Why Do You Love Music?

[dsmith2904]

I've been reading "iPod, Therefore I Am" (great book) and while it is something of a history of the iPod, it's mainly about the author's lifelong love affair with pop music. Reading it has taken me back through all my musical moments--the records, tapes and CDs I've had to have and obsessively listened to; the concerts that blew me away; the magazines I inhaled; the memoirs I've gotten lost in.

It's also made me think about why I love music so much and have spent a large part of my life intent on some how being part of the scene. Since I can't sing, play an instrument or read music, writing about it seems to be the bets option for me.

I think a big part of why I love music so much is because it's portable, it can follow you wherever you go, be right along side you in any of your best and worst moments. You can't watch a movie while getting married or read a book while taking your first cross-country drive, but you can have music playing.

When I hear certain songs, I get instantly transported back to so many moments in my life--good and bad. Sometimes the moment becomes so real that I can almost smell it. That's pretty powerful.

So why do you love music? What makes you spend great portions of your hard-earned money buying CDs, magazines, going to concerts, travelling to landmarks? What drives you to discuss it nearly to death, make lists, catalog facts, become an expert? Why, of all the things you could be obsessed with (sports, movies, books, cars, etc.), is music the thing for you?

 

[Carek1230]

I can't even fathom my life without music in it. It's the soundtrack to my life, through good and bad times. Music is the pulse of my being, it's what keeps my heart beating and my blood flowing. I like all kinds of music, from rocking beats to quiet instrumental, and listen according to my mood. I can recall exact moments of my life through songs and music.

I love the song American Pie because it has always made me think what would it really be like if there was a day the music died?

 

[IWasBored]

it's either listen to music or take a lot of drugs. it makes me happy.

and it's amazing what a few minutes in a mosh pit can do to relieve stress.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Why do I love music?

Well, for one thing, it's been something that's been a part of my life since I was a baby. I can't recall one day going by where music wasn't playing in some form, either through the radio or through a CD or through a TV or a tape or whatever. My parents have been big music affecionados since they were kids, my dad's worked in radio for years, so his expertise on the whole thing's been passed down to me, and my parents' love of the stuff's been passed down to me. Indeed, a world without music would be a very foreign, unhappy concept to me.

For another, and this is something that's been happening to me a lot within the last year or so, for some reason, there is just something about hearing a song again that you loved but haven't heard in years. I'm loving hearing songs again that I heard all the time as a child. It's nice. As stated, it brings back many good memories, and now that I'm older, I understand these songs better, and grow to appreciate them much more, and sometimes, hearing that song again pushes me to hear more from the artist, because if I love this song, who knows what other treasures they created that I could hear? My dad's pointed out to me before how odd it is that you can rarely remember what you had for breakfast, but yet you can still manage to remember all the words to some song you heard 10 years ago. You still remember the memories associated with it. And I agree with him. Music's power is just weird that way.

Also, it's amazing how many songs I've heard that have somehow managed to say everything I feel so perfectly. And it's also great to have around, because there are days when this world's just bugging me to no end, and my favorite music is here, waiting, and all I have to do is pop it in and either be calmed or cry or scream along with whomever I'm listening to, or I can gather my thoughts, or daydream and just escape for a while. Plus, you can't really beat hearing a beautiful musical bit in a song-a nice piano, or a good guitar riff, or a cool bassline, or an amazing drum bit. Some of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard have been through a singer's voice or through some instrument.

So, yeah. That's why I love music like I do .

Angela

 

[typhoon]

There's fuck all else to do.

 

[tiny dancer]

It lifts my spirits, when I am down, and makes me happy.

 

[Irishteen]

Why do I love music, well it makes me happy, makes my feel better when I'm on a low. Its just something that will suit all moods, and is always in the background in my life, I listen to it on the computer, on the street, when playing video games, about 50% of the time I spend awake Its just always brillant(Well some of it anyway)

 

[hedgehog]

I love music because theres always music out there to match each mood or state of mind Im in.
When Im upset, theres always songs that cheer me up.
When Im angry, theres always songs that will calm me.
When Im bored, theres songs which will entertain me.

When Im I just want to "chill out", theres always music out there that will create an atmosphere where I can just relax.

There is music I can relate to in certain situations, music that can capture my imagination and take me to another place, and music that makes me think/ consider things that wouldn't usually come into mind.

Music... hard to imagine life without it!

 

[BonosSaint]

Nice post, Angela.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Nice post, Angela.

Thanks .

Angela

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Because I can't understand paintings.

