Jack Lee

Classical, piano, jazz, blues, salsa, soul, reggae, R&B, rock, gospel, experimental, modern...so much music! Music is the food of love, and nourishment for the mind, heart and soul. I have very eclectic tastes in music, as I do many things. When you understand a person's musical taste, you understand something of that person, and I sincerely believe that's why music is such a uniter of people and peoples. How can two men want to kill each other when they love the same music?

Imagine how WW1 could have been fought with Tito Puente's music blaring above the sounds of the mortars? It's been said that perhaps one of the greatest things that brought the Berlin wall down was the music of The Beatles, which was first listened to in the Soviet Union on bootlegged Beatles albums. John Lennon did more to unite the world than many people understand.

The idea of "musical prejudice" fascinates me, too. I've often noticed that my dislike of any particular genre has usually been rooted in prejudice. The way I figure it, if someone has a real passion for something, isn't it fascinating to find out why? I do have reservations around very nihilistic music, or meaningless, hateful, depressing or violent music, having said that. Noel Coward said we should "never underestimate the potency of cheap music" and that applies today more so than ever before. In my humble opinion, anyway. Some rap music makes my skin crawl. I don't think it leads anywhere. It's just ugly, and always will be so. But maybe it's a sign of the times. Give me soul music anyday.