The survey included 6,853 youth and young adults throughout the world who, when asked if they don’t feel spiritual in places of worship, where do they? Their responses, "Spending time in nature,” (top answer) and "Listening to or playing music," (number 2). “Attending religious services" was ninth on the list of the top 12 most-frequent answers.

Nature. I wonder if we “adults” are wise enough to grasp the implications of this youthful response where nature is concerned. Sure, what can be seen and felt in nature empirically holds spiritual significance, but how does what can be seen compare with what can be heard in nature? Nature is a realm of the purist and most honest music to be heard. As Emerson said, "Nature makes no noise. The howling storms, the rustling leaf, the pattering rain, are no disturbance; there is an essential and unexplored harmony in them... Every sound is music now... Each tree is a harp which resounds all night-though some have but a few leaves left to flutter & hum."

If we were to model our houses of worship and our religious and spiritual rituals on nature’s “unexplored harmony” instead of man-made dogma, allowing for only unfiltered light to shine on us all, what would the implications be and would our young people find refuge again, instead of doubt and hypocrisy? Our very brightest and best don’t trust what we’ve created, what we’ve insisted is sacrosanct and love-bound. What if we listened to our younger minds and allowed them to witness to us and embrace with them the natural elements of light and love?

Music. Are we, who are setting the agendas of our spiritual institutions, willing to finally listen to our young people? Listen to them and their music- not our music, but theirs? What are we saying to those young musicians and music lovers when we tell them certain music is or isn’t acceptable? What gives us the right to deny them music’s inherently spiritual nature just because we may find it not to our liking or not acceptable to what we’ve been told is some standard? We’ve shut ourselves off from our youth and music’s very sacredness itself through sheer audacity and a forgotten halcyon bravado from long ago (our own youths, maybe?) that’s long needed a jolt of veracity and which can put a jump back into the frailest of steps- if we simply give up our insistence that we know what’s best.

If we were to fashion our celebrations of enthusiasm (the word enthusiasm originates from the two words, "enthios" and "iasm", which translates to "the God within") and be reminded that “the kingdom is within” not without, how would our music be different and how would our spirituality be made richer? We are afraid to celebrate ourselves and “God within” because of all we’ve been taught through the ages by religious intuitions. Isn’t it time for music itself to be an institution in which we all can come, face to face again with the truth?

Our young people are leading the way, showing us the way, and we would be served wisely to listen to them, nurture them and what they have to say and sing instead of continuing to bury our heads in the sand or think we’re really making a difference with our, “yes, but….” approach to religious and spiritual instruction. How long will we ignore studies such as the one conducted by The Search Institute with overwhelming evidence we’re abandoning our children and young adults by ignoring their desires and appeals for meetings of the heart, not minds.

This should be a call to every musician and music lover joining us here at RockOm and at other such groups and associations exploring the bonds between music and spirituality to look again at the roles we play and the obligations owed to those we influence. We shouldn’t shrink from what our young people are asking from us and of us. They ask to hear what we have to offer and for us to hear them, and all the gifts they, too, have to share. Perhaps in listening more deeply and with more sincerity we can all grow in concert, both young and old, into a field where age, color and creed disappear altogether.

By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net

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With originality, virtuosity and confidence the quartet creates a musical masala of Indian classical, jazz, funk and chill out… a music so masterly yet playful blended, that it has found a place in the hearts of listeners from the East, the West and beyond.

Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Prem Joshua is a pioneer in the field of world music, exploring and creating a new synthesis in music beyond the borders of East and West. This has earned him the title of the “Fusion Guru”.

He was born in Germany, his search for his owns spirituality, and music style has taken him to such countries as Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan and India. Coming from his western roots in Rock and Jazz, he performed in various bands world-over, but soon his spiritual and musical search brought him to the east. He has been living, studying and playing music in the Middle East and mainly India for more than 20 years. Especially his meeting with the mystic-genius Osho in India brought him in contact with meditation and his “inner music”. Among the master musicians he has been influenced by and learning from are sitar masters Ustad Usman Khan and Ravi Shankar, who brought him in contact with Indian classical music.

In India, he spent many years dedicating him to meditation and study of Indian classical and folk music. There he started playing traditional instruments such as the Persian Santoor (a hammered dulcimer), Dilruba (an ancient Indian bowed instrument), and the Bansuri (Indian bamboo flute).

Drawing inspiration from the deep wells of these ancient eastern traditions he never loses touch with the pulse of contemporary western music, such as electronic “trance music” or the recent developments in “world music”. This openness to different musical influences from all over the world creates an unusual yet very harmonious blend of exotic acoustic music with modern grooves and sounds. His musical merger brought him recognition by critics, music lovers and press in the east and west especially in India he is celebrated as the new “guru of fusion”.

