The Mysterious Magic of Music
What is it about music that causes us to forget about the differences that divide us and come together as one people?
About a week ago, I found out what the hype was all about and finally checked a Coldplay concert off my bucket list. Ever since then, this question has maintained a firm grip on my attention. Throughout human history, from ancient campfire rhythms to battlefield radio melodies to stadium-shaking world tours, music has been an unsuspecting force able to transcend mankind’s silly internal battles and unite us around our shared commonalities.
After many sleepless nights of reflection, I’ve arrived at two possible answers to my question.
The songs that have this transcending effect on us (and not all do) have one thing in common: they are born from and inspired by the very experiences that make us human: love, loss, bliss, pain, triumph, tragedy. It is these things we all desire, dread, endure, and overcome. They do not belong to a religion or nationality. They do not discriminate, but rather, they are what ties humanity together. They unite as brothers across borders and sisters across seas.
However, when asked a similar question, Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin offered up a far more abstract illustration. Perhaps there’s something much bigger going on here, something beyond our understanding. Perhaps these songs make us feel connected to everyone and everything because they are little drops of the universe: a manageable amount of the incomprehensible magic that vibrates in us, through us, and all around us. Songs that bring people together are perceivable manifestations of the invisible vibrations that weave us all into one. Perhaps music is nothing more than a gentle, vibrating invitation to set our differences aside, discover our sameness with everyone and everything on this little rock floating through space, and feel as if we belong, even if just for a few minutes.
Despite the obvious obscurity and seeming absurdity of Chris’s answer, it’s impossible for me to simply dismiss the possibility that he might actually be onto something. For 25 years, Coldplay has embodied this obscure understanding of music’s mysterious magic. With over 400 stadium shows under their belt and 138 more promised in the coming years, these four soft rockers from London have mastered the art of harnessing the universe's vibrations and turning them into universally relatable melodies. If you’ve never seen Coldplay perform live, let me take you stage-side for just a brief moment. If you have, I hope you enjoy reliving the best 2.5 hours of your life…
You don’t really see it coming
It kind of catches you off guard – in the best way possible
One blink and the whole stadium goes dark, and 90,000 people
White, black, gay, straight, Christian, Muslim
Suddenly become indistinguishable from one another
Blink again
And a sea of flashing lights makes the whole place fly away to another place
Fueled by this contagious energy in the air
Little drops of the universe start falling from the sky
Flags from all over the world fill the stands
From Israel to Palestine, Russia to Ukraine
All as one, united by music and our desire to belong to each other
The floor shakes, and confetti fills the empty space as walls come crashing down
Lost loved ones make visits to wipe away tears
Hope suddenly feels effortless
And the world shrinks down to the size of a single stadium
When you’re in the middle of a place like that
Peace begins to feel a whole lot less impossible
Not because of what’s happening everywhere else
But because when you experience peace
All you want is more of it
You’re moved to fight for it
Create it
And preserve it for yourself and every other flashing light around you
When you’re in the middle of a place like that
It becomes clear
Each flashing bracelet lacks the necessary light to put on a show by itself
But when thousands unite for a common cause
They can illuminate the darkness all around them.
So perhaps Chris is right. Maybe our favorite songs really are little drops of the universe, each an invitation to stop fighting gravity, to stop fighting each other, and to simply belong.
And if that’s true, then every concert, every karaoke night, and every road trip sing-along is a little rehearsal for the world we all secretly long for; a world where peace isn’t a distant fantasy, but a realizable reality.
If you don’t do anything else today, put on THAT song, sing loud, and love even louder <3.
