Throughout history, the world has always been immersed in media. Whether it be prehistoric cave paintings or Instagram, we have lived alongside and within media for a long time. Afterall, media is anything that communicates a message therefore, by this definition, everything can be regarded as media. This means that humans have gotten acquainted with media rather well and have developed a love for it. Without delving into too much detail regarding the intricate psychological mechanisms of media, it is clear that it creates a wide range of emotions. Through this blog post I will explore the various reasons for which I love media and how it affects me.
An immense passion of mine that comes under the vast category of media, is music. My days are in a constant melange of music ranging from Robert Johnson’s delta blues to a more modern Loyle Carner. When asked the question; “What music do you listen to?”, many if not most people would answer, “A bit of everything”. It is an easy way out of a difficult question, however in mine and most people’s cases it is true. The wonderful thing about music is that it can take up an infinite amount of forms and convey an infinite amount of messages, all within a mixture of sounds and instruments. An interesting side of media is how it can portray different cultures within it and what better form of media to do this than music.
Like all forms of media, cultural context is a key component. What i love about the cultural context within music is how it can be displayed through a sound. An example would be the classic blues riff that can be heard in so many songs such as ‘Mannish Boy’ by muddy waters, ‘No money down’ by Chuck Berry and perhaps a more famous reinterpretation in ‘Bad to the bone’ by george Thorogood. This riff is deep in the foundations of blues and it can be heard being repeated within so many classic blues songs. However, blues originated from African-American work songs developed through slavery between the seventeenth and nineteenth century. This means that many of the rhythms and beats heard in the early and modern forms of blues music originate back all the way to African music and culture. This evolution of sound through various genres of music is what makes me love it (and media in general). The simple fact that centuries of history can be told through the medium of music is astonishing.
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Why I Heart My Media 