I currently play in six bands, but the one that's inspired the largest amount of posts is the one that plays droney avant-pop music and consists mostly of middle-class people with humanities degrees - one or two even have doctorates. Sometimes it's like visiting an alien planet. On Monday I was talking to the lead singer about some upcoming gigs and realized we have completely opposite venue preferences - she likes playing in clubs that charge for tickets and have fixed seating facing the stage. That makes the band the center of attention. I'd rather play in clubs that make their money in alcohol sales and have normal tables that make it easier for the audience to talk to their friends and room to dance. That makes the band the centerpiece of a larger social gathering.

That bit about acting as the centerpiece of social gatherings reminded me of something else. I've frequently mentioned that the purpose of the arts is to provide us with pieces of information which might be useful in various life situations. Think of all those songs about how much some guy misses some chick who dumped him - as annoying and despicable as they seem, I'm sure they've helped lots of teenagers going through their first breakup or middle-aged dudes going through their first divorce realize that their feelings are normal. But that's not the only purpose of the arts and I should mention the other major ones. They are the kinds of things most people understand instinctively on some level, but rarely think about consciously.

One important purpose is signaling - like your tastes in cars and clothing, your taste in art says a lot about you which it would take a lot more effort to communicate in more direct ways. It's really fun to annoy other people by implying their tastes are all about signaling - "I'm glad I can listen to music that's actually fun and has interesting lyrics about stuff relevant to real life instead of that boring Wagner to tell people how deep and intelligent you are".

Music also frequently serves another purpose which the other arts rarely do, and that purpose is to lead people. Armies no longer march into battle to music, but we've still got plenty of athletes who like to listen to something to get fired up, gyms blasting aggressive tracks etc. Dance music is another obvious example of music being used to lead - in this case lead a social and mating ritual. Sure, yelling "shake what yo mama gave ya" is pretty useless for the purpose of making you seem intelligent and deep, but it sure does encourage girls to shake what their mama gave them, and that makes the world a slightly better place for everyone.

I may not be very fond of political leaders, but this is one kind of leadership I can get behind. I should ask that singer why she's not into it.