I am going to start highlighting some of the comments that I get here on What Does This Song Mean To Me. There have been some really great comments and they deserve some recognition. This is a comment I received on my post Music Is An Outlet To Let Me Be Myself. It was posted anonymously (otherwise I would have linked to the visitor's site) and was signed "loon".
Comment:
Music to me is either an emotion-delivery system or a key that unlocks the emotions you already have. Either way, when a song really clicks, I feel new things, things which seem to be caused mainly by the music itself.
But I don't think that's completely true. On a personal level, it doesn't explain why music affected me as a kid in mainly superficial ways. It also doesn't seem to explain the blackout that sometimes to happen to people as they move out of their teen years. I know plenty of people who cannot form attachments to new music. I find it hard sometimes. I have to listen attentively and make space for new music. For a song to become an important song personally, usually something memorable and distinct needs to be happening in my life at that time.
When you're a teen, every day is like that. Every day is new and important. You end up with a vast teenage soundtrack.
Recently I went through a blackout period during which i formed no attachments to new songs, maybe for a year or so. Then I relocated to another state, far away. Everything was new, and before I knew it, a song I really shouldn't like at all seeped into my head and took up residence here. That song now means that specific week in that specific year. Likewise, there's a dry snare drum in a popular song from 1995 which, when i hear it, sparks extremely specific feelings. One of my Ipod play lists is composed entirely of songs that I'm embarrassed to admit I like. I shouldn't like them, but they attach to things, and it is what it is.
So I think music is like a mirror which shows you yourself, and that it's important, if you want to form serious attachments to music, to basically feed yourself newness in your exterior life.
I think the whole issue here might have something to do with a little thing called neurogenesis.
--loon
For the song to go along: "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby
3 comments:
I like your choice of songs.
This is what I feel when I hear a new sound or song that I like.
I get engulfed in the lyrics and try to understand what the artist is really feeling. The second part is the accompanying music and how it sets the mood. A vision of what my mind interprets is usually a memory or scenario of something from the past or fantasy I may have had. This leaves a lasting impression.
Now every time I hear this song I envision what I originally felt and saw. It creates a space that is both intimate and private. It's like having a shell around me that is impenetrable. I am safe and comfortable in the moment.
When you really think about it, this is really something that is very complex and very hard to explain. What a thought provoking article.
I decided to look into neurogenesis and what I discovered was this. On going neurogenesis is thought to be an important mechanism underlying neuronal plasticity, enabling organisms to adapt to environmental changes and influencing learning and memory throughout life.
Thank you Kelly!
Hey Kelly Just got your msg Well I'm listening to http://kissrocks.com
listen along it's awesome for blogging :)
Thanks for that fav earlier that was cool :)
Nice comment by the reader. Your posts usually provoke thoughts. That's a nice expression about how one might feel. For me, music was always a plain thing, stimulus those activated and soothed my audio sensations.
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