Music Allan Bloom

Today, music has become of great importance amongst the younger generations of people as an undeterred passion and a source of excitement. However, music has also become younger people's unrelenting addiction, clouding reason and making life meaningless without the sedation of music.

In his essay Music, Allan Bloom believes young avid music listeners have become abusive of music's beauty and addresses his concern about the negative effects music has on the education of students. Beginning with classical music, it was originally only available to very few people and was limited in supply due to composer's slow output. However, the listeners of classical music were taken through a religious experience and given the meaning of life through a wide variety of instruments playing simultaneously creating a harmonious and pleasing sound (158). The music of today is unlimited and its availability is ubiquitous throughout society. Even when music is unavailable there are MP3's to prevent listeners from escaping their musical fantasies. Endless musical ecstasies have now become younger listeners reality created by the abundance of music producers in today's society. Plato first recognized the barbarous nature of music as demonstrating no reason and in large only feeds the soul with enthusiasm (159). An enthusiasm that may interfere with people's reasonings, but speaks the strong feelings and passions of a young and growing generation. The lyrical content within rock and roll, for example, expresses the strong sexual desires lingering within every young adult encouraging active sexual relations. Music's power also comes from its loudness, making speech among friends impossible only to be replaced by illusions and bodily contact as the basis of association. Similarly, music acts as a "corrobori". James McBride explains in his essay Symptomatic Expressions of Male Neuroses that in a "corrobori" or religious gathering passions are released that cannot be restrained in order for partisans to set themselves apart from their ordinary morals (144). Music's abuse is similar to that of drug abuse, at first splendid, but later desensitizes its user and drowns out life. Life's activities and the importance of education have become meaningless and dry without the addiction of music. Education provides children the means to discover what they feel and what they can and should be. Music and its role-models provide no sort of inspiration rather encourages uncontrollable passions and provides models that have no relation to any life the young people who go to schools can possibly lead (164).

In many hip-hop songs there are lyrics that contain offensive language, drug abuse, violence and other provocative themes, which can have an influential affect on listeners learning abilities. Hip-hop listeners are exposed to learning crude language and taking on unusual fashion styles as