The Loud Sound of Silence

I've been asked more than once to write more about music; my standard response is to say that I don't write about it because I don't understand enough about it to say anything meaningful. When it comes to music, I'm reduced to "I know what I like."

And I like - no, love - this Disturbed cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence." I've always been fond of the original classic, but this powerful interpretation spoke to me deeply the very first time I heard it. As it was then, the song now serves as indictment of the forces driving humanity apart. The original was mournful and, to my ear, tries to be persuasive, whereas Disturbed's version reverberates with rage; it's an almost violent call to action, one that speaks to our world of spree killers, rising inequality, never-ending wars on drugs and terror, and all the other ills that beset us in the 21st century. It feels very much like a passionate, if not desperate, wake-up call.

Of course, it's possible I'm reading too much of my own anxiety about the state of the world into a piece of pop art. Maybe I just like what I like.