Saturday, December 22, 2007

Music as a guide for life

Are some people so in tune with music that they are moved to tearful realizations about the meaning of life? Are whole life philosophies inspired by music? Alternatively, are there people who are genuinely apathetic to all music?

If so...what causes this spectrum of personal meaning derived from music? Are some people just more sensitive to nuanced lyrics or spectacularly funky base lines...or have some of us just not found "our artists"? ...and most importantly: Where am I on this scale - can I be getting more out of my music?

I then set out to understand more about what music means to those around me and the conversations ...:

*Particular songs can be associated with specific times/places/people in our lives. A song may trigger a brief sensory memory related to when you first heard it or emotions so overwhelming that you might vault over a couch and smash your hand on the stereo buttons to avoid listening further.

* Some people listen to music to feel an emotion they are not currently feeling. For example, listening to "Fuel" by Metallica first thing in the morning to get pumped.

* While others may use music to accentuate an emotion they are already experiencing. Like listening to love songs after a break-up.

* Some people like to listen to sad songs to feel an intense emotion, while others go out of their way to avoid sad songs because they don't want to feel unnecessarily sad or unhappy. What benefit do we get out of feeling intense emotions? do they make us feel more alive - more present? or can they result in self-absorption and being less present to the rest of the world?

...still pondering
My father just opened our broken refrigerator as an incentive for us all to go to bed. It smells like a gaint fart in here...geez dad.

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