Soul and R&B have always been closely associated, and rightly so. The subject of both genres is typically love. They both carry a tune that is as rhythmic as it is melodic. But in my opinion, the difference is the way they approach music. One, R&B, appeals to the immediate ear - an audible sensation that may or may not last longer than a year. The other, Soul, could care less about what the listener wants. It is speaking from its, well, soul. And while this might be a bold statement, try listening to a Barry Manilow song right before something by James Brown (no offense to Manilow, he’s one of my favorite artists, just noting a comparison).

Anyway, for the purposes of this list, I stick with only the genre of Soul music. This is not a definitive list, but rather a list of soul albums that are must-haves for any fan of soul music. You can’t go wrong in purchasing any one of these albums.

Marvin Gaye - Whats Going On

An R&B album is supposed to have at least one love song, right? ‘What’s Going On’, one of the most personal albums ever, defied that convention by presenting Gaye’s beliefs on religion, a troubled society and The Vietnam War. It is one an album that is almost as relevant today as it was when it was released. The amazing reception of this album showed Gaye remaining on Billboard’s Top 100 list for over a year and selling over two million units.

Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life

How could an album that debuted at number one on the Billboard album chart, became certified Diamond by the RIAA and took the 1977 Grammy title for ‘Album of the Year’ not be on a top ten R & B album list? Taking perfectionism to a new level, Mr. Wonder managed to do the unthinkable by gathering some of the most illustrious musicians to play accompaniment on Songs in the Key of Life, such as George Benson and Herbie Hancock.

Curtis Mayfield – Superfly

Storytelling at its finest. Similar to Marvin Gaye’s ‘Whats Going On’, Mayfield’s approach to societal issues such as drug abuse made record executives wary about it’s reception. But it turned out that the honest and non-biased view of the addiction turned out to be the winning factory that caused the album to sell two-million of its singles, ‘Freddy’s Dead’ and ‘Superfly.’

Donny Hathaway – Everything Is Everything

As I sit here listening to this album, I begin to wonder what the world would be like today if songs like the ones on ‘Everything is Everything’ were still popular in the twenty-first century. It is amazing that a song which the sole lyrics consisted of ‘The Ghetto’ repeated over and over could propel Mr. Hathaway to stardom, but so much soul was packed into every iteration that anyone, white, black, Spanish or Asian could understand the implications of what was meant.

Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul

When the longest love song on an album stretches nineteen minutes long, you know the artists has something to say. It is not some recycled rendition of baby-come-back-to-me but instead ‘my M.D. says slow down before you drive me to the ground’ heart-wrenching music. The album addresses feelings of devotion, letting go of failed relationships and sadness. Its amazing to understand that this album did not get released due to Haye’s debut flop, ‘Presenting Isaac Hayes.’

Michael Jackson – Off the Wall

Every artist has an album that propels them into stardom, and for Michael Jackson, ‘Off The Wall’ was just that. The smooth mix and blends of disco, funk, soul and pop were an unconventional and risky maneuver, but it paid off when the album earned Michael his first Grammy since the early 70s. Jumping basslines and bouncing guitars made this a dance album like no other.

The platinum lead single ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’ was reportedly first hummed by Jackson himself while in his kitchen. Quincy Jones also had a heavy hand in the creation of the album, after the two formed a strong bond while on the set of ‘The Wiz.’

Al Green – Still In Love With You

Between Green’s sultry singing and emotion-packed lyrics is a place for the casual listener to easily get lost. Growing up my dad would always play this record, and even then I could tell there was something special about it, almost a peculiar kind of magic. Maybe that’s why many fans have deemed Green’s albums as ‘baby making music.’

The album’s title song managed to hit the number tree spot on Billboard and sold over a million copies.

James Brown - Live at the Apollo

It is unusual for a live album to get such high acclaim as ‘Live at the Apollo.’ What set this album apart from all other recordings, both studio-enhanced and not, was Brown’s high-energy, jump right off the LP personality. Brown was a live performer by nature, as demonstrated on tracks such as ‘Night Train’ and ‘I’ll Go Crazy’. After all, how can any artist that pays the owner (as Brown did with this album) not demonstrate a certain passion for music?

Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul

Selling over a million copies of an album was no small feat in 1968. Songs such as ‘Chain of Fools’ and ‘You Make Me Feel Like (A Natural Woman)’ quickly became feminist anthems and destroyed the stereotype that men were the only ones that could make a spectacular soul album. To put it bluntly, type “Queen of Soul” into your Google search field and see what comes up.

Sly and the Family Stone - Fresh

A definite delineation from the ‘normal’ funk, Sly set out to produce a much smoother funk (the preemptive ‘Gangster funk’ of Snoop Dogg?) than their previous effort ‘There’s a Riot Going On.’ George Clinton has named ‘Fresh’ as one of his favorite albums and Miles Davis reportedly made his band listen to ‘In Time’ repeatedly for thirty minutes.

Throughout their career Pink Floyd has been thrown into one genre of music or another. They have also helped to create completely new genres on their own. They have brought some genres to the forefront, and then had the good sense to allow their sound to evolve and avoid being pinned down to one sound. During the history of Pink Floyd their music has been referred to as pop, psychedelic, progressive rock, theatrical rock and stadium rock. A study in the history of Floyd is a look at many of the most important genres in rock history.

Pink Floyd started out as an R&B cover band in 1967 playing American standards. Their first show was nearly five hours long, but the band did not have five hours worth of material. They filled out their sets by extending the guitar solo parts of songs with Syd Barrett making strange noises on his guitar and the band going off into some sonic tangent.

Over time this habit of Syd's began to rub off on the rest of the band, and soon the band was playing whirling and swirling versions of standard tunes unlike anyone had ever heard before. Syd Barrett started writing songs right from the beginning and one of his first efforts, "King Bee", is a derivative of the music the band had been playing for months.

Syd continued to write pop songs, but the band would rarely play them live. When the band played live they preferred the 15 minute spaced-out jams like "Interstellar Overdrive" or "Nick's Boogie." When the Floyd played a local technical college one of the students offered to show strange formations of light over the band while they performed. Psychedelic rock was born.

When Pink Floyd released Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967, it was the perfect mix of pop songs and psychedelic ramblings. The album was enough to bring Floyd new fans and keep the psychedelic crowd happy. As the band moved forward, they released hit singles such as "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne". But once again, when the band played live they refused to play their hits. Audiences outside London were furious and pelted the band with drinks and debris.

The London audiences continued to flock to Pink Floyd shows in large numbers. Floyd became the house band at the eclectic UFO Club, and they became the premier psychedelic band in London.

In 1968 Syd Barrett was dropped from the band, and the next few albums show a transition. Albums such as A Saucerful of Secrets and Ummagumma show a band unsure of how to write pop songs, unwilling to release more psychedelic material and unable to forge a sound. The innovators of psychedelic rock had stalled.

There were some glimpses of things to come with such musical pieces as "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "Careful with that Axe, Eugene", but they did not translate well in the studio. The live recordings released on Ummagumma gave fans a clearer idea of what Floyd was doing, and what they were doing was creating progressive rock.

In 1970 Pink Floyd released Atom Heart Mother. Songs such as "If" and "Fat Old Sun" could be categorized as pop songs, but when Floyd played them live they added parts to them that made the songs an adventure. The title track, "Atom Heart Mother Suite", can be called one of the first progressive rock songs ever. It is an ambitious 23 minute piece that moves through several parts and attempts to tell a story. It laid the foundation for what Pink Floyd was to become.

When the album Meddle was released in 1971, Pink Floyd had perfected the progressive rock format. The first side of the album is a series of songs that stands on their own, while the entire second side is the masterpiece of progressive rock known as "Echoes". With this album, Pink Floyd established progressive rock as a musical genre and bands such as King Crimson followed suit.

Pink Floyd had stopped writing pop singles in 1968 when their efforts to write a hit single without Syd Barrett failed. Their transition from psychedelic pioneers to the creators of progressive rock had established the band as a worldwide concert draw. Pink Floyd had learned from the Beatles, as most other bands of the era did, that an album does not need to be a series of singles.

When Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973, Pink Floyd had helped to further yet another genre of music; the concept album. Pink Floyd had managed to mix their epic progressive rock format in with a concept that worked throughout the entire album. The album launched Pink Floyd into a whole new level of success and they began to fill stadiums all over the world. Roger Waters saw a chance to get even more of his message across and, in the process, create yet another musical genre that would become almost the sole domain of Pink Floyd for many years.

In the 1970's there were stadium rock shows being played all over the world, but there were few bands that could fill a stadium on their own. With Pink Floyd now playing shows to 50,000 people or more every night with no support act, the pressure to get the entire stadium involved in the show became intense. Roger Waters filled the show with props and effect lighting the likes of which no one had ever seen before. Pink Floyd had meshed their progressive rock format with a lavish live performance that became known as stadium rock. But Roger Waters was not quite done yet.

In 1979 Pink Floyd released The Wall with a very specific purpose in mind. Roger Waters had a story line in his head, and he recruited animator Gerald Scarfe to help bring some of his ideas to life. By the time Roger was done there was an album, a movie and a theatrical live performance that had never been attempted by any band before. Pink Floyd had taken the theatrical rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss to an entirely different level.

You would be hard-pressed to find a band that has had as many genre names attached to them as Pink Floyd. Floyd's music has been called pop, psychedelic, progressive rock, space rock, stadium rock, theatrical rock and self-indulgent. Whatever you call Pink Floyd's music, there is no denying the impact they had on the entire music industry. They perfected what others had started, and they created their own place in music by doing what they felt was right.

Without African Americans, there is no American music. Some of the most raw, energetic, complex, and groundbreaking music that has ever been played was played by African Americans from the US. Everything we listen to today, in some way or another, was influenced by their musical vision and innovation.

Here are 18 musical innovations that we can thank these amazing musicans for.

The Banjo:

The Banjo

Invented by enslaved Africans in Appalachia, the banjo may not be a hugely popular musical instrument today, but it has proven to be an essential component of many types of American roots music. Roots music is a broad term that refers to music that was developed in the US, and is said to have spawned most forms of American music, including country, folk, jazz, blues, and to a certain extent, rock music too.

Blues:

John Lee Hooker

Evolving from slave-era work songs and spirituals, the blues were invented in African American communities in the deep south. Blues is a very open style of music that can be played in many different ways. Over time, various styles emerged in different locations, and these regional variations would eventually form the basis of what would become Jazz, R&B, and Rock and Roll. Blues is the most important innovation in American music, and it has been massively influential to musicians all around the world, most notably, English musicians in the 1960's such as Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.

Jazz:

Thelonious Monk

Originating in the New Orleans area at the beginning of the 20th century, jazz is arguably the most profound American musical innovation, with just as much significance as European classical music. Jazz has of course evolved within itself many times over, with every evolution spawning even more musical innovations and innovators. While it's true that jazz was influenced in a way by European classical music, it has also remained very distinct. Jazz is the medium that spawned several other forms of African American music, and each era of jazz left a significant mark on the development of American popular music. Let's look at the various eras of jazz music and their effects.

Ragtime:

Scott Joplin

First heard at the very end of the 19th century, Ragtime music was a style of music innovated by freed slaves who worked in vaudeville. It was popularized by classically-trained pianist Scott Joplin. Ragtime music formed the basis for what would soon be called jazz.

Dixieland:

Louis Armstrong

Invented in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century, what later became known as "Dixieland" jazz was a musical style played in bars and brothels in the Storyville area of New Orleans. Using musical instruments from European classical music, and influenced by the Blues, Ragtime, and various Latin and Caribbean music traditions, Dixieland jazz was the beginning of it all. One of the most famous musicians to come from this tradition was one of the most beloved entertainers of the 20th century, Louis Armstrong.

Swing:

Count Basie

Swing music started gaining momentum in the 1920's with the musical innovations of people like Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Featuring large bands that played dance music, swing became the most popular American music from this time through the 40's. In addition, the swing era brought a more broad, and white audience to jazz, and many white musicians were beginning to play jazz music. People such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw introduced swing music to this wider audience, and opened the doors for people like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Bebop:

Charlie Parker

Bebop is an innovation within jazz that initially was exclusively played by black musicians. Bebop is credited for taking jazz away from popular music, and into more creative and innovative territory. Bebop is generally played very fast, and was not intended for dancing. It has even been claimed that bebop music was played so fast and with such virtuosity that white musicians could not play it. Some of the greatest jazz musicians who ever lived came from the bebop movement. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gilespie, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and Max Roach were masters of their instruments and legendary musical innovators.

