In a world where things seem to be moving faster than we can blink it’s nice to know one thing will always remain constant: There’s nothing better than good music. Not just a hot record or a summer jam but real, good music; the kind of music that breaks barriers. Music so good that even when the title slips your mind, hearing just one hook incites a smile.  Good music is hard to come by, but a treasure when it’s heard.

Music is a language. It’s a language with thousands of dialects and no set grammar rules. Each note is a letter, each chord a word, and each phrase a sentence. Sixteen bars in and your body starts interpreting by way of dance. Sometimes others understand your interpretation, and sometimes they don’t. But the joy in the music remains the same. It’s hardly necessary to speak Spanish in order to feel the sensual rhythms of Carlos Santana.  You don’t need to understand Italian to feel the tantalizing tenor of Andrea Bocelli. Music is a language that evolves past comprehension and lives in the world of experience. Truly good music resides in the soul of man and can drive even the clumsiest of us to get on the dance floor and back that thang up!

Music can be enjoyed in many forms, but there is no truer experience than a concert. Not the kind where everyone has their own seat, dresses in tuxedos and claps only between movements (though those concerts are beautiful in their own right). I’m talking about a packed to capacity, armpit to armpit, who’s that touching my butt type of concert. The one you buy tickets for months in advance despite your natural desire to procrastinate until prices are sky high and you’re forced to take a rain check on awesome. The one where you high five a random guy over someone else’s head because you both know every single word to the EP that no one even knew existed. These concerts, these breeding grounds of bounce, these refuges of rhythm are where boundaries are broken. It’s where introverts get in your face and extroverts lose their minds. Most importantly, it’s where friendships are made and lifelong memories begin.

Though not every song you enjoy with a friend will evoke the same feelings, it can act as a vehicle. Everyone has a playlist of songs cataloguing their life’s experiences: Some painful breakup highlighted by TLC’s “No Scrubs”; some life changing accomplishment embellished by R. Kelly’s “I Believe I can Fly”; some everlasting journey towards success accompanied by Carl Orff’s “O, Fortuna.” No matter the song, no matter the playlist, no matter the memory, music has a way of seamlessly working its way into the background. It lives in elevators, restaurants and bars. It makes a movie worth watching and long car rides a little more tolerable. Whatever the situation, it always sets the mood.

Today, although the formats have changed, music’s ability to unite remains the same. From 8-tracks to CD’s to MP3’s music has always found a way to stay by our sides even while we’re on the go. New genres have sprouted and old ones have made a comeback but music never really dies. Whether it’s being streamed over the web or spun on the 1’s and 2’s, somewhere on the globe is someone listening to the same song as you. So sit back, relax, grab yourself a cocktail and toast to the guy you’ll never meet, listening to the song you’ve always loved.