..it has to affect people in predictable ways regardless of particular circumstances" (Linton pp). However, music, says Linton isn't like that because one listener might hear the opening E-minor chorus of the St. Matthew Passion and become grief stricken, while someone else might become bored, and another might find that piece incomprehensible (Linton pp). According to Linton, listening to a particular kind of music does not throw listeners into a trance any more than heavy metal music turns its listeners into sociopaths (Linton pp). However, even Linton back-stepped a bit when he revealed that there was one area of life in which music apparently had the ability to affect people's behavior, grocery shopping (Linton pp)! Several studies reveal that faster paced music tends to make American shoppers walk down the aisles more quickly than slower paced music (Linton pp).

Apparently Holloway believes that society can be transformed by the cultivation of the right kind of music, just as Plato believed a return to the older kind of music would be instrumental in reinstating the ancient virtues, while Linton believes this is just not going to happen, period (Linton pp).

Would Woody Guthrie have become a legend had it not been for the social circumstances of the...

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' without the inspiration of previous artists and their own personal quests?
Muses may inspire through whispers to the psyche, however, it seems that music reflects the social culture of its time. And although the performers of music may influence society, especially younger generations, with modes of dress and style, the music itself is influenced and shaped by society and culture.

Without the Dust Bowl Era, Woody Guthrie would not have written those particular songs. Without the rich jazz culture of New Orleans, Louis Armstrong might have become a potato farmer in Pulaski. And without the decades of pop music influence, the Beatles might have never have been. Therefore, it seems that music is shaped by society and society is shaped by people.

Works Cited

Music. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=music

Society. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=society

Linton, Michael. "The Politics of Music.'

http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0110/reviews/linton.html