'World Music Day or as its famously called 'The Fête de la Musique', was first broached by American musician Joel Cohen in 1976. Cohen proposed an all-night music celebration on the year's longest day, the summer solstice. And now, its celebrated all over the world on the very same day with much fervour.

Celebration and music go hand-in-hand, no celebration is complete without music and music itself is in complete without a celebration. So, today, on World Music Day, I would like list out the way music changed the way the world and made it sit up and listen.

Lets go back to the day when music was all about instrumental pieces, the era of Baroque music and the era of Romantic Music. Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven composed the most beautiful music not only for their era but for centuries to come. Till now, their compositions signify grace, dignity, sophistication and eliteness, a charm very few understand in today's day and age.

Classical music, as it is commonly called, helped pave the way for a relaxation of sorts among not just the elite but all strata of society. Yes, it was basically meant to please the rich and keep them entertained, but it was also the link between different sections of society.

With the break of a new dawn in the 20th century, many new genres of music made their entry, not just in the music world, but also in the hearts of people. A new era had begun an era of Jazz, Rock and Roll, Country Music, Blues, Soul.

Renowned music legends, if I may call them, like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bob Crosby, The Eagles, The Beach Boys, Peter Paul and Mary, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Bob Marley, these musicians changed the way people everywhere listened to music. They brought in rebellious attitude towards music with their rock, they made it easier for one to profess their undying love with their poetical lyrics they made the world realize it was okay to be who you are and what you want to be.

It was infact the music of the 20th century that brought up many issues like apartheid, women liberation etc. It was definitely the era of the 'Flower Power'. Freedom through music was the one common binding factor crossing all races, all countries. It became a way to voice one's opinion, to fight for what you believed in, to 'Get up, Stand up, Stand up for your rights'.

Enter the 21st century and music picked up pace in tempo and somewhere down the line took a few steps back in the lyrical department. Trance, Pop, Heavy Metal, Rap, Hip hop, all rose to the top in during this time.

Vanilla Ice broke the 'all black' barrier in the rap genre, making it 'cool' for the so called 'white' folks to indulge in the not-so-sophisticated, let-yourself-loose rap music. Then came Eminem, the more than just famous white rapper, with his hardcore words and the censored lyrics! After Eminem, rap has become a worldwide rage with not just Americans but Indians, French, Africans coming up with raps songs in their native tongue.

Heavy Metal was made famous by bands White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Kiss, Queen etc. They all added their rebellious attitude towards life and music. They gave people a new way to vent out at the world by singing in a way which sounds like random yelling, but if you listen carefully, the lyrics are still simply wonderful. The youth started to feel a connection to this particular genre of music because it highlighted the rebel in them.

But the music genre currently scorching the music charts all around the world are Hip Hop, Pop and Rhythm & Blues. Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga are me just naming a few. Their music is upbeat, the lyrics catchy. It's the perfect combination to keep your spirits high.

So, music has definitely changed over the years, with the tempo, the lyrics, the emotions, the basic tunes having turned a completely new leaf.

But at the end, whether its classical music, whether its Jazz, Rock, Hip Hop, Pop, Heavy Metal, whatever, it's still unites one and all. It was, still is and will always remain not just entertainment but something much more than that.

On World Music Day I would personally like to thank all the music legends for having given us music and to quote the lyrics of a popular Abba Song, I end with

 "Thank you for the music,

 the songs I'm singing,

 Thanks for all the joy they're bringing.

 Who can live without it,

 I ask in all honesty,

 What would life be?

Without a song or a dance what are we?

So I say thank you for the music

For giving it to me"