Music 101

Don't you love it when you sort of rediscover that some music you had is actually really awesome?  I've had that happen to me a few times recently.  Two examples: the song "Now That I'm Older" on Age of Adz.  Wow.  Listen to it sometime.  Then basically the band Snow Patrol.  I don't know why but the first run-through of their album Eyes Open didn't do a ton for me.  But I just decided to listen to it sometime recently--a few months ago-- it was spring--and I was amazed at how much I loved it.  The songs speak to me.  I've actually liked "Set The Fire To The Third Bar" for a long time, but the rest of the album is equally great.  "Headlights on Dark Roads"-- that's a song that always jump-starts me.  Whoever the dude singing is, he just has this sincere pleading in his voice.  Some singers, you can just tell that they're arrogant jerks in real life.  Maybe this dude is an arrogant jerk in real life, I don't know.  But his songs say that he's a cool dude.  And also, he likes Sufjan Stevens and gives him a shout-out in "Hands Open".  Plus he's Irish.  

All of the above: random tangent cuz I'm listening to Snow Patrol right now.  Also random tangent that I'm going to go on right now:  so maybe a month into Cambridge--or a month and a half, I'm not sure--my headphones broke.  I was irate.  But I'm poor these days, and to add to that, England intensifies your poverty pretty easily--100 pounds takes something like 178 dollars out of your bank account!  So I didn't buy new headphones.  Which meant that I wasn't wandering around with my iPod stuck in my ears for the last three weeks of Cambridge.  

I was unplugged.

So did my quality of life improve?  Did I suddenly become more aware of the vibrancy of life and see and perceive more happening around me?  To be honest, I didn't notice all that much of a positive change... except maybe when studying/working on papers.  I think it might be a good thing to not inculcate myself all the time with the music that I have on my iPod and computer.

But I did come to one very important realization: music is addictive and you can have music withdrawals.  I had a hard time without music.  Music is addictive.  Maybe not for everyone, but for me...  it's like a drug, or a set of drugs that I pick and choose from, and take to try to improve, enhance, forget, intensify, exhilarate, deepen, and lessen emotions. I use music to manipulate my mental state.  When I go running, I listen to music that helps me release endorphins so that I run faster, longer, and feel better while I'm running.  Side note: I just found out that the word "endorphin" is a compound word, combining "endogenous" (originating from within) and "morphine" (you know what morphine is).  If music is something that unlocks endorphins of any kind--drugs that your body creates to act as a sedative and relieve your pain--is that maybe some proof that music really is addictive?

The paradox there is that music doesn't just calm you down and relieve your pain.  It also agitates you and can intensify pain.  I guess what you could say about music is that it plays off your emotions, and has the potential to amplify or dull whatever emotion you may be feeling.

Okay guys sorry for the weird post and I'm just going to stop before it gets weirder.