When asked about his music Joshua replied, “For me, music has always been something spiritual, a chance to express something wonderful that cannot be said, something that makes you feel so alive, that gets you on your feet but ultimately leads you to a silent space within.”

In 1990, Joshua formed the world music band “Terra Incognito” releasing two albums, “No Goal but the Path” and “Tribal Gathering”. In 1993 he released his first solo album “Tale of a Dancing River” followed in 1994 by “Hamsafar,” on which he leads a group of internationally renowned musicians from eight different countries in an impressive world fusion project.

With his music Prem Joshua has toured all over the world, giving concerts in the USA, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, India and the whole of Europe.

By RnM team. Reprinted with permission.

Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Dakini-Lounge-Prem-Joshua-Remixed/dp/B0000CERM1
http://www.premjoshua.com/

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Our commitment to serve others through music took us to San Francisco in September of 2008 to cover the Seva Foundation’s 30^th Anniversary Benefit Concert where Seva co-founders Larry Brilliant and Wavy Gravy joined musicians Ruthie Foster, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Crosby and Nash, Los Lobos, Hot Tuna and others to celebrate 30 years of music helping serve Seva and the Seva Foundation’s doctors, nurses, social workers, caregivers, staff and volunteers serving others worldwide.

While in the Bay area we had the extraordinary privilege to wander the streets of San Anselmo with tabla Master Zakir Hussain and then sit with him in the offices of Moment! Records as he shared his story of musical instruction at his father’s side, traveling to America and performing during the 60’s with a who’s who of rock musicians in the Bay area, and his time spent with John McLaughlin and Mickey Hart in the bands Shakti, Remember Shakti and the Global Drum Project. Zakir Hussain spoke with us about classical Indian music, Shiva’s dance of destruction and the sound of the universe unfolding as well as his experiences with musicians Bela Fleck, Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, George Harrison, The Grateful Dead, David Crosby and Steven Stills, Grace Slick, Mickey Hart, Santana, Babatunde Olantunji, Airto Moreira and Hamza Al-Din. What a privilege to spend time in Zakir’s presence, learn from all he had to teach us, and then be able to share this with you.

While in the Bay area we were also invited into the home of drummer Gabriel Harris of Rhythm Village to explore his experiences in Africa, his instruction under the great Babatunde Olantunji  and his time spent instructing others through drumming circles. Gabriel shared his thoughts on group musical experiences and his hope that soon, everyone who desires to do so will be able to share their gifts of music with the world via the internet (Gabriel’s interview will be coming up at RockOm in the very near future).

If that weren’t enough, RockOm had the unique opportunity while in the area to sit with New-age musician Steven Halpern. Steven Halpern is known as one of the fathers of New Age music through his bestselling album Chakra Suite. Steven invited us into his home where we spent time exploring the origins of his music, his thoughts on Eastern mysticism, “rockin’ to the Om” and the various techniques used in healing through music. Steven has been recognized by Keyboard magazine as "one of the 30 most influential keyboard artists of the past 50 years." He has influenced two generations of recording artists and music therapists, and has performed and recorded with a who’s who of well-known musicians including Paul Horn, Paul McCandless, Babatunde Olatunji, Al DiMeola, Larry Coryell, Rick Derringer and Georgia Kelly. Steven Halpern’s feature will also be up at RockOm in the very near future.

In our piece, Social Change and the Power of Music we had the highest honor to bring you words from Ram Dass on the Seva Foundation’s early beginnings, as well as the power of music for social change. Again, from half-way around the world we connected with Ram Dass in order to share with you the awesome power of music. Ram Dass has been very inspirational to us here at RockOm. You might even say Ram Dass is greatly responsible for RockOm’s very existence as his work and words helped shape our notions of the sacred years ago to the path and work we are presently engaged in.

The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Ricky McKinnie spoke with us recently about the four-time Grammy Award winning quartet’s rich history in gospel music. The Blind Boys are nominated for a fifth Grammy Award for their latest album, Down In New Orleans. Ricky McKinnie’s thoughts on sacred music are about as powerful as they come. “When it comes down to music, there’s always something that can be done. There are no boundaries when it comes down to music. We have to realize that God is. God is everything. God is hope.”

Our time spent with the bands Emery and Hawthorne Heights (Hawthorne Heights feature will be up the second week in January) was an exceptional experience in that RockOm was able to connect with a more contemporary, youthful group of musicians whose hearts and music are in the right place. Linking up with these two ensembles opened up avenues for us to explore and share how music of a more forceful and sometimes misunderstood nature harbors its own, unique sacredness and reminds us to "never judge a book by its cover."

