Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of stepleton

Dec 1st, 2008 – As I sit here at my nine to five contemplating the economic recessions present in many countries, I can’t help but think about how music is affected. It seems that whenever money is tight, the first thing to go is the arts. Say all you want about governments, or corporatations, but individuals also cut back, sometimes completely, on music. I’m not just talking about purchasing either. In my experience, serious economic times mean that people are more somber; the arts seem trivial. The funny thing is that when we have nothing, what’s left but the arts?

What better to get out of the dark times, than with music? Have you ever noticed that the best music seems to come out of trying times? Sometimes it’s not about money (although it certainly helps), it’s about something more primal. I can’t think of anything other than eating and breathing that’s important as interacting with others, and the most elegant way to do that, is through art. Times might be hard right now, but keep up the art. It’ll lift your spirits as well as those of the people you share it with with. At its core, true art has no “real” value in today’s commoditized world, but its effects can’t be valued enough.