 

[I'm Ready]

because theres music to fit all my moods

music makes me think/reflect on myself

music is always there when other things aren't

music sounds good

 

[blueeyedgirl]

It says what I can't.
It says what I feel.
It says what I want to be.
It says what I am, and what I was.
It takes my breath away.

 

[u2valleygirl]

dsmith- great thread.

I was under a lot of stress a great part of my life and music was my solstice. Just to close the door and listen to bands made the pain go away for just a little while.

My life is now filled with joy, Music is part of my celebrating.

 

[DeadMansParty]

dont know, I was born with it, ask Mr BAW. maybe they had alot of music on when I was a baby, but I have found a weird ablilty to play any instrument. Im not sure how I discovered music, I dont remember, I only know that I always needed it on when I was a kid to sleep, and I always needed Mr BAW ( dad) to sing to me when I was very very young.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

I grew up with an appreciation for it, thanks to my dad. He always had it on at home, in the car, everywhere. I spent nights in our spare room, playing his records and listening to mixed tapes he had made from the radio, and it just went from there. He made it a point to take me to concerts when I was younger, and I thank him so much for that.

I love it because there's something for every emotion. I have albums that I can tie back to a certain place or time in my life and when I'm old and gray and can't remember much, I know I'll turn on my iPod (or whatever we have by then ) and when I hear a certain song I'll be transported back to when I was 15, 20, or 26. It's given me friendships I never thought I would have - some of them formed here thanks to U2. My oldest friend I have, I met her our first day of high school because I saw her wearing a U2 t-shirt, lol. It's also given me something to bond with my dad over, seeing as how we're not very close on many other things.

I love the way it makes me feel, it's a kickass "hobby" to have, and it's brought me a lot of good things.

 

[RedRocksU2]

I work for a Corporation that is based on sound and music.......

Like a couple of the statements we have;
"Music can have a profound affect on the way we live and experience our lives"........"Music can takes us to a place deep in our hearts and minds".....

It would be very hard to continue life after experiencing such important moments in my life, without music.

 

[youtooellen]

I can't even think about how my life would be without music.

for me, it's almost like this.

I am the car. My heart is the engine. But music is like the fuel, the oil, or the little parts that seem like they don't matter but really are the things that make the car go. Music makes me go vroom vroom!


might not make sense. but yeah

 

[one4u2]

I can't even fathom my life without music in it. It's the soundtrack to my life, through good and bad times. Music is the pulse of my being, it's what keeps my heart beating and my blood flowing. I like all kinds of music, from rocking beats to quiet instrumental, and listen according to my mood. I can recall exact moments of my life through songs and music.

My words exactly..I couldn't have said it better myself

 

[AtomicBono]

This is a fantastic topic and every post has been spot-on, it's nice to know others feel the same way I do!!

You know, whenever anyone asks the question, "would you rather be blind or deaf?" I always answer "I'd rather be dead than deaf" and people look at me like I'm insane. I suppose that's a little extreme, but I can't imagine going on without music.

Music probably carries more memories for me than anything else, and you know what makes us who we are? Our memories. Everything that happened up to this moment to make us who we are. So by that logic I suppose in some sense music makes me who I am. And I'm sure my friends would agree with me on that one, who would I be without my U2 obsession?

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Because I'm fascinated by the way that the very best musicians can condense the entirety of human existence into a three minutes song.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

it's either listen to music or take a lot of drugs. it makes me happy.

and it's amazing what a few minutes in a mosh pit can do to relieve stress.

this too.

 

[00Kevin]

I love music because it entertains me, and i hate silence

 

[indra]

There is a lot of music I like just because it's fun and pleasent to hear. A nice background. But the music I love is much more than that. The music I love tells me more clearly than anything else that I am not alone in this world. That others have the same hopes, dreams, desires, sadness, fears.

And it helps me cope. I remember picking the music I would listen to when driving to and from the hospital when life support was removed from my mum. I was so grief stricken I could hardly breathe, but the music was almost like an embrace for me and I felt so much more at peace. Nothing else does that.

 

[hippy]

I echo everyone's thoughts so far in this thread


For me, music is my soul. It's not just a part of me... it IS me. There's something both primal and elevated about music as I experience it. I can listen to music and I'm moved fundamentally from the inside of my heart... why does the soundtrack to Titanic or Dances with Wolves always make me cry? Why does an Irish reel always get me going? At the same time, music is something I appreciate intellectually... it stimulates something inside me that wonders what other people are thinking and feeling and how they are coping with the world. This is why music like Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and The Beatles' "Within You Without You" have changed my life.

After all that... "talking about music is like dancing about architecture"