Iqra Saleem
Joseph M. Dickens
ENGL 1113
29 October 2015
Summary 5 Mark Edmundson is his article “Can Music Save Your Life,” discusses how the effect of music provides constantly revelation of emotions which seems like a basic human right to everyone which we should exercise for our own pleasure. The author refers to different musicians who built their opinion about the melody of songs on one’s life decisions in his text. He also raises the question about what roles does music plays in peoples’ life or why they listen to that kind of music? And does music save our lives? Can music still kick open a door in our mind? Music helps us think about things differently and helps us through difficult times in our lives. It brings drama in our lives and makes students able to prevent boredom in their lives. Therefore, it is compulsory to listen to music which makes you feel gratified and contented inside as well as outside the world regardless of others liking it.
The author experienced that he had heard different songs before but by listening to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” he was not only enjoying the melodious tones but also got puzzled about a language of it. He says that he could sense the signer been betrayed by someone and that his words were intense and angry which made author listened to it 50 times or so and helped got over it. On the other hand, throughout the author’s life, he was not sure what things he wanted in his life to satisfy –whether it was a desire to have girlfriend, a motivation to be an athlete, or to have smooth relationship with God- which ended up turning his all inner unstable emotions to radio and came back out making sense of melodious songs. Edmundson shifts his tone to sad songs by referring to Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” which according to him did not exorcize his sorrows in life, but gave his sadness a benign expression by putting in an attractive box. Sad music makes people feel their sorrows from a distance; it gives harmony to feelings. The author says that music is all about theme and variation that brings coherency in life which he did not find in any of Coltrane’s late work. Later on, he explains question: Do we hide our fears under music? And does music save our lives? by saying music does not save lives, but it may help us think about things differently which made us change our life decisions.
At the end, the author talks about Allen Bloom, who believed music as an experience of drugs and to fabricate joy. Author noticed that his students live inside of music but do not talk about it as much as other subjects of life; it brings drama into their stressful and boring routine. The author talks about two different people: Musicians and silent apostles, and suggest that we should not only spend time-consuming music but also act as a creator because everyone has right to sing music –though no one should be compelled to listen to it.