Monday 9 February 2009

Sound

Music is a strange thing. It inspires a lot of different things in everyone, but almost everyone likes it to some degree. For something so universally accepted, it's so very varied. Sort of like food, I suppose, there's a lot of different ways to cook and lots of things TO cook, but almost everyone enjoys eating.
There's something necessary about music. I can't imagine life without it. In fact, I couldn't have life without it, I can't help noticing that if people don't have music, they invent their own. Go to a building where people are working, wait for them to get a bit thoughtful and distracted, let that subconscious mind come out.
There we go. You're drumming your fingers vageuly on the desk already.
Music can make and break friendships, start conversations, change your mood, fill you full of adrenaline or put you to sleep. It's a personal thing. Something to share with friends, with like minded people, or something to indulge in on your own. A secret little world that exists only in the tiny space occupied by your head and your headphones. It's very personal to me on account of how all my music is mentally linked to some memory or other.
My memory is a peculiar thing. It doesn't work on dates quite so much, but it tends to work on whatever I was using to entertain myself at the time. I'll remember what games I was playing, what books I was reading and what music I was listening to. The trip down south last summer is now irreversibly linked to Save This World, the soundtrack to Phantasy Star Universe, the trip to London was filled with Earthbound remixes, Paris is Robbie Williams and Britney Spears, the day of my final exam before becoming a BSc saw me driving home listening to the Sky Sanctuary Zone's theme. Bad memories are hooked up to angry songs, good ones to upbeat tracks, but every significant moment of my life's had its own little soundtrack.
All of life's little triumphs and downfalls summed up in little three minute segments. It's quite pleasant to just stick the ipod and daydream at times but a little bit of a downer to think of times that I'll never get back.
I like new music when I'm about to travel or experience something completely new for the first time. That way, if I listen to the album again then I'll always have that feeling of "hey, I remember when we first met". It's harder to do that with old music, those songs already have a lot of meaning behind them.
I don't really know what I'm getting at, here. I suppose sharing musical tastes is a lot like sharing a little part of yourself. Which is perhaps a nice little metaphor for friendships and other such relationships.
Actually, that's not bad. It all ties together rather nicely, I think.

Music also has a lot of power, too. One word. Banaphone.

1 comment:

Hanna said...

banaNAphone! and I'm gonna shelve a good few of my blog ideas now for a while. never mind!