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Ah, where have the good days gone where you could listen to a tape backwards and hear a hidden satanic message?

Music has an influence on emotional states, let's take that as a given.

Military bands leave pacifists queer with the urge to march; Opera can induce a reverential state of euphoria in punks; Hill-Billy can make you want to smoke a corn cob pipe and drink moonshine

Music influences our emotions, and so ultimately can influence our actions.

I remember how concerned my parents were when they found out I was listening to Goth music; they thought I'd hang myself with a guitar string, for sure; they were worried it was having a negative effect on my inner emotions.

I laughed, I told them, no, I'm not depressed; I just like black, now leave me alone. I spent most of my time alone and sort solace in the many Morrissey albums I had. Chase it down with The Cure then some Bauhaus for when the hate for the outside world got stoked up to a decent head of steam; twenty minutes in, switch up to The Tea party, then gear down for Black Tape for a Blue girl.

I thought I was naturally a dark person.

In my early twenties a close friend introduced me to dance music. Knowing I was a technical boy, he explained the intricacies, and took me to watch gigs behind the console. Standing behind the DJ and watching I fell in love with dance music. The next time I went out to a Goth club the girl I was talking to asked me, "I can't understand why you smile all the time,"

The music I listened to contributed to reinforce my negative views on the world; here was a famous musician saying life is a bitch and people suck. Hey, how three million dead rock star Junkies be wrong?

My behavior was atrocious. I became self-centered when I was down, and demanded that the world focus on me. Because of my belligerence and my general need to whinge I was no fun to be around; I wasn't attracting people to me with my behavior. Being self-centered, I came to think of it as their fault; they should come to me, ME! The music didn't guide me down the path, but it sure was the soundtrack to damnation.

I came out of my troubled teens relatively unscathed; I didn't do anything too extreme, I've still got some good stories to tell, and I've learnt from it.

Music can change the way you feel about the world around you. If you're already thinking a certain way it can reinforce the thoughts, and temper your will such as to drive you to action, and often misguided.

Music can change your behavior; the adage "What you put in is what you get out" in terms of emotional intake has a certain merit, yet we still should have our own internal moral compass.

Depressing music has no attraction unless you're in that state, or morbidly obsessed with depression; you become attracted to the music because you can relate to it. To say it is wholly responsible for people's actions is foolish not to say it can't reinforce negative images or behavior to the extent where someone may be encouraged to act dangerously is one more blind spot in the eye of society.

Learn more about this author, BT Cassidy.
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