Big topic, where do I begin with this one? I have been thinking about music a lot recently. It is such a powerful thing, why is that? Is it something we just perceive as a sensory perception (hearing/sound), or is it more than that? And how can I integrate more music back into my life?
I was never very talented at anything musical. Can’t sing, and while I did play electric guitar for a few years around middle/high school, I wasn’t very good at it. I don’t have the ability to ‘hear’ notes (C, D, E, etc) so I just don’t think I had that natural talent, as some people do. Had a lot of fun amping up the distortion though and jammin with friends, heh…
Regardless I was big into music and following certain artists – Formative years were centered on alternative rock (Nirvana, Bush, Days of the New, 311, Smashing Pumpkins, Linkin Park, Green Day, Soundgarden, Offspring, Rage,,) as well as some of the heavier industrial stuff (NIN, Metallica, Rammstein, Tool, Disturbed,,). In fact I think I wore a NIN t-shirt at least 4 of 5 school days… haha. First concert ever was Metallica, went with my brother and dad when I was just a kid (yeah we roll like that), hehe rock on. :]
Somewhere along the lines, I lost track of my favorite bands and music, if you asked me about their latest songs/albums I would have no idea. I guess that’s what corporate life does to you? Or maybe it is that technology changed – Gone were the days of picking up CD’s, suddenly everything was digital (remember Napster), then paid digital (iTunes), and now music is mostly streaming (Spotify, iheartradio, Slacker, etc). Personally I would much rather own a physical CD then a digital download/stream, however that is quickly becoming obsolete… I guess we still do have CD players in vehicles, however most music seems to be streaming from smartphones nowadays, meh.
At the same time I lost track of my favorites, I also branched out quite a bit – Country, pop, hip hop, electronic, every genre has unique qualities. So I have been in this weird space for an extended time now where I like all kinds of music, however I have no idea what my core artists are up to. I can tell you that is about to change…
Back to the original question, what is this power in music? Is it the lyrics that speak to the listener? It is the beat and tempo? Is it the instruments and how they all blend together? Whatever the actual formula might be, I think part of it is certainly the combined energy and feeling behind the music, that supercharge, that electricity, that raw emotion. You can be physically in a space yet listening to music that brings your mind to another place, that opens up new dimensions, that brings you back in time. Music can be freedom. Music has attitude. And it’s everywhere, in videogames and movies and at the gym, music sets the atmosphere, gets you in the beat, and it’s game on from there! And it’s open to everyone…
I’ll be focused on integrating more music back into my life this year, getting back to my roots!
m m m m mM m m m mmM m m mmMadness…………………
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