Two views on the power of communal music
Tradition: Our primeval ancestors’ language and communal behavior were music-based. “This wasn’t language as we know it, in which words are assembled to convey meaning, but was more like a phrase of music. The individual notes mean nothing, but the sound as a whole can touch us to the quick. Or, in the case of Neanderthals, sing everyone to come to supper.”
Reuters: Hominids’ cave rave-ups may link music and speech
Transgression: Somebody plays Brian Eno’s hour-long ambient piece “Thursday Afternoon” on the jukebox at their local drinking hole. Anger and discomfort ensue. Remember this next time you want to conduct an anthropological experiment (or a prank).
NYT: True Life Tales – Unhappy Hour