RockOm produced its first music compilation project, The Offering - A RockOm Compilation, Vol. 1. The project is a musical ride through the lands of spiritual rock, metaphysical pop, ethereal world music and conscious jazz. These twelve tracks from featured artists at RockOm.net ("the crossroads of music and spirituality") were woven together to tell a narrative of consciousness turning inward, meeting what's within and journeying back out. The artists and songs on this compilation span a wide array of diverse styles and genres, yet hold a common thread as each proclaims a spiritual truth or essence, drawing the listener to that which is deeper than surface-level.

In addition to the twelve album tracks, The Offering also includes seven bonus tracks including additional cuts by the artists, a track from RockOm's president Trevor Harden, a spoken word piece and a guided exercise. A portion of the proceeds from The Offering will go to support the Seva Foundation (www.seva.org).

For all of us at RockOm, and we hope for you as well, the past year has been quite a musical odyssey filled with adventure, inviolability and a most special tutoring beyond our wildest imagination. It is our experience that music, by its very nature, is spiritual. There isn’t any litmus tests melody and harmony must pass to be regarded as sacred or divine. Music, regardless of origin or creed constitutes something magical and profound if it only takes us out of our normal, day to day existence. If it lifts us, lifts our spirits just a little higher than before, or draws our awareness inward for reflection, for remembrance or tranquility then hasn’t it performed a most profound miracle? What does that say for the role of the musician in today's ever shrinking world? Might we be wielding something incredibly more powerful than ever imagined and perhaps help liberate others, if only for mere moments, perhaps even a lifetime by letting our music flow? What more can we ask from music and our role musicians than this?

Thank you for being here, now - with us. We look forward to the months ahead and for another most amazing and mystical year filled with the indescribable essence of music.

By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net

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For certain, RockOm is looking forward and moving in a fresh and imaginative direction to serve you, our users with the highest of intentions. Music matters and songs can make a difference. We believe music still has the power to change individuals and therefore the world in ways not yet witnessed. Our desire is for you, as a musician or as a music lover, to connect with others around the world creating an integral ensemble of positive change through sharing, learning more about and expanding the gift of music.

Looking back to January 2008 at RockOm’s inception it’s hard to imagine; we literally must pinch ourselves to believe how RockOm has been welcomed in such a short time and how doors have opened on our dream to be a platform for exploring the bonds between music and spirituality.

We remember our very first request for an interview with multi-Grammy Award winner Ricky Skaggs. The fine folks at Skaggs Family Records answered us immediately with a resounding, “Why sure!” Mr. Skaggs proved to be a true Kentucky gentleman and warmly welcomed RockOm backstage after a two-hour, sold out concert where he opened his heart in speaking about the power of music.

Abigail Washburn of The Sparrow Quartet may be a young, tiny musician, but her wisdom runs “old-school” and her presence is larger than life, especially when she sings and plays her banjo. Being able to sit with Abigail and discuss her thoughts on how music can transcend barriers and cultures, her work with musicians in China and then to follow up with her later about her experience performing in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympic games were quite prominent and revealing moments.

Roy Wooten, or Futureman as he’s better known from his performing with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, really rocked our world before a concert in May. Futerman shared with us in lightening speed descriptions of the notion of spirals and spiraling, the Pythagorean theory, Rodin’s concept of numbers and order as well as his take on The Big Bang and The Big O!

One can’t say enough about Krishna Das and his influence on sacred music. Having Krishna Das speak with us about the blues, the Rolling Stones and kirtan, and his time spent with Neem Karoli Baba was revealing. Krishna Das took time out to help simplify what can be a complicating concept to grasp - our notions of holy music and how song and chant are such powerful vehicles in connecting us with the divine.

Sister Hazel’s Ken Block made us laugh and reminded us to not take life too seriously with the description of Sister Hazel's diverse influence and projects such as the development of Inner-Peace Corp (spiritual diversity uniting), Operation Swan Dive (parachuting out of planes for charity causes!), and Rock The Boat (how many bands can one fit on a cruise ship?). Ken Block, like us all, will grow older, but he’ll still be smiling and laughing when he’s 80 and probably still making great music with Sister Hazel!

We were fortunate enough to spend some time with Vanguard Recording Artist Trevor Hall on three different occasions. Trevor shared with us his firmly held conviction about how "everything is meditation" as well as his vivid description of his time spent in India. Trevor also spoke about his love of music and how songs flow through him as well as how the Almighty influences his life in profound and beautifully musical ways.

2008 Grammy Nominee Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya was kind enough to speak with us from half-way around the world in India and then again before a concert where he was debuting “Song of Life,” a piece he performed along with master guitarists Derek Trucks, Jerry Douglas, Bob Brozman. Best wishes to Debashish this February with the Grammys!

The passionate and ever-giving Christine Stevens from UpBeat Drum Circles inspired us with her knowledge of and devotion to sacred drumming and imparted exciting scientific data documenting how drumming and music changes our being, from the inside out. Christine’s commitment and service to the people of Iraq moves us deeply. She has twice been to Iraq to help heal and inspire war-torn women and children through the Ashti Drum Project. While in Iraq Christine and her team served children with their music through Kurdistan Save the Children, as well as Iraqi women at two shelters in Suliyamania. Thanks, Christine, for your service in Iraq and for being our friend.