Modal Jazz:

Kind of Blue

Before Modal Jazz, most jazz improvization was based on chord progressions. Modal jazz was based on modes (or scales), and shifted the emphasis of the music from harmonies to melodies. The most famous piece to come from the modal jazz movement was Miles Davis' groundbreaking "Kind of Blue". Many of the musicians that worked with Davis on Kind of Blue and other sessions, including John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Bill Evans, Jimmy Cobb, and Paul Chambers were also influential on Modal Jazz. Herbie Hancock was another major player who released several albums in the 1960's that followed the Modal Jazz style.

Free Jazz:

John & Alice Coltrane

In the late 1950's musicians such as Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, and Cecil Taylor were playing a style of jazz that was rooted in bebop, but drew on on various forms of international music. In addition, this type of jazz relied less on the "rules" of tempo, timing, melody, and harmony. To some, the music was hard to listen to, and to others, it was a breath of fresh air. Free Jazz was very controversial, although an important piece in the evolution of Jazz. In the mid 1960's, John Coltrane also began playing free jazz and led younger musicians such as Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, and Sun Ra into the avant garde. Although not nearly as "free" as his later work, Coltrane's 1964 album A Love Supreme is one of the most profound musical achievements ever recorded.

Jazz Fusion:

Herbie Hancock's Headhunters

Mix the musical innovations of Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and Sly Stone with people like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, and you have the birth of fusion--an electric version of jazz that drew heavily from rock, soul and R&B music. Innovated by Miles Davis on "In a Silent Way" and "Bitches Brew", fusion became a powerful force in the Jazz world in the 1970's. Groups such as Weather Report, Tony Williams Lifetime, Return to Forever, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra took the jazz, r&b, and rock world by storm with this eclectic blend of all three. Herbie Hancock's classic fusion album "Headhunters" is one of the greatest works from the fusion era.

R&B:

Initially, R&B was more of a marketing term rather than a useful definition of a style of music. R&B was used to describe music (initially, at least) that was by African American musicians for an African American audience. The term came into existence during the Rock & Roll era, and it was a combination of jazz, blues, and gospel music--similar to rock & roll. In fact, some may claim that rock & roll and R&B music were the same thing, they just had different intended audiences.

Rock and Roll:

Bo Diddley

What became known as rock & roll music evolved from the blues, jazz, country, gospel and folk music. The earliest forms of Rock & Roll came from the late 1930's and early 1940's. People such as Big Joe Turner and Sister Rosetta Tharpe were probably the first to lay the groundwork for what would become rock & roll. The mid 1950's is when rock & roll really began to gain attention. People like Bo Diddley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry were some of the most important figures in the early development of Rock  & Roll, although the credit is usually given to Bill Haley and Elvis Presley.

Doo Wop:

Frankie Lymon

Rooted in African American vocal groups of the 30's and 40's, plus influenced by the blues and gospel, doo wop was one of the most popular forms of rock & roll/r&b in the 1950's and early 60's. The standout characteristic of doo wop music is vocal harmony. One of the most popular doo wop songs, and the one credited with the rise in popularity of doo wop was Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"? Other famous groups were the Monotones and the Diamonds. During it's heyday, this particular style of music was very popular amongst the youth of America. Towards the end of the doo wop era, many musicians of Italian descent started to produce their own version.

Soul Music:

James Brown and the Flames

Soul music began showing up in the 1950's as a combination of R&B, Doo Wop, and Gospel. This new style of music was yet another important innovation in American music. People such as Ray Charles, James Brown, and Otis Redding were some of the most famous performers to come from the soul movement. Soul, like many other styles of music had regional variants (Motown soul from Detroit, Memphis Soul, Chicago Soul), and has continued to evolve since its inception. The 1970's were a very important time for soul as it moved towards a more socially conscious message. Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield were some of the more visible figures in this movement, and the great James Brown laid it out beautifully with the classic "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud".

Jimi Hendrix's Guitar Style:

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix came from the blues, re-invented the guitar, and ended up being one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Ask any rock guitar player about Jimi Hendrix, and you'll hear nothing but love. Contemporary rock music, while not dominated by African American musicians, owes its entire basis to Jimi Hendrix's style. At the forefront of the psychedelic movement of the late 1960's, Jimi Hendrix was the catalyst for Funk, Jazz Fusion, contemporary rock, and even heavy metal. Nobody played guitar like Hendrix, and after Hendrix, the guitar was never the same.

