It's universal, transcends culture and language and class and for me, at least, is a lifesaver.
For the past six months, I've felt little but anger and grief. I've tried to pray, to meditate, to light candles, to read, to connect with nature, but the all-consuming nature of this level of grief is an effective trip wire to all the usual practices that brought me comfort.
Only music has succeeded in making me feel connected, again, even temporarily, to this place that I'm not entirely sure I want to be right now - life - and beyond that, to the universal, to others, to God/Goddess. I'd always taken music for granted, but now, even on days that I forget to eat, I cannot forget music, because otherwise, I don't find the energy to do whatever it is that needs done to function. Not poetic, but raw: I never realized that it is a necessity, not a luxury; that music, perhaps as much as love, is essential to being human.
I'm from a Jewish background and still embrace many Jewish traditions, but really, my beliefs are reflected better in my altar and my bookcase. I practice an earth based Goddess embracing faith, and the music I have found most sustaining recently are songs that evoke, for me at least, those beliefs.
