The Future of Music

Today in the mail I received a new catalog for computer stuff. As I scanned the pages and I noticed something interesting. There were at least four pages of accessories for iPods. You can get speakers, docks, chargers, holders, etc... everything you need to have thousands of hours of music in your shirt pocket. We have seen incredible innovation in the last few years in everything having to do with music except the music itself. If anything, the creative quality of music today is getting worse.

Think about innovations in music in the past. There were Bach and Mozart who changed the way we hear melody and harmony. There was Beethoven who brought a whole new passion to those melodies and harmonies. Music grew and evolved as new composers stretched our ears with dissonance and new ways to put sounds together. Later, jazz, big band, country, pop, and rock innovators brought music to the masses by mixing in everyday life experiences. These songs have become the soundtrack of our lives. There are classics from all styles that live on today, long after many of the composers are gone. They have become part of who we are.

Here's the question - How many popular songs today will live into the next generation? Where is the creativity and innovation? I don't know the answer, I just long for new music that will stir my soul. I need to be reminded that we were formed by an infinitely creative God, and despite our constant screwups, there are moments when we can still bring something beautiful into the world.

Don't get me wrong, I love the innovations in technology. Just when I began to doubt that technology and music could work together to change our lives, I saw this.

All hope is not lost.