I tