With the advent of Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s 40th annual Music on the Steps, opens a new window on June 2, I knew I wanted this article to focus on music. “Focus” is a strong word. In searching for an angle, I started by Googling how music is a universal language that connects us all. This led me to an article that led to The Music Lab* at Yale, where I discovered that my “music intuitions” are better than my “color intuitions.” I then pivoted to when music was developed: 40,000 years ago for musical instruments, but musicality itself may have evolved alongside language among early hominids. This reminded me of the oldest known melody. It’s the Hurrian Hymn no. 6, dating back to 1400 B.C.E., and you can listen to it on YouTube performed on the lyre. Ask me how I know.
Thanks for following me down the musical rabbit hole. I also discovered that only 5% of the population has “music anhedonia,” in which music doesn’t float their boat, so I think we can agree that music is pretty much a universal language. Here are some books to prove my point, and I’ll see you at the opening act of Music on the Steps, opens a new window at the Fredericksburg Branch, opens a new window on Monday, June 2, 6:30 p.m., featuring the legendary Elby Brass., opens a new window
Deep Cuts, opens a new window by Holly Brickley
In a Berkeley bar during the fall of 2000, Percy Marks is indulging in her usual habit of overanalyzing the jukebox music, despite her own lack of musical talent. Usually, this is a turnoff to available men, but Percy just so happens to be sitting next to songwriter Joe Morrow, who is intrigued and asks Percy for input on one of his own songs. A partnership ignites, spanning years across Brooklyn bars to San Francisco dance floors, fueled by passion, ego, and obsession.
Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time, opens a new window by Natalie Hodges
This is OverDrive’s Big Library Read, opens a new window selection for May 15-29, in which everyone can borrow the eBook simultaneously from Libby during that time period with no waiting. Hodges, a Korean American former violinist, explores the relationship between time, consciousness, and music. Crippled by performance anxiety, Hodges was forced to give up her dream of being a career solo violinist. Describing her journey of self-discovery, Hodges draws on neuroscience and quantum physics while reflecting on family, racism, and moving from a life of rigid control to gentle improvisation.
Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King, opens a new window by Preston Lauterbach
Lauterbach presents a highly readable account of four African American musicians--Junior Parker, Big Mama Thornton, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and Calvin Newborn-- who significantly influenced Elvis Presley's music and style, but who often went uncredited. Presley himself may have been respectful of those that influenced him, but the music industry exploited many African American artists, denying them due recognition and financial compensation. Yet rock ‘n’ roll played an important role in the civil rights movement with the integration of African American music on the radio, eventually opening doors for some of these uncredited artists.
I Heard There Was A Secret Chord, opens a new window by Daniel J. Levitin
In his follow-up to This Is Your Brain on Music,, opens a new window neuroscientist Levitin reveals the healing power of music, one of humanity’s oldest, most universal medicines--a practice with deep roots across global cultures but often dismissed as alternative. He argues that substantial scientific evidence now supports music's effectiveness in treating various conditions such as Alzheimer's and PTSD. Levitin outlines, with passion, music's vital role in human development, showing its intrinsic link to our minds, emotions, and social connections, and its potential as a significant therapeutic tool.
The Band, opens a new window by Christine Ma-Kellams
Debut author Ma-Kellams explores the darker side of K-pop (Korean pop music) in this novel following the controversial career of Sang Duri. The eldest member of his K-pop band, Sang Duri is “canceled” by fans after their music video resurfaces old animosities between his Korean, Chinese, and Japanese fans. The band’s producer, Pinocchio, tries to protect the other band members’ public images with a cover-up, which fails spectacularly. With dark humor, Ma-Kellams explores the toll that global fame can take on a celebrity’s mental health.
Hip-hop Is History, opens a new window by Questlove
Academy Award-winning filmmaker, music historian, and cofounder of The Roots, with contributions from author, journalist, and publisher Ben Greenman, offers a lively history of hip-hop from 1979 to the present. The evolution of hip-hop is linked to contemporary events (including the dominant drugs of each era) and Questlove’s own connections, beginning with early pioneers such as the Sugar Hill Gang and progressing through Run-DMC and then A Tribe Called Quest. Flowing into more recent years, the timeline focuses on heavy hitters, such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, then into the present with Kendrick Lamar.
*Sources, because I’m a librarian: themusiclab.org, opens a new window; BBC Science Focus (search "When Did Humans First Make Music?", opens a new window): Hurrian Hymn no. 6 (youtube.com/michaellevymusic, opens a new window); musical anhedonia: British Psychological Society, search “Musings on Music", opens a new window. Finally, the 2025 Music on the Steps lineup: librarypoint.org/music-steps, opens a new window.
