Have you ever noticed that Pandora is a lot like Eve? Eve is to blame for being cast out of Eden, Pandora is to blame for unleashing evil into the world. Both stories can be ways to judge women harshly for their curiosity and instinctive need to pursue knowledge.
Yet if Pandora is to be blamed for unleashing all those evils, she must also be praised for preserving hope.
Although now when Pandora is mentioned casually in conversation, people assume you are referring to the streaming music service. The creators of Pandora explained the inspiration behind the name, saying “The name Pandora means ‘all gifted’ in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. She was also, as we all know, very curious. Unlike those gods of old, however, we celebrate that virtue and have made it our mission to reward the musically curious among us with a never-ending experience of music discovery.”
Personally, I think Pandora is a perfect name for a radio service because of all the things music gives us, chief among them is hope.
We can both express and change our emotions through music. It can calm, but it can also arouse. The sheer power music has on our emotional lives is profoundly hopeful to me — we must not ever cut ourselves off from the tremendous force that art and music provides. In desolate moments, it feeds us and propels us forward. Perhaps, at times, music is the embodiment of hope itself. Hang on to that thought during your darkest journeys. Turn up the volume and hang on to it with all your might.
“All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.” –Water Pater
2 Comments
Scott Prior
My father-in-law, the writer Kurt Vonnegut, used to say that the only proof that he needed for the existence of God was music.
Simon-Gerald PLACE
Preparing a lecture on Music & Art…so helpful. Thanks.