The legendary Ms. Odetta took time out to speak with us just before she left this world in November. It is a moment we will never forget. How fortunate we all are for her being, for her voice and for her songs. I’ll never forget how she quelled my nerves before our interview by saying, “Honey, you just talk to me like I’m your grand-momma.” God bless Ms. Odetta for blessing us all with her voice. We are better human beings having known her song.

The time we spent with Don Campbell, author of the New York Times Best-selling book The Mozart Effect was a learning experience to say the least. Don Campbell, the author of 22 books, has been a leader in music’s transformational powers for 30 years. His journey in the spirituality of sound as an interfaith minister includes a degree in church music and choral conducting, and as director of the Institute for Music, Health, and Education, he has taken students to Tibet, Russia, France, Jerusalem, Bali, and England to explore the powers of chant, tone, and sacred music. Don is a walking encyclopedia of musical knowledge and his vast experiences teaching others around the world taught us so very much.

Over The Rhine’s Linford Detweiler spoke with us about the band's newest release, The Trumpet Child, and the biblical imagery and whimsical political musings within. In the band’s bio there’s a quote which reads, "Every song has to be good, every record has to be great, every concert has to have some spiritual significance, something we can't quantify and something bigger than all of us." Over The Rhine impressed us with their humbleness and devotion to serving others through music.

Johnette Napolitano, formerly of Concrete Blond, shared how she’s reconciled the past with the present and how she’s using her music and her art to shape today and the future in a direction that’s liberating and more sacred for her. Johnette’s recent poetry, lyrics and art speak volumes above her past accomplishments and we look forward to witnessing her grow as an artist.

By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net

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Brick Johnstone, a University of Missouri neurophysiologist, released a study early this month that linked decreased activity in the right parietal lobe of the brain to spiritual experiences. That particular area of the brain, found in the upper back portion, controls a person’s ability to recognize themselves, their abilities and their relationship to their environment.

Johnstone studied individuals with brain injuries and discovered that people with trauma to the right parietal lobe reported higher levels of spiritual experiences.The finding is important, he said, because it means people can learn to become selfless by decreasing activity in that part of the brain through meditation or prayer.

But one doesn’t have to be religious to experience it; even getting lost in a good song can take a person’s attention away from the sense of self, said Dan Cohen, an MU professor of religious studies and anthropologist. "Losing your sense of self is a human experience that happens in various degrees," Cohen said. "If you’re listening to music, your favorite song on the radio, you lose yourself and suddenly it’s over. You lost your sense of self for a moment as you’ve merged yourself into the music. It’s a joyful and pleasant experience."

Johnstone stressed that the study isn’t intended to minimize spirituality as simply a brain function. "Just because the brain is shutting down, allowing you to be more selfless, that doesn’t take away from the spiritual experience you feel," he said. "There’s something incredibly wonderful about the universe people feel connected to; for monotheistic religions, that’s God, or for other religions it’s nirvana or the universe, for lack of better term."

And there’s no evidence that spirituality can be linked to just one area of the brain, Cohen said. The brain is too complex and individualized to try to compartmentalize or oversimplify its functions, he said. "You have to be careful to not say, ‘Oh, that explains it,’ " he said. "That’s dangerous."

Johstone’s findings align with other studies that have shown Buddhist meditators and Franciscan nuns experience the same neuropsychological functions during religious experiences. Locally, Cohen has found that individuals from various religious denominations benefit mentally not because of religious rituals but because they feel support and love from their respective congregations. Cohen and Johnstone are now studying spirituality among individuals who have suffered a stroke or have cancer or other health problems.

The research "can be used to garner greater mental health and to make minds work better, longer and stay healthier," Cohen said. "Brain health is becoming increasingly recognized as an important part of a good life, a satisfying life."

By JANESE HEAVIN
Originally posted at the ColumbiaTribune.com here. Reposted with permission.

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This week's Featured Track of the last week in '08 is from the band Cabin, based in Louisville, KY. Find out more about Cabin in the Featured Track section of the homepage and in this week's podcast (available 12/31) where Cabin band leader Noah Hewitt-Ball shares his thoughts on the creative process, the comparison of Cabin from press and radio to My Morning Jacket, Coldplay, and U2 as well as their personal endorsement from none other than Sufjan Stevens.

We are truly grateful for each and every one of you and we send our thoughts and prayers to you and yours. As we said last week, may there indeed be "peace on earth, goodwill toward men." Happy New Year and many, many blessings!

by Cabin

Visit Cabin at...

