The isle is full of noises,

Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not,

Sometimes a thousand twanging instruments

Will hum about mine ears,

And sometimes voices.

— Shakespeare, The Taming of The Shrew, III, 2

Oh yes, this isle is certainly full of noises, and how sweet the sounds are too. Well, not all of them, and not if it’s 2:00 am and a dance is being held very close to your house. That can be sheer hell. But this is not about the Noise Abatement Act, or the clamouring, clattering, clanging cacophony of sounds that are meant to disturb the neighbours.

Bob Marley sang, ‘I want to disturb my neighbour’, and look at what great heights he was catapulted to, the greatest reggae singer of all time, with his song One Love being voted the song of the century.

Blessed are the singers and the players of instruments, are words from the Bible, and how right those words are too. What it didn’t say was how cursed they are who are tone deaf, cannot sing to save their lives, murder any instrument that they attempt to play, yet still want to take centre stage. That’s why I hate karaoke.

Music can have such a profound effect on not only people, but on animals and even plants as well. Music doth soothe the savage beast, it has been said, and scientists have proven that cows that are exposed to soothing music, produce more milk.

It’s also been proven that plants react positively to music, and even more fascinating, there is a strong correlation between music and mathematics. Research it and see for yourself. So music to my ears is the theme this week, as I hope to strike the proper chord. So please take note, right after these riffs in response to ‘Marital Rape’.

Teerob,

You have got to be joking when you said that a husband cannot rape his wife. Sex without consent is rape, and it doesn’t matter if it’s with girlfriend, mistress, matey, co-worker, or wife. If he forces himself on any female it’s rape. I am a wife, and it’s not all the time that I feel for sex. So if my husband insists and I refuse and rebuff him, he usually backs off. But if he tries to take it by force, I certainly would consider it rape.

Marie

Hi Tony,

There are several references in the Bible where it states that the wife should submit to her husband, provided that they were married in Christian holy matrimony. This should be stated by the minister and included in the marriage vows. Should it become a habit where the wife continually deprives the husband of his God given duties and rights, this should be grounds for divorce. Is this too harsh? So is rape.

Christian

From that first man who beat that drum and was intrigued by the rhythm of the sound, music was born. Then came the wind instruments — the flute, horns, harmonica, then the strings — the lute, harp, guitar, and other instruments that bring sweet sounds to us and have played an integral part in the lives of human beings.

I can never understand how someone cannot like music. I can see where some people may not like a certain type of music, but to abhor all forms of music is beyond my comprehension. I remember visiting friends many years ago and, while sitting in the living room, I noticed that there wasn’t anything to read or any appliance that played music. There was no stereo set, no boom box, no cassette deck, no nutten.

When I asked, they replied: “Oh, we can’t take too much noise in the house.”

I was stunned. Music is noise? I cannot imagine driving in my vehicle without music. Just think of the great orchestras, past and present, the glorious symphonies, then fast-forward to the extraordinary musicians of eras past and present, the music of Motown that affected so many of us back in the day.

The list and genres of music are too numerous to mention here, but what I will say is that people without music are empty souls. Music affects our moods, yet even right now, the debate rages whether certain types of music affect people in a positive or negative way. Of course music affects people in different ways.

Soothing music has a calming effect on people, and that’s why when you want to relax, you choose a certain type of smooth, cool music to calm your frayed nerves. Compare that to the type of music that’s used to torture people — loud, booming, aggressive beats that pound incessantly 24/7, inundating the ears of that hapless soul who’s locked in a cell with nowhere to go. It has been known to drive people insane.

Rousing music is used to stimulate people and lift their spirit. The military knows this, as military music is robust, aggressive, rousing, uplifting, meant to stimulate the troops as they march into battle.

If you listen to the Cry of The Valkyries, you’ll get my drift. No soldier is going to march into battle listening to a lullaby. And no mother is going to put her infant to sleep to the strains of hard-hitting dancehall or soca music.

And yet they ask if music affects or influences people. I know that when I’m driving to the country I prefer to hear uptempo, stimulating music to keep me alert. But when I want to relax, the voice of Randy Crawford does the trick for me.

Our music is extraordinary, with its genesis originating in Africa, then morphing to mento, gereh, kumina, and others; then came ska, rocksteady, reggae, dancehall and other spin-offs. Say what you will, like it or not, Jamaican music is powerful and has impacted the world in a positive way. Almost every country has been influenced by our music, and we should be proud.

Just check out how many American movies have Jamaican music soundtracks, plus countries as far afield as Japan and many parts of Europe have embraced our music. Naturally tastes vary, and what’s music to my ears may sound like caterwauling to yours. Some music is good, others are bad, but when it’s good, it’s soooo good. Hit me with music, Bob said, for when you hit me with music I feel no pain.

Music transcends all races, creeds, cultures, languages, and has no boundaries. Who remembers that Japanese song, Sukiyaki, that took the world by storm years ago?

Music is used in movies to influence our anticipation, build suspense, action, humour, happiness, and sadness. A music track is so important, as it can make or break a movie. That’s the power of music. I saw Baby Driver at Carib Cinema and the music track was astounding, breathtaking, heart racing, mind-blowing.

Just try to remember the theme from the TV series The Lone Ranger. The name was The William Tell Overture, but every young boy knew it as the Lone Ranger music. Even now it conjures up excitement and action. Then try to recall the haunting strains of the music from the movie, Jaws. That music made many people afraid to go in the water ever again. Now tell me that music doesn’t affect people in a powerful way.

Some music has always been controversial, but it’s merely a case of art imitating life. If we live in a society that experiences violence then, naturally, that music is going to reflect violence. I’m sure we wouldn’t hear lyrics coming from The Vatican saying, “We a go buss two shot inna bwoy head and crack him skull fi show him marrow.”

Is banning the answer? Wouldn’t that just send it underground? You can’t muzzle the poets, yet we have to be responsible, for music does influence fragile minds. But we must be careful of double standards, for soca music has free rein, in spite of its lewd lyrics, yet dancehall often gets a raw deal.

The musicians are poets, and undoubtedly, many of them are gifted. Should they be muzzled? They are witty, clever and have a finger on the pulse of society. This occurs in other countries too, where the powers that be grow fearful of the music of the younger generation. Censorship has never worked, but still we must be responsible. However, you can’t stop the music.

I love music so much, and one regret I have is not continuing my piano lessons as a child. But I get entranced by music. If you want to see me and my wife get crazy, just put on some great Jamaican music and watch us get on bad. Oh yes, we’ve even won dance contests too, so don’t laugh. Blame it on the music.

“If music be the food of love, play on;

Give me excess of it, that surfeiting,

The appetite may sicken and so die.

That strain again! It had a dying fall:

O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound

That breathes upon a bank of violets.”

— Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Now that’s music to my ears. More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: It’s been said that the majority of our youth belongs to a lost generation. They know not right from wrong, they have no moral values, no integrity, no manners, no compassion, no sense of decency or respect for others. It’s difficult not to broad-brush an entire generation, but the stories and facts that we hear every day are startling. What is the root cause? Were they magically conjured up out of thin air with this lack of social graces or respect for society, or did they learn all this from home? In that case, it’s the parents who are to be blamed then. And yet, these parents see no fault in their children. “Manners and politeness will never become old-fashioned,” said Auliq Ice.