Funk:

George Clinton and Funkadelic

With people like Sly Stone, James Brown, and George Clinton came the birth of funk. Influenced directly by Soul, Psychedelic rock and Jazz, Funk was a new style of music that was based on these other genres, yet much more danceable. Funk was well-known for its high-energy, and over the top performances. Funk went on to be influential to disco music, and spawned a world-wide funk craze where musicians of all kinds wanted to create their own unique version of this energetic and electric music.

Rap:

Afrika Bambaataa

In the late 1970's, after the Funk and Disco eras, a new cultural movement emerged from The Bronx in New York. This culture became known as the hip hop movement. DJing, MCing, beatboxing and breakdancing were all innovations that came from the hip hop movement. DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa are often credited as the pioneers of the hip hop movement, and the music that came from that movement, which many people refer to as rap. Artists such as Grandmaster Flash and the Sugar Hill Gang were also important figures in the development of hip hop music. Since the early days of hip-hop, rap music has gone on to become some of the most popular music among young people, both white and black, and has spawned countless variations in the United States and across the world.

1980's Pop:

Prince

In the 1980's, a new sort of pop music was spawned from 1970's soul and funk, plus a sprinkling of jazz, electronic, and rock to form music generally referred to as pop. Many of the performers who innovated this new kind of pop had also been a part of earlier soul and funk music. The biggest name to come from this era was Michael Jackson, although many others achieved massive commercial success during the 80's, including Prince, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, and Whitney Houston. 1980's pop gave birth to the greatest selling album of all time (Michael Jackson's Thriller).

Contemporary R&B:

Mariah Carey

Following the 1980's pop era, several new styles of R&B began to emerge. All-male groups such as Boyz 2 Men, Blackstreet, and Jodeci dominated the airwaves and MTV during the early 90's, and several all-female groups such as SWV, TLC, and also became popular around the same time. Several one-woman acts such as Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Lauryn Hill combined elements of soul and old-school R&B, along with more contemporary hip hop music into a new style of music that is still hugely popular to this day. Even over the past few years, some of the biggest musical acts in history perform this style of music: R. Kelly, Usher, Chris Brown, just to name a few.

Conclusion

As we can see, most of the musical innovations in popular American music are the products of African American musicians. In addition, their music has been profoundly influential on musicians all over the world.

Every time music hits your ears, take a moment to think about where it came from, feel it, and show some love.

-PEACE-

Lately, I have been captivated by a music with lush textures, relaxed melodies, and a fantastic sense of place. This music comes from a very unique part of the world with a vibrant musical history and amazing natural beauty. The Place is Brazil, and the music is Bossa Nova.

The name "Bossa Nova" roughly means "New Trend" in Portuguese. It came about in the later 1950's in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil among the vibrant intellectual and artistic communities there during that time. Bossa Nova is influenced by both Samba music and Cool Jazz, and uses several instruments such as classical guitar, piano, and strings to create lush musical textures. The guitar is often used for rhythm, and the string arrangements have a very distinctive sound to them.

One important similarity between Bossa Nova and American Jazz is that both genres are based on the musical traditions of African people. While both genres developed their own styles, in their own part of the world, with their own people, it is fascinating to listen to American Jazz and Bossa Nova, and experience some of the similarities. Naturally, when Jazz musicians like Stan Getz traveled to Brazil and experienced this music, they wanted to work with some of these Brazilian musicians (Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim) and make new music together. The result of these musical partnerships are famously recorded on such albums as Getz/Gilberto and Jazz Samba.

Bossa Nova History and Key players

Jobim

The two people most famous for the development of the Bossa Nova style in Brazil are Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Joao Gilberto is a guitarist, singer and songwriter, and much of his music uses this very stripped-down sound consisting of only guitars and vocals. Antonio Carlos Jobim is a pianist and composer, and has written some of the most famous Bossa Nova songs in history. While both Gilberto and Jobim were very active in creating the Bossa Nova style, they reached international fame when Stan Getz collaborated with them both to create the Getz/Gilberto albums. Featuring the famous "The Girl From Ipanema", these albums created a worldwide sensation, and immediately put Bossa Nova on the map.

Joao Gilberto

While Joao Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Stan Getz are the three most well-known musicians that were part of the Bossa Nova scene, there were many other musicians who helped shape what Bossa Nova is and what it became.