MySpace
Machine Records (purchasing)

Cabin is a melodic rock band from Louisville, KY led by founding member Noah Hewitt-Ball. Cabin wastes little time setting the tone on their newest EP (Machine Records) entitled I Was Here. Their emotional and hauntingly beautiful track, "Cover Your Eyes" is a dramatic and spiritual journey, imploring a greater power for answers to some age-old questions. This soulful, touching plea (ripe with sweeping strings and evocative piano) does resolve some of those questions but, like real life, leaves many of them unanswered.

Featured Track: "Cover Your Eyes"

Lyric Excerpt:
With God as my witness, like nobody's business,

you know that I've tried
and somehow I'll never be sure
But I'll keep asking why
Because you can't hide from the world by covering your eyes

Click to Play

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Most of us have music or listening preferences that have long been established. Our favorite genres, bands, songs and styles have developed over a lifetime of performing and/or listening to music. We don’t often deliberately step out of these bounds we’ve created for the sheer enjoyment of experimenting, although sometimes opening up to new styles and allowing new forms of music to move through us can be beneficial. It’s like I was told by one of my first music teachers many years ago, “never close your mind to new music and new musical experiences, each can only help to make you a better musician.”

There is a fine line between euphony and cacophony and, “beauty is to be found in the eye (and ears) of the beholder.” I do know from first-hand experience that opening up (just as we do when we surrender in meditation and prayer) and allowing for diversity to flow through us, or into us, has profound lessons to teach. What I’ve learned from such experiences is that the tapestry of being is made finer and life becomes richer as a result.

Today’s post by David Todd is one such example of opening to new musical experiences. After reading the article and interview with Kieran Hebden be sure to follow through by clicking on the music samples and allow your being to absorb what it is being offered. I, personally think it is great music. What can we learn from new music and from performing or experimenting in a vein we’re not accustomed to? What is it about new styles of music and new modes of living that make us uncomfortable? Isn’t reaching and stretching, and opening to what’s novel an exceptional avenue for growth?

Between Beats and Clicks: Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid bring ‘NYC’ to NYC
by David Todd
Article Link Source
www.downtownexpress.com

London-born Kieran Hebden—also known as Four Tet, his primary vehicle—started out playing guitar in the post-rock group Fridge, who debuted with the album “Ceefax” in 1997. He quickly moved into producing his own electronic albums, beginning with “Dialogue” in 1999 and leading up to his sublime “Remixes” in 2006. Still in his late 20s, Hebden’s side work includes producing the latest album, “Fire Escape,” by American freak-collective Sunburned Hand of the Man. When Sunburned’s John Moloney called Hebden “the biggest music fan I’ve ever met,” there wasn’t much reason to argue. The range on Hebden’s 2006 “DJ-Kicks” mix alone—which shifts from Gong to Madvillain to Curtis Mayfield—suggests an ear that’s permanently open.

New York expat Steve Reid’s list of references is longer still; as a drummer, he’s played with everyone from Miles Davis to James Brown over his nearly 50 years in the jazz/R&B world. A few decades older than Hebden, he comes in from the organic side of their equation, sitting behind his kit while Kieran mans a table of electronics. As a duo, their first two albums—“The Exchange Session Vol. 1” & “Vol. 2”—were recorded at a studio of that name in London, but could just as easily have been titled for the musical tradeoff which goes on among them. After releasing “Tongues” in 2007, they’re back with “NYC,” which pays tribute to the turbulent, smothering New York from which Reid originates.

DAVID TODD: How did you hook up with Steve Reid, and how did you realize there was a connection there worth pursuing?

KIERAN HEBDEN: Well, [after] the last Four Tet album came out, I wanted to do something different, maybe with a drummer, where the drummer would play live with me doing real-time electronics. I mentioned it to a friend of mine and he contacted me a few weeks later and said, “I managed to track down Steve Reid, how about meeting up with him?” So I met up with Steve and we did the first show, and the first show was really exciting, it just seemed to jell really quickly. Then a couple days later we went into a recording studio. At that point, I knew that this wasn’t just going to be an experiment; it was something that I was going to end up doing loads of.

Since you and Steve each have covered so much musical ground, I was wondering how you found your style together. Was that a process or did it just click?

I think when we first got together we both understood that the most common meeting ground was spiritual free jazz. The first session we did was very Sun Ra/Don Cherry, all that type of stuff. But once we began playing more, we started playing more and more [different] music for each other. Steve would send me a CD of Theo Parrish, and be like “I’m really into this at the moment, what do you think?” And then we went to Africa together and listened to a lot of African music around that time. You know, we’re as likely to listen to Sly Stone as we are to Coltrane; it’s not just a jazz thing. I think the record that’s just come out, “NYC,” is not very jazz-sounding at all. That’s little parts of it, but I think the music we’re doing is as much soul or even dance music or techno.

