Why do YOU listen to music?

Does it make you think about certain things?
Does it make you forget certain things?
Does it echo/change your mood?
Does it make you feel better/worse about yourself?
Does it make you feel like you are somewhere/someone else?

Most people will say 'yes' to these questions thinking about the songs that they love.

Music, to me, is a form of art that evokes the senses and the emotions.
Which is why I hate it when people judge whether a song is 'real music' or not. If a song speaks to you, they it is good music, to YOU.

If you've been to numerous live concerts, you will know that most of the time, they make you high if you know the piece, or if it's a gig, you become elated when the crowd is reacting positively to the music. But did you actually feel the music itself?

The concerts that are most memorable to me are the ones that made me feel my emotions shifting in response to the music; it may last only a couple of seconds, it may not happen at all. But no matter if it's the musician's technique or the echoes of sound against the walls, something in the music becomes part of you. It syncs to something in you; it might be your breathing, heartbeat, thoughts, memories, anything. It's such a euphoric moment that it's powerful enough to make you extremely happy or break down immediately.

I love live classical music, mostly because it is the rawest interpretation of the foundations of music. Mathematically, layered chords can evoke more feelings from us than most modern music.

However I love all sorts of music, and there are always some very hardcore guitar riffs that really wake me from my senses better than any classical music can.

For example, I sat at the front of the Cadogan Hall yesterday and listened to Brahms' First Symphony live. I was right in front of the double basses with their amazing ground shaking low notes. And especially since it was played after a very averagely played Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, the first few bars felt amazing. The oboe part at 02:08 definitely jerked my tear ducts.



On Monday I also went to see St Vincent, and during her song 'Your Lips Are Red', she did this amazing i-don't-know-how-to-use-words-to-describe guitar thing and staged dived whilst playing it. I remember closing my eyes and feeling the whole place rotating in my head. The sound literally shook the ground. Was incredible.

02:53, check it out:


Also this Flying Lotus piece called Heaven, the outro at 02:04 (though only a few seconds) was the climax for me:


Thank you for listening to me rant!! Since it's already practically dawn right now, I'm going to bed listening to Satie's Gymnopedie No.1, which always helps me clear my head. Ima share it here! xx