Why does sound matter?

As I was going through my notes on the ARSC conference, I ran across this statement which UMKC Special Collections Librarian, Robert Ray quoted in his pre-conference presentation on creating digital projects for audio.

"Music and sound are transcultural in a manner that is not so for text. Whether white men can play the blues may never be resolved in some purists' minds, but there is no doubting that the representations of history and culture that are captured in music can be processed and enjoyed by people outside that culture. The rise of world music, the merging of cultural styles, and the worldwide of opera by people who cannot speak a word of Italian are testimony to the emotional response people have to music."

-- Dean Andrew Dillon, School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin.

Now that's something to ponder.