There's a lot of music that I hear, music that I listen to. Sometimes it's merely audio recordings, sometimes videos of live performances, sometimes videos done as short-form dramatic presentations, aka music videos. Sometimes I will attend a live performance.
Most of the music that I hear comes from my own collection. I enjoy going through music that I haven't listened to for a long time and playing it again. Sometimes I listen for enjoyment, and sometimes I listen to study and to try to play it myself. The word "inform" comes from the idea that what we hear of something, or learn of something, is the "form" of that thing; and when we learn it, the "form" goes into our mind. Our mind imports the "form." We are In-Formed.
When one listens to music, it's possible for it to just flow over you without impacting you at all. In this case you're not even "listening", as much as you might sense the sound with your hearing. You're hearing but not listening. In listening, you allow the form to come into your mind.
One way, then, to get to know someone, or even a society that you don't know personally, is to pay attention to the music that they make. Allow yourself to be In-Formed, by the form that that music is, that the music that they make is.
The music will display what the music creators think is true about the world, about men, about creation and fundamental things. This is not always true, because often an artist will try out ideas that do not represent his own perspective. Bruce Springsteen said, somewhere, sometime, that he recorded whole albums worth of rap music, but that (I think he said) it wasn't suitable for his audience. I think he was trying to in-form himself with the spirit of rap music, and knowing Bruce, he probably succeeded; but it probably was not suitable for his audience as he (allegedly) said.
Listening to today: https://youtu.be/c5RWve3yD1o Rich Mullins, Here in America, the music video. Blessings to you, brother Rich, RIP. See you when I get there.
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