Vinicius de Moraes

Vinicius de Moraes was also an important figure in the development of Bossa Nova, as he worked with Jobim on the production of a play; Moraes wrote the words, Jobim wrote the music. Soon after, Elizete Cardoso was asked to sing on the album Canção do Amor Demais by Jobim and Moraes, which was one of the first Bossa Nova albums. This album also featured Joao Gilberto.

Astrud Gilberto

Another important figure in Bossa Nova was Joao Gilberto's wife of the time, Astrud Gilberto whose vocals became famous on the Getz/Gilberto album song The Girl From Ipanema.

Charlie Byrd

American Charlie Byrd collaborated with Stan Getz on the classic record Jazz Samba. This album was the beginning of the Bossa Nova craze in North America.

Stan Getz

Lots of other musicians have been important to the Bossa Nova scene, both Brazilian and American. Even American legends like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald got in to the Bossa Nova scene.

Elizete Cardoso

The Bossa Nova Sound

Bossa Nova has a very distinctive sound, and uses instruments in a very distinctive way. It is very jazzy (for lack of a better term), but is also very distinct from jazz.

The main instruments are the classical guitar, piano, strings, and many times various winds and brass. Percussion is not always present, but it is common enough. The guitar tends to be played in a rhythmic style, while the piano tends to be more melodic. Strings provide a sort of a very nice ambience to the sound. You do tend to hear flutes and saxophones too. The most stripped-down Bossa Nova tends to be just a single guitar and vocals.

The Bossa Nova Vibe

All of the instruments are combined in such a way that is very ambient. This kind of music also seems to conjure up beautiful and glamorous images in my mind when I listen to it. It's also pretty relaxing, but definitely not boring or elevator music-y, like some people think.

When you hear it for the first time, it sounds somewhat familiar...like you you've seen it in movies from the 70's. There will always be a party scene, and the music will be Bossa Nova.

The music also gives you a very visual sense. When I listen to the music, I feel like I can almost visualize Brazil, and understand the people and vibe of the place. I've never been there, nor do I speak a word of Portuguese, but now I really want to go there!

Overall, this music has been very exciting to explore. If you like jazz, and want some nice mellow music, Bossa Nova is pretty awesome stuff. Even if you don't really listen to that kind of music, you should at least give it a try.

Here we are on a beautiful 4th of July--at least here in the United States, and the issue of freedom with regards to music comes to mind. We are quite lucky here in the US that music, for the most part, is a widely accepted and enjoyed. This isn't to say that some music hasn't come under criticism, such as Hip Hop or Heavy Metal, but we enjoy amazing artistic and consumption freedom. In other words, we are very free to create whatever kind of music we want and are free to listen to whatever music we like.

I know its fashionable to complain about America, on both sides of the fence: Liberals find the US too (whatever), and Conservatives find the US to (whatever else), and the rest, of course, find the US too (something else). However, one thing that most Americans can agree on is that our freedom of speech is one of our most important rights.

Believe it or not, so many people of the world do not have these express rights. In many parts of the world, certain forms of artistic expression are banned or discouraged. Certain people are banned from performing music, such as in Iran where women are not allowed to perform music in public. Western music has been banned in several countries, and its performance, recording or playback are criminal offenses. The Iraqi band Acrassacauda ended up leaving the middle east so they could perform their music without worrying about the death threats that plagued them while living in Baghdad. Before the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980's, Western music was also widely banned.

Sure, these are the notable examples that horrify most Americans. Of course, there have been and continue to be many notable examples of music being censored in countries that stand for freedom. This isn't hard to identify here. Music videos and the radio regularly feature music that has been censored. There have also been various movements calling for the censorship and banning of music, most notably putting the "Explicit Content" label on music that is considered explicit.

Whatever your thought on this form of censorship is, it is still important to recognize that while we do have some censorship of music, we are still in a much better place that many other people in the world. We are free to create and listen to music, and this is an important right. Let's celebrate our freedom of creating and enjoying music this Fourth of July.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty fanatical music lover. Not really the kind that has opinions on what you should listen to, but the kind who always has his headphones on. So, let's take a look at a day in the life of me, and see what we can hear...

6:45 AM: I get up to the sound of ringing bells.

7:30 AM: I get into my car to drive to work. Most days, I'll crank my stereo, but I'm not always in the mood for loud music this early. I usually enjoy some rock, jazz or r&b music, but not always. Today, I was listening to Sly and the Family Stone on the way to work.