So you were interested in getting away from a strictly jazz concept, or strictly anything, from the beginning?

Yeah, totally. We wanted to do something that pushed us both in new directions. And for me, it was really liberating.

After playing with Steve for a few years now, how do you think he’s affected you?

I think I’ve been getting a comprehensive education in rhythm from Steve (laughs). Because he’s part of the African-American drum tradition that’s existed through blues and soul and funk and jazz, through to hip-hop, that for someone living in London was always something that felt out of my reach. I think Steve’s one of the best living examples of that kind of drumming style and rhythmic feel, he’s so good at holding down an incredible rhythm and messing around with it. I feel like I’ve been learning a lot from him.

To me, one of the challenges in making an album called “NYC” is the difficulty of capturing the city as a whole. Not that you and Steve are presenting this as a definitive portrait, but was there something you felt New York boiled down to in a musical sense?

Well, when I first met Steve, we were playing in Europe, and he was like, “We’ve got to back and play in New York.” And straightaway we got to New York and he started playing different, more aggressively and with more of a funk edge. And he said to me, “Yeah, it’s a different rhythm here.” Then after we’d done another record in London, Steve was like, “Let’s go to New York to do the next record because it’ll give it a different sound.” We went to look for a studio, and the idea suddenly went beyond just recording in New York and turned into this whole thing where the record was going to be about New York. It was supposed to be about our experience of the city, its impact on us and the type of music that seemed to make sense while we were there. I think particularly with the kind of rhythmic ideas that Steve was using, [if] he had an idea and was like, “No, this isn’t the type of beat that’s from New York,” he wouldn’t use it. Steve was like, “Let’s make the most New York record we can.”

The opening song, “Lyman Place,” refers to the neighborhood Steve came from in the Bronx. I found the synthesizer on that to be very intense, very resistant being pushed into the background. Is that an effect that you were going for in terms of a New York feel?

That was a song that started evolving through [our] live shows. The bass riff is quite heavy, and I wanted to make it ever more intense, you know, and I found that this synth noise just pitching up and up, this kind of permanent crescendo, [would] really excite the crowd. And then we recorded it for the album, and we had all the tracks sitting there, and Steve was like “That’s the first track!” And I was like, that’s the heaviest, maddest track, you want to open with it? And Steve was like, “Yeah, we’re going to come in with the most intimidating thing we’ve got.” Like you’re arriving in [the city]. I think that was back to his New York thing, big and intimidating straightaway.

As much as there is that intense feel to the music, it seems like there’s also another side that’s more celebratory or joyful. Is there a celebratory element as you see it?

Completely. When I did the last Four Tet album, “Everything Ecstatic,” I had this idea that a lot of the music I loved was reaching beyond just making a record to levels of happiness or spirituality. If I listen to a gospel record, say, they’re not just singing for fun, they’re talking to God. It’s got this extra level of intensity. And I think when I met with Steve, he seemed to be tuned-in to that concept of making music that created a sense of euphoria or celebration. I think both of us are committed to the idea that music is an important, magical thing, that really helps people and does wonders in the world. I feel like music gives me some kind of purpose, and it makes everything make sense. I want to make music that isn’t just to be taken lightly in the background, that makes life worth living.

http://www.kieranhebdenandstevereid.com/

Some cultures don't consider suicide to be as tasteless as ours does (thanatophobic and euphemistic, we have a long history of plucking out our own offending eyes without mourning our lost sight). Here and now, we can do little to decide the terms of our passage without distressing the ones we love.

We can, however, write declarations of love that stamp a seal of determination on our last breath. Tenderly capturing his request to die in the presence of his beloved, Elbow frontman Guy Garvey penned an exemplar of such quietly raging hopeful confessions: the organ ballad, "Switching Off." Painting precious, half-iambic metaphors of his last night's fading lights from the perch of candid youth, Garvey imagines a distant and peaceful shutdown - and his partner's place beside him, amidst the creeping noise and the crumbling synchrony.

Elbow - "Switching Off"

Last of the men in hats hops off the coil
And a final scene unfolds inside
Deep in the rain of sparks behind his brow
Is a part replayed from a perfect day
Teaching her how to whistle like a boy
In love's first blush

Is this making sense?
What am I trying to say?
Early evening June, this room and a radio play
This I need to save
I choose my final thoughts today
Switching off with you

All the clocks give in, and the traffic fades
And the insects like...like a neon choir
The instant fizz, connection made
And the curtains sigh in time with you

You're the only sense the world has ever made
Early evening June, this room and radio play
This I need to save
I choose my final scene today
Switching off...

Ran to ground, ran to ground for a while there
But I came off pretty well, I came off pretty well...

