Is music evil?

So, I was scrolling through the comments on the music video for Clean Bandit's new song (Come Over) earlier, and I came across a comment from a Muslim girl, outraged that about two seconds of the Adhan had been used in the music, which is haram (forbidden) according to this girl's interpretation of the Koran. After going through phases of outrage (how could she be so petty in the name of religious freedom?!!) and amusement at the hypocrisy of the situation (stating that music is haram in the comments of a music video...??) I started to wonder, may there be some truth in this view? Now don't get me wrong, I've been playing and enjoying music for a large part of my life, and would never dream of forbidding it, never mind claiming religious authority to do so! But music has the power to profoundly alter our mood and mental state, to cloud the mind and inspire some not altogether savoury acts (The connection between metal/dubstep and angst ridden teenagers cannot be purely coincidental :P) Schopenhauer believed music to be one of the only escapes from the reality of an evil and cruel world. Surely music must then cloud our judgement and prevent proper application to the improvement of our world? Or in fact, is humanity inherently evil, needing to be drugged constantly by music in order to prevent the true atrocity of it's character from showing through? In which case, should music be treated just as any other narcotic would be? Because music can have such a profound effect on the mental state of the listener, sometimes not altogether positive, does this mean it must be classified as 'evil'?


Posted from TSR Mobile