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Musical Influence


DuskSong

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I've been getting more into music lately and expanding my library of what I listen to, and I've had a lot of time alone to think lately. Something I've wanted to write about that hasn't left my thoughts is this: Why is music so influential and moving?

It was just another night, laying on my bed staring the ceiling singing along to a track off of Brand New Eyes, "You can't tell me to heal. And, it hurts remembering, how it felt to shut down" which has become a recent favorite of mine as it's lyrics encompass perfectly the feelings that I have gone through lately. The song sparks sadness, resentment, anger even. It brings out the emotions that I've bottled up and pushed to the back of my mind as a way to prevent myself from letting anxiety take over. It was at this moment that I had a revelation of just how much music means to me- and probably means to so many others.

I believe, that in times of emotional overload, that music is not only a way to cope and escape, but something to relate to when you may not have other outlets. Of course, there's also been numerous studies done to show the influence of music on your brain (Ashford.edu has a great article on this!). Instruments and vocals alike can bring out different feelings in a person all the way from darker emotions such as grief to music that gives you renewed hope and a bright outlook on the future. The ability to relate to the lyrics within a song can also give people hope and be a helping hand that reaches out and lets them know that they are not alone. Everyone has struggles, and everyone has pain they go through in life, and lots of songs deal with topics such as these and give people something to relate to.

Music can move you, impact moods, bring you down or make you feel like the ruler of the world and everything in-between. The energy it creates is a unique and interesting concept. An example of that is concerts (if you go to one where the crowd doesn't just stand still!). Everyone is there for one reason: To enjoy the music. Hundreds to thousands of people moving and swaying together to the instruments playing in a song. Personally, I think it's really amazing how unifying music can be across all walks of life, and in such divisive and polarized times, it's nice to be able to just forget about it all and let yourself be lost in the music with everyone there.

Upbeat instrumentals can help you get stuff done, motivating you to finish your work, or maybe start a new project or try something you've never tried before. Slower, less-heavy music can be nice to sit back and relax after a hard day, or just to think over. Harder, aggressive music is great when you want to feel powerful and push yourself harder than before. There's always a genre, always a mood of music for everyone.

..And that's my little writing on how and why music is so influential and moving! I've always been a huge fan of music, spending most of my time sitting in my room just listening to music and letting myself get absorbed into it. What are some of your favorite artists/albums/genres? I'd love to hear in the comments! I'm going to end this by listing some of my favorite albums as of recently- maybe you'll find a new favorite in it.

My Favorite Albums (Unordered)

This Is The End Of Control - Cherri Bomb (now Hey Violet)

After Laughter - Paramore

Brand New Eyes - Paramore

Self Titled - Paramore

(yeah im a huge Paramore fan lol)

From The Outside - Hey Violet

Blurryface - Twenty One Pilots

Gossip - Sleeping With Sirens

 

 

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I relate to this TO A TEE! Music is a MASSIVE part of my life, I don't think I'd be as sane as I am today had I never grown to love it!

Quote

Music can move you, impact moods, bring you down or make you feel like the ruler of the world and everything in-between. 

DIS! DIS is a big part of why I love music.

Some days I like to face reality because I believe acceptance of it is healthy

So when I hear the lyrics like this...

Spoiler

"Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown

Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today

And then one day you find ten years have gone behind you,

No one told you when to run, You missed the starting gun"

...

"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time,

Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines"

...embodied within a powerful-sounding song, I let myself feel down. The first time I actually listened and interpreted these lyrics, no joke, I cried. Because these are such meaningful lyrics that once applied to me, when I realised how dangerously I relate to them, I allowed myself to move pass acceptance and into a state of change to better myself.

On the COMPLETE opposite end however, sometimes I just want an upbeat mood, or just feel atop the world, like you said.

So I listen to lyrics like...

Spoiler

"Life's too short so love the one ya got,

'Cause you might get runover or you might get, shot"

...

"Take a small example, a tip from me,

Take all of your money and give it all to charity

Loves what I got, within' my reach"

...

"Lovin', is what I got

I said remember that,

Lovin', is what I got"

...all within a happy-sounding song. Stuff like this in the morning gets me ready to trudge through a work day.

Instrumentals work the same way, almost exactly how you described.

I can genuinely say I know a handful of songs I love within pretty much every basic genre, assuming its rock, metal, pop, rnb, country, techno, & classical(For the sub genres within those? I can't say the same.) All because they all make me feel a different way (like you said)ways that nothing else can achieve.

Another random thing is they inspire me creatively. For a lot of the songs I like, I've at some point imaged scenarios, like a mental music video, where the song could fit. Creating a random world of appropriate characters with it's climax/conclusion dictated by the lyrics.

 

The relation to a song is also extremely relevant, as you also stated. Someone had to write those lyrics. Someone had to have experienced what inspired their lyrics, so when you see relatability in them, you're not bonding with words, you're bonding with another human.

Even if their time passed long ago.

  • Brohoof 1
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