You're the only sense the world has ever made
This I need to save
A simple trinket locked away
I choose my final scene today
Switching off with you

This song is one of the truest love letters I've ever heard, daisies growing from a double grave, holding hands to die of old age, because "You're the only sense the world has ever made." Whatever happens between now and then, God save this feeling, this certainty and adoration, togetherness and memory, this "simple trinket locked away," until I can look back and smile at its accurate prediction.

We may not get to choose how we die, but we can hope against hope that we die in someone's arms. We can't carry anything across that threshold, but we can carry our cares right up to its silver edge. We can adorn our lives with these solemn vows, giving worth to each living moment. We can prove that death is in fact meaningful, because it is by death that we determine what is valuable. Romance as I know it is a skull with rose window eyes, burgeoning even as it breaks. And so there is nothing more romantic than telling someone you want them there when you die.

"Switching Off" is a perfect portrait of recognizing what matters. It is the beauty of yearning listening as it strains against fadeout. It'd be a strange song to play at my funeral - bringing the particulars of my death into sharp focus, where wishes may not hold against facts - but I would put it on my funeral playlist anyway, because it so gracefully captures for me the timeless splendor of love. Because we may not get to choose, but we can always hope to choose. And after years of arguing for the concrete value of choice, I am only now beginning to understand the diaphonous, glistening value of hope.

Previous articles in this series:

PART I: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, I: Playing DJ To The Bereaved
PART II: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, II: Putting Death in a Box
PART III: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, III: Do It For The World
PART IV: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, IV: Cake's Four Noble Truths
PART V: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, V: Our Forgotten Vow
PART VI: The Soundtrack To Your Funeral, VI: Takin' Life So Serious

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Garfield is intent on demonstrating that everything is equally art, science, and spiritual practice - to revive cultural and individual investment in the renaissance thinking that finds equal value in thinking and feeling, description and experience. Working as a scientific illustrator and essayist by day, and a live electronic musician and performance painter by night, Michael divides his attentions between exploring and celebrating the vast complex vibratory spectacle that is our musical universe. His work has been featured at integralnaked.org, realitysandwich.com, and paullonely.com, and in Cause & Effect Magazine, iMAGE Magazine, and H+. Links to his painting gallery, live and studio recordings, and visionary music blog can be found at myspace.com/michaelgarfield.

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December. Joy, goodwill toward men, long lines, the unwanted wet kiss from a drunk co-worker at the office party. Along with the candy canes and mistletoe, music will be there in the background wherever we go this month, as sonic wallpaper, to put us in the right festive mood. No holiday music is more annoying than the piped-in variety at shopping malls and department stores. Can science explain why the same song we enjoy singing with relatives or congregants drives us to visions of sugar-plum homicide when it blares across the public-address system Chez Target?

Our drive to surround ourselves with familiar music during life cycle events and annual celebrations is ancient in origin. Throughout most of our history as a species, music was a shared cultural experience. Early Homo sapiens coupled music with ritual to infuse special days with majesty and meaning. Before there was commerce, before there was anything to buy, our hunter-gatherer ancestors sat around campfire circles crafting pottery, jewelry and baskets, and they sang. Early humans didn't sit and listen to music by themselves -- music formed an inseparable part of community life. So much so, that when we sing together even today, our brains release oxytocin, a hormone that increases feelings of trust and social bonding.

Music is piped into public places in a cultural echo of shared ritual and ceremony. As advertisers have long known, music can help to oil the wheels of commerce. Songs can stick in our heads, giving the purveyor of a catchy jingle many more minutes of air time than was originally paid for. Whether our brains are reminding us that "When the holidays come along, there's always Coca-Cola" or that maybe we haven't "driven a Ford lately," the jingle rattles around in our synapses in a sometimes endless loop -- a commercial played out in the most private of venues over and over again.

The fact that music does get stuck in our heads -- the Germans call these Ohrwurms, or "ear worms" -- is a key to understanding how human nature evolved. Evolution selected music as an information-bearing medium precisely because it has this stick-in-your-head quality; all of us are descended from ancestors who used music to encapsulate important information. For tens of thousands of years before there was writing, information -- such as which plants were poisonous or where to find fresh water -- was encoded in song. Early Homo sapiens realized that setting words to music made it easier to remember them; the internal constraints of music, the accent structure and meter, not to mention poetic elements such as alliteration and rhyme, made it more difficult to forget the words. Many of us have had the experience of forgetting the words of a song, but we can usually recreate the missing words because there simply aren't that many that will fit. So songs are memorable because they are meant to be, no matter how irritating the alphabet song can become to parents of infants or how likely you are to strangle the next throat that warbles pa-rum-pum-pum- pum.

But if evolution is so smart, why do holiday carols become annoying? When we like a piece of music, it has to balance predictability with surprise, familiarity with novelty. Our brains become bored if we know exactly what is coming next, and frustrated if we have no idea where the song is taking us. Songs that are immediately appealing are not typically those that contain the most surprise. We like them at first and then grow tired of them. Conversely, the music that can provide a lifetime of listening pleasure -- whether it's Bruckner 1 or Zeppelin II -- often requires several listenings to reveal its nuances. And the best music offers surprises with each new listening.

