Novelist Chuck Palahniuk once said that “the first step — especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money — the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.”

We are in the midst of a generation that is dominated by a plethora of music at the touch of our fingertips. We live in a world that no longer values the notion of sitting down and listening to an album through and through. With the excess technology in the modern world and the unnatural convenience it often provides us with, many people are forgetting to appreciate music as it rightfully deserves.

The music industry is changing, whether we as listeners like it or not. It’s a market that relies on good looks and action-packed music and videos for young audiences. And with songs constantly available on our phones and computers, the physical platforms for music have become close to extinction. Aside from a few die-hard music aficionados and history buffs, the eras of the turntable, the cassette, and even the iPod, are seemingly becoming less and less noteworthy.

Remember when every kid had a boombox in their room in grade school? Granted, it may have been “Now That’s What I Call Music” playing, but it was a time when kids would sit around together and listen to lyrics, observe the emotion in a song, and maybe even pick through the artwork in the CD case.

Lately, you’d be lucky to find a radio station on the air that has DJs selecting their own music that isn’t the commercial auto-tuned electronic garbage that has become all too popular.

In this modern world of impatience and constant busyness, pop and dance music have become hugely popular, especially amongst younger audiences. Whatever happened to the edgy music that had something to say? Punk, rock, soul, and countless significant others are being discarded without a chance by too many people. While this new music may be enjoyable to have as background noise in your car on the go, one could argue that it lacks a certain human aspect that music should have. Often auto-tuned, written by a hired lyricist, and usually without traditional instruments, this growing genre seems to increasingly lose artistic personality and the minor imperfections that make a song human and give it a soul.

I’m not discrediting modern music altogether, but I believe surrounding yourself with music that has lyrical meaning and trueness gives you a better understanding of the world around you and allows you to relate to others—music that changes people, and music that shapes the culture and inspires revolutions. So whatever music it is that you like, try to fit in a spot to take a break, turn on a song, and actually listen. Listen to what the artist is saying, and listen to how they portray their mood through the music. Let music do what it was intended to do. You won’t regret it.