Haiti and music go hand-in-hand

“He never knew I was his biggest fan,” my mom said of R&B artist Teddy Pendergrass, as she gave her small eulogy over the phone to the congregation of me. Pendergrass died Jan. 13, a day after the Haiti earthquake. It was more of a disaster to her that week that a piece of her musical influence was gone.

It can be that way when it comes to musicians. We think that with every album and interview we are one step closer to knowing them. It’s a bond that is strangely accepted but realistically impossible. Nonetheless, it proves that music can play a large role in our lives, even when we’re just cruising Pandora.

There’s a reason why we skip, shuffle and sort playlists on our iPods. It matters what’s in our ears, because essentially, we are building the soundtracks to our lives.
It’s the soundtrack we listen to while walking to class or sitting at our desks.

The music you listen to before the party or after the breakup. Just like friends, we surround ourselves with music that makes us comfortable and has the exact words you need without having to find them yourself.

I don’t have to be a Facebook-creeper to know that everyone has at one time posted a lyric as their status as a means to define a situation.

As the music world lost one of its artists, it gained momentum from the Haiti disaster at the same time. Artists such as Blink 182 and Lady Gaga are both selling merchandise with the full proceeds aiding Haiti’s disaster relief.

Former Fugees member and Haiti native Wyclef Jean has already raised money through his charity Yele Haiti and wants to relocate two million Haitians. Plenty more in the entertainment business are doing the same.

Here comes our part: to be influenced by the same artists that affect our lives on a daily basis and help give some sort of relief for displaced Haitians.

IU has already set in place donation and fundraising Web sites, not to mention the student organizations that are looking for any means of support we can give.

The things that rub off on us due to the influence of music – whether it be Gaga’s hair bow, Kanye West’s shutter shades or Pete Wentz’s guy liner – are understandably transient (just a side note: if you’re still wearing shutter shades as a legitimate form of eye protection, we need to talk).

But it’s the action of helping others that will imprint on our lives as we find out what we can do for Haiti and the world.

Mom, Pendergrass might be gone, but influential music lives on.