8:00 AM: I arrive at work. Before I even set my computer up, I will pull out my iPod or iPhone.

8:15 AM: I have settled in to work, and have my music going. My taste varies quite a bit, but usually it will be some sort of jazz or rock. I'll listen to music pretty much all morning. This morning, I enjoyed some Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix and Charles Mingus.

1:00 PM: I usually take my lunch around now. Most of the time, I turn the music off, then venture out into the web.

2:00 PM: Back from lunch, and sometimes back to my music. I don't always listen to music in the afternoon, and today was one of those days. Had a lot of reading to do, so I cut back on auditory stimulation...

5:00 PM: Off work, and driving home. Most of the time, I'll just keep listening to whatever I have playing in the car. I continued listening to Sly and The Family Stone.

5:30 PM: I get home. When I am cooking dinner, I will put on a record. Usually I'll play it through once or twice. Tonight was Thelonous Monk.

8:00 PM: Dinner is done and I usually get back to work. In addition to my day job, and this website, I have several others that I own and work on. Many times, I just open up Pandora radio on my iPhone, connect it to my stereo, and listen to whatever. Lately, I have been enjoying the funk radio station on Pandora.

10:30 PM: I am usually getting ready for bed around now. I have been known to listen to music before bed, but the habit has sort of died off lately. I remember when I was in high school, I really enjoyed listening to the Doors before bed, although I do have a "Night time" playlist on my iPod that I occasionally listen to.

So, there you have it. A musical day in the life of me.

Music Staff

As evidenced by my many postings here, most people can tell that I am a big-time music lover. In my relatively short life, I have listened to thousands of hours of music at home, in the car, at work, and at shows. I have crossed many musical boundaries too. In the 80's, I enjoyed pop music. In the 90's, it was all about rock. Over the past 10 years, I have explored many other forms of musical expression such as hip hop, blues, soul, jazz, and electronic. I have become intimately involved with the imaginations and emotions of musicians and songwriters.

Over the years, I have come to a major conclusion, and that conclusion is this: Music has an amazing ability to affect us both psychologically and physically. Music can make you feel happy, feel sad, feel energetic, and feel relaxed. It can make us think, it can make us act. It can open our eyes to new things, teach us lessons, and be used to stimulate the mind. Music truly is one of my great joys for the many stimulating effects it has on the mind and body.

Of course, the big deal here is not only in its ability to stimulate the mind, but to instill happiness. Some of my happiest moments have been while listening to music. Not necessarily music in the background, but when I am focusing on the music, and allowing myself to be open to what the musician is saying to me musically. Many times, I interpret musical ideas as ways to live and ways to be. When a lyricist sings a line, and leaves me with some wisdom, I feel fulfilled.

Another aspect of music that brings happiness is a beat. I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me. Humans seem to be naturally attracted to beats. We have been using beats for millenia--even before melody and music theory seem to have existed. Also, the next time you're in the presence of a beat, pay attention to your body's reaction to it. You may feel a compulsion to tap your foot or rock back and forth. You may feel an urge to dance. You'll feel happy when that beat hits. I really can't explain why we react to beats, but we do. Listen to beats, get into beats, enjoy beats.

Of course, beats aren't the only elements of music that bring happiness. I am also a big fan of melodies. Every melody is like a musical sentence to me. It begins with one tone, and ends with another. It takes me from one emotion to the next, and then to the next. Sometimes these combinations of notes make me feel happy, sometimes sad. However, all the time, these notes bring me emotion, and I like that. Despite what so many people try to prove, humans are emotional beings, and we truly respond to the emotions communicated with music.

Another element of music that brings joy is harmony. Harmony is great. Harmony is the synchronization of several tones, all conveying the same emotion. Think of it like 10 beautiful women (or men) standing in front of you. Sure, one is great to see, but 10? Amazing. I really enjoy the War song "All Day Music" to illustrate: where the singers in the group harmonize the lyrics "all day". It's a climax of pleasing sounds, pure aural pleasure.

Music brings happiness. Kick back with your favorite artist or album, turn out the lights, close your eyes, and really get into what the musician is trying to communicate to you. You'll be amazed at what you discover within the music, and within yourself.

Peace out, my fellow music lovers. Spread the joy of music.

-Alan