Don't know about the culture question...
But music is a very powerful tool that conveys feelings and emotions. Best example I can use are cartoons and movies. Music pushes and pulls the listener to find responses to questions just like on game shows. It's also evident in sports games in arenas, when the home team is playing to the end..last chance for points, and such.
Better yet, music conveys what words cannot say. Silent movies even had scripts, but were not heard in conversational format. The music conveyed the script eloquently. The subtitles merely summarized the script.
When you're feeling upbeat..you usually listen to upbeat music, thus your attitude is full of fun and humor. Generally, when you're feeling down, a slow descending scale points out the obvious: you're sad.
Some music/songs are meant to explain profound thoughts like: Dust in the Wind (Kansas). It's not a song about the wind, but who WE are.
You probably already know some of this stuff. If not, hope it helped!
