seventh post: music.
I think I finally understand now. What people mean when they say music is their life, I mean. You know, I went through a stage of not understanding how music could be life, how music was life, and how music would ever be life. To me it just used to be something I enjoyed and something that was there. It's always just be there. But now I think I understand how music changes lives. How music gives a power to people - to find themselves, to understand themselves, and to save themselves. It's strange how a three-something minute song can make you feel that way. A person can know another person their entire life, and never see the emotions that a few minutes of a song could reveal.
They say that the reason everyone likes music is because it's a language everyone can understand. When you're in your mother's womb, you can hear her heartbeat at a steady beat of 4/4, and deep in your core you can still hear that 4/4 beat. You carry it with you all your life. I suppose music simply connects with the beat in a way that nothing else in your life could possibly. Maybe the way our mother's heart beat also determines what music we like. Or maybe it's our life experiences that determine the type of music we listen to. But music touches us. What did Hitler use when he was speaking at Nazi rallies? Music. What do they use in movies to stir emotion? Music. And what is everyone carrying with them in their little iPods at every moment of every day? Music.
But really, what is it about music that makes it so inspiring, so heartfelt, so emotional?
I believe it's in the passion of the artist. That's the one thing I suppose that really defines a musician - the way they express themselves through their music. Because when you listen to a song that makes you truly feel something deep inside of you, it's because every ounce of that emotion has been poured into that song by whoever wrote it. The music speaks to you because it is you. They understand you, they move you, they speak to you. Music is a part of you. It's the one place where you can feel like yourself, because you can't deny the way those certain songs make you feel. Music - although it's been industrialised by the amount of people as with any business - remains the most true thing anyone can ever have. Music is the most raw, the most real thing you could possibly get.
Tonight I noticed something. There's a definition, and a difference between a good song and a great song. A good song is a song that has a good beat. A great song is a song that will touch your soul. A good song is a song that has a rhythm you understand. A great song is a song that understands you. A good song is a song you listen to because it sounds nice to your ears, and you sing to it because it's got a nice melody. A great song is a song you feel because it sounds good to your soul, and you sing it because you can't contain the passion inside of you. While you can nod your head in recognition, get up, and dance to a good song, with a great song, you feel it again. You feel that sensation that takes over your body, and you feel the amazement. It's a moment where you come to a realisation that this is music and - no matter how many times you listen to it - that feeling will never go away.
I didn't understand or believe it when I found myself telling people that the My Chemical Romance concert was better than the Justin Timberlake one. It didn't make sense to me until I realised - My Chem have a passion they held to their music that Justin didn't have. Justin has a passion for what he does, but it's just because he loves entertaining, you know? My Chem has a passion for what they do because it's who they are. And that, I suppose, is what made it more amazing, because when you're in front of an audience and you're performing, it's you. Raw. Justin was rehearsed to give people their money's worth. Justin uses his music as a business - a career even. My Chem just put themselves out there to the world. And it was just them, pulling all of their energy and their passion into this show, even though it was in a town some people have never even heard of.
I don't know if I'll even remember what I wrote just now. I don't think I'll remember these words, and I don't think I'll really understand music and how it touches people when I wake up tomorrow morning. But I'll always remember the feeling I get when I listen to a song that speaks to me. And as long as it can make others feel like that, it'll always be an amazing thing, you know?
They say that the reason everyone likes music is because it's a language everyone can understand. When you're in your mother's womb, you can hear her heartbeat at a steady beat of 4/4, and deep in your core you can still hear that 4/4 beat. You carry it with you all your life. I suppose music simply connects with the beat in a way that nothing else in your life could possibly. Maybe the way our mother's heart beat also determines what music we like. Or maybe it's our life experiences that determine the type of music we listen to. But music touches us. What did Hitler use when he was speaking at Nazi rallies? Music. What do they use in movies to stir emotion? Music. And what is everyone carrying with them in their little iPods at every moment of every day? Music.
But really, what is it about music that makes it so inspiring, so heartfelt, so emotional?
I believe it's in the passion of the artist. That's the one thing I suppose that really defines a musician - the way they express themselves through their music. Because when you listen to a song that makes you truly feel something deep inside of you, it's because every ounce of that emotion has been poured into that song by whoever wrote it. The music speaks to you because it is you. They understand you, they move you, they speak to you. Music is a part of you. It's the one place where you can feel like yourself, because you can't deny the way those certain songs make you feel. Music - although it's been industrialised by the amount of people as with any business - remains the most true thing anyone can ever have. Music is the most raw, the most real thing you could possibly get.
Tonight I noticed something. There's a definition, and a difference between a good song and a great song. A good song is a song that has a good beat. A great song is a song that will touch your soul. A good song is a song that has a rhythm you understand. A great song is a song that understands you. A good song is a song you listen to because it sounds nice to your ears, and you sing to it because it's got a nice melody. A great song is a song you feel because it sounds good to your soul, and you sing it because you can't contain the passion inside of you. While you can nod your head in recognition, get up, and dance to a good song, with a great song, you feel it again. You feel that sensation that takes over your body, and you feel the amazement. It's a moment where you come to a realisation that this is music and - no matter how many times you listen to it - that feeling will never go away.
I didn't understand or believe it when I found myself telling people that the My Chemical Romance concert was better than the Justin Timberlake one. It didn't make sense to me until I realised - My Chem have a passion they held to their music that Justin didn't have. Justin has a passion for what he does, but it's just because he loves entertaining, you know? My Chem has a passion for what they do because it's who they are. And that, I suppose, is what made it more amazing, because when you're in front of an audience and you're performing, it's you. Raw. Justin was rehearsed to give people their money's worth. Justin uses his music as a business - a career even. My Chem just put themselves out there to the world. And it was just them, pulling all of their energy and their passion into this show, even though it was in a town some people have never even heard of.
I don't know if I'll even remember what I wrote just now. I don't think I'll remember these words, and I don't think I'll really understand music and how it touches people when I wake up tomorrow morning. But I'll always remember the feeling I get when I listen to a song that speaks to me. And as long as it can make others feel like that, it'll always be an amazing thing, you know?