Roger Moroney: The foot-tapping month is upon us

Roger Moroney, staff reporter and columnist for Hawke's Bay Today. Photo / File

It is a well played line . . . ''music makes the world go round''.

Indeed it does, although like any art form with such a great spread of diversity it is a very subjective thing.

On that note, there is another well played line in the arena of music.

"How can you listen to that stuff?"

That has been around, I daresay, since the first tunes were somehow beaten or blown or howled by early versions of the human being.

One human's reason to hum would be another's reason to block the ears.

It was like when at high school a couple of kids in the fifth form (I think that's about Year 11 today?) were entranced by jazz music while the rest of us veered toward rock and pop music.

We thought they were strange and they thought we were just part of the great musical flock of sheep who were reluctant to step out of the most popular musical paddock and try something new.

One went on to become a very good stand-up bass player.

Since the early ages music has been around, with every culture and continent formulating and fettling its own version of the audio art form.

That's a good thing.

It has inspired nations and at times has effectively brought much of the world together.

Like Live Aid back in 1985 . . . an event which was later dubbed "the global jukebox".

Like pretty well in every house (I hope) we kids grew up with the sound of music.

While we weren't exactly entranced by the sounds of Mario Lanza or Jim Reeves in our early teens we appreciated what they meant to Mum and Dad . . . and today I love the sounds of Lanza.

And Dad actually enjoyed a couple of Beatles songs, although he kept it quiet.

We all went to see bands and singers and musicals, and I wish I could remember more about the Rolling Stones concert I rocked up to in 1973 - but cheap wine got in the way.

So here we are, in NZ Music Month, which has been May's domain since 2000.

There is a lot of fine Kiwi music out there and this is a great celebration of it.

Get out there . . . and hum along.