The great composer Georg Frideric Handel once said, “I should be sorry if I only entertained them.  I wish to make them better.”  The purpose of his music was not pleasure; it was virtue—the elevation of the soul.

But how can music make us better?  Does what we listen to really affect us, or is it simply a matter of personal taste?

All music has a theme, and popular music today is, in the words of Allan Bloom, “a constant search for variations on the [same] theme,” namely sensuality.  It requires nothing of the listener but to sit back and enjoy its effect on the senses; it aims to make us feel good in the moment, but not to engage us or elevate us.  From the beat and rhythm to the melody, to the lyrics and the message, modern rock music is what Bloom aptly called “junk food for the soul.” 

If I sound like an old curmudgeon, well maybe I am.  But here’s the thing: I like rock music as much as the next person.  The question isn’t whether it is enjoyable to listen to—of course it is, that’s the whole point.  The question is whether we will make twinkies and jolly ranchers our whole meal.  Just as our diet will have profound effects on our physical fitness, so too will our musical diet profoundly impact the orientation of our soul.

The Hallelujah chorus in Handel’s greatest work, Messiah, opens with a declaration that “the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!”  The whole work turns our thoughts toward the eternal significance of the work of Christ.  And quoting the lyrics doesn’t even hold a candle to hearing the majesty of the music to which it is put. 

You don’t have to stop listening to rock songs—but every once and a while, ask yourself: Is my steady diet of music just entertaining junk food, or does it make me a better person?

Have a wonderful day.