Holiday mall music is irritating because the sort of music that appeals to people of disparate backgrounds and ages is going to tend to be harmonically unsurprising. Unwanted sound in general (think of the incessant drip-drip-drip in the night while you're trying to get to sleep) or unwanted music in particular is not waterboarding, but it is a kind of torture. Don't forget, the American military drove Manuel Noriega from his compound by blasting him 24/7 with AC/DC and Van Halen.

Whether it's dogs barking "Jingle Bells" or Hannah Montana Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, this piped in music is the auditory equivalent of trees and tinsel. Consumer research has shown that music, when it isn't torture, indeed has a significant effect on buying behavior. In a 1999 study, the experimental psychologist Adrian North and his colleagues from the University of Leicester played either German or French classical music in the background at a wine shop. Sales of French and German wines increased when the music from their respective countries was playing.

Another study by the researchers in 2002 played different styles of music -- classical and popular -- and found that restaurant patrons spent on average 10% more per meal when classical music was playing, and more on after-dinner coffee. The classical music created an air of sophistication, reflected in the more sophisticated (higher priced) entrées chosen by the diners.

Retailers this holiday season aren't the only ones trying to influence our mental state with music. Most of us do it at home, too. The average American spends more than four hours a day listening to music, and surveys reveal that we use music to regulate our moods, to differentiate activities such as winding down from gearing up, and to comfort us when we're feeling blue or misunderstood.

It is natural to wonder, if music has played as important a social role as evolutionary biology suggests, what might be the effect of the great and apparent de-socialization of music we are seeing today with the proliferation of personal music players (or what Lisa Simpson calls the "MyPod"). People are spending more time listening in the privacy of their own minds -- did you notice all the earbuds on athletes at the Chinese Olympics? Maybe earbuds are the real Scrooges, cutting us off from others' joy.

We are living in a time of unprecedented nonsocial access to music. The average 14-year-old will hear more music in a year than his great grandfather would have in a lifetime. Virtually every song ever recorded in the history of the world is available on the Internet somewhere. Thanks to intrepid musical explorers, even rare, indigenous and pre-industrial music is now available. Cultures that have been cut off from industrialization and Western influence have had their music preserved, and by their own accounts, it may have been unchanged for many centuries, giving us a window into the music of our ancestors.

The diversity of our musical legacy includes music made on instruments believed to be thousands of years old and on instruments invented just this week; music played on power tools; an album of Christmas carols sung (well, croaked) by frogs. So although we listen alone, we are listening to more music and it is more diverse. Its hard to find fault with digital and online media that put us more in control of what we listen to than we have at, say, the shopping mall. And on the social side, the growth of peer-to-peer (P2P) and other file-sharing communities has restored the communal, human joy of sharing and discovering music we like with others of similar mind and taste.

Holiday tunes are supposed to get us feeling at least a bit religious or spiritual, aren't they? Historically they have worked well in this way. Music's role in religious and spiritual ceremonies may be as old as religion itself. Although human religions differ markedly from one another, all religious rituals are characterized by a demarcation of time and place -- on this day we stand here in this special spot, or interact with sacred objects that we don't normally interact with -- and by the reciting of music or text that is designed to take us out of ourselves, out of routine, and uplift us with higher thoughts. Ritual and religious music helps to differentiate this day or activity from the rest of our secular activities. Because we tend to hear these songs only during this season, they serve as a unique memory cue, unlocking a neural flood of memories related to the holidays.

So give that guy from sales down the hall a break if he gets too friendly at the office party. Holiday music is signaling that this is a different time and place. It's sonic mistletoe. Maybe all he needs is some good file sharing.

Daniel J. Levitin, formerly vice president of 415/CBS Records, is a psychology professor at McGill University and author of The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. This article was originally posted at The Wall Street Journal.

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BONUS: Christmas Song Fun Facts

Known in English as "Silent Night," "Stille Nacht" was written by Austrian priest Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber. They performed the song at a Christmas mass in 1818 accompanied by guitar, and the tune later spread across Europe.

Several well-known tunes emerged from films of the 1940s and '50s. Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," sung by Bing Crosby in the 1942 "Holiday Inn," has become the most recorded holiday song to date, with more than 500 versions.

"Jingle Bells," copyrighted in 1857 by James Pierpont (uncle of J.P. Morgan), was originally not a holiday song at all. It was written for a Thanksgiving church service, as legend has it, and was so popular, it was performed again at Christmas.

The "Singing Cowboy" Gene Autry initially balked at recording "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," thinking it didn't fit his image. His wife convinced him otherwise, and the 1949 song became his biggest seller.