A quote I stumbled across quite recently:

"There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music."
--George Eliot.

I suppose this would matter on where you set your extremes. I think, under current circumstances, most of us have been there. What is particularly tragic is that these extremes should fall at the same hour.

This past week has been extremely empty, not for the incident at hand, but that, as an individual and citizen, I have had difficulty finding any comfort in music.

Sure, we think it's the perfect moment that can be underscored by the appropriate John Williams composition, though there's really nothing that quite comprehends or counters the undefined horror of the new millenium.

What I can appreciate is the amazing sense of unity that the national and global community has displayed, and when I go to listen to music, that's what I try to hear.

We have, among us, found it almost inappropriate to laugh...to find entertainment when so many remain missing and many other carry on the physically and emotionally daunting task of sifting through the rubble--to say nothing of the task of rebuilding...not just rebuilding the structure, but rebuilding the confidence and safety of citizens.

But that the healing process might begin with music....

What'd I MISS?

Hi, Joan!

Okay, now I've seen it reposted and I understand. Nothing to laugh at there, but for a while there I could understand Mr. Dickinson's befuddlement.

I’m different. I have found solace in my music. For me personally, music,
in a sense, heightens or even exacerbates my feelings. I was so stunned
on September 11 that I had almost no reaction, just numbness.
On September 12, during the final hours of the news which reiterated
the horrific scenes, I thought they were at first playing Barber’s Adagio
for Strings, but then I realized it was Delerue’s Platoon theme. Hearing
that dovetailed with the visuals released the flood of tears damned up
too long. I needed that exacerbation. Music allowed me to express...
Lately, I’ve played a lot of heroic action themes which always
icongraphically causes me to visualize the firemen and policemen who
lost their lives that day rescuing people and those living firemen and police
who for over a week existed on coffee as they tore through the rubble
looking for survivors. Our National Anthem, Proud To Be An American,
and America, all played so often on TV, have allowed me to ponder my
previous take-it-all-for-granted attitude. For once I’m paying
attention to the lyrics. (Same with Bridge Over Troubled Water
and Imagine.)
I own very little religious music, but I’ve always loved Shout To The
Lord. I find solace in that song as internationally, people from all religions
have prayed for the dead, their relatives, and for justice tempered
with humaneness if possible. Silence just doesn’t work for me; silence
is like novocaine. Music, for me, is cathartic. I need to feel and
express before I can heal.

“But that the healing process might begin with music...” Absolutely!
Some people feel that mathematics is the universal language. I think
music is.

NP King of Kings

[Message edited by joan hue on 09-24-2001]