ONE of the most enchanting ways to connect with people is music. Since we live in a Babel-like world where people speak in hundreds of languages since the olden times, we need to have another medium where we can communicate. It’s much better to be a deaf/mute these days because they can easily communicate with each other in sign language. There are already lots of mainstream television programs nowadays which require deaf/mute features such as Al Jazeera.

But timeless music can certainly connect all of us. Let us now take a closer look at the contemporary album offerings which bind all of us into one language. There’s actually nothing more refreshing than listening to soundtracks of today’s movies. Some of the more awesome soundtracks are those that do not have lyric where the person will simply concentrate on the music. One of the more compelling movie soundtracks that haunt me is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tells story of Elle editor Jean Dominique Bauby who suffered from Locked in Syndrome but was remarkably able to write a book just by blinking his dictation to his assistant. Prior to Bauby’s accident in the movie, the soundtrack was upbeat and jolly. Then when the movie scenes are now showing Bauby’s excruciating three-year ordeal to write the book (to which the movie’s title is based), the soundtrack assumes a somber tone, one that you usually hear associated with Holy Week retreats if you’re a Christian. The movie is a French production. That means you can be pretty assured that every music score is perfect because the French are said to be the most intellectual people in the world who can wiggle their way into every possible situation conceived by the human mind. There’s no more compelling testament to that except the main character of the movie itself, Bauby. It being culled from a movie, the soundtrack is stripped of lyric. Yet, you’ll be amazed that even if you are not French and do not speak any French at all, you can be moved by the soundtrack.

Another movie which has a compelling soundtrack is 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days. This time, it is a Romanian production. The story is about a Romanian girl who got knocked up and was pressured by her family to undergo abortion. All the elements in the movie interspersed with traditional Romanian music are present in the soundtrack. For example, when the Romanian girl is about to go to the abortionist, the music in the background perfectly echoes the fear and uncertainty of the dilemma that the girl is facing. Again, the soundtrack is devoid of lyrics but we, non-Romanian speaking folks, can surely be moved with it.

There are surely thousands of music pieces both from the past and the present which are composed by non-English speaking people but which can move us in ways more than one. So music really is a great part of culture - you can enjoy new types whilst travelling. Say you take up an option such as Malaga car hire or autoverhuur Sevilla you can enjoy the music of Spain whilst travelling through the culturally rich Andalucia…Or take advantage of the many hotel en Madrid offers and learn true Castllian Spanish there - no where else will you find a city quite so active and cosmopolitan!