Music is a force of nature, not just an accessory

I have been accused of being a 'music elitist' more times than will.i.am has repeated the same three words and called it a 'verse'. I have been dismissed as pretentious and conceited, more times than Ke$ha has stumbled wasted from a club and accidentally recorded a hit single by vomiting on her iPhone. I have been lambasted because I believe that, like your physical health, your emotional and spiritual health is affected by what nourishment you put in. For those of us who cannot get by on the 'happy meals' of music, problems arise. Not only is it harder to find 'good music' (that is, music that took talent and introspection) but once you do find it you are isolated by it. As if that's not enough you also suddenly become an 'elitist'.

This term is troubling for many reasons. I like things that are good, things that cannot be made easily, things of great beauty that are forged in the fire of hardship, that can only be created by overcoming tribulation. I'm afraid “Up in da club sippin' that bub” just doesn't cut it. And why should it? When did it become embarrassing to be a thinker? When did it become shameful to yearn for a meaningful connection with a musician who can teach you something about yourself and others?

So am I being a dick? Or am I just disappointed that the loftiest emotional peaks, the swelling legatos of Sigur Rós, the suburban lamentations of Arcade Fire, the crushingly beautiful storytelling of Sufjan Stevens, or the triumphant nostalgia of Beirut are going unexperienced by the people who need it most?

Music is not just an accessory whose purpose is to fill in blank spaces. Music is a force of nature, and its true power lies at the very heart of what makes us human. I am an elitist because I believe if it were possible to peer deep into my soul and scrutinise the foundations of my being, it would not say, “The party don't start 'til I walk in.” But for most people, I fear that it might.

Art's job is to reflect the populace. It holds a mirror to our inner workings, and if we lose our substance, so does art. In other words, when they say “Now I'm feeling so fly like a G6” they are saying what everyone's thinking... Nothing. And if anyone says anything about this problem, don't worry they're just being elitist. So before we music appreciators shrink back into our sweater vests when told we are quasi-intellectuals or music fascists, remember one thing, Aspiring to be elite is far better than retiring to the mediocre. So go home, put In Rainbows on, and enjoy, because without the odd elitist, it would be a very grey landscape indeed.

Michael Workman