"Certain musical virtues" are no substitute for that direct line to the heart that the best rnr embodies. It's not about solos or virtuosity... it's about changing your awareness.

That's the meat of great art: painting, music, dance, film.....

That's all I can say. That's all there is to say. "

And nicely said it was.

Some find that line to the heart in reggae, but beyond the first reggae song I (generally) cannot go.

Some find it in punk, but after a couple of punk songs, the line to my own heart goes dead.

I personally know quite a few who cannot for the life of them understand what is so great about the Beatles, or Bob Dylan, or any of the rest of the luminaries of the Rock tradition. But they claim to love music . . . so something is tapping those hearts.

I tend to vacillate between listening for sound, and listening for sense. There are times when lyrics are all I care about. At the other edge of the pendulum arc, I just want the sounds.

Most of the time, the "in-between" time on the pendulum arc, I want something I can sing along to, possibly harmonize with, whether the words are any good and whether or not the song gets past the "three-chords+truth" formula.

What do Clash fans say to someone whose life was changed by a Boston song?

Is changing the awareness the only goal? Is it even, necessarily, a good thing? Could music help to clamp down the awareness rather than open it up? Is that not a change?

I'm not really pinning these questions to you, EdLorah--although I definitely enjoy your conversation here. You're not the only one, though, and I'm curious to see what others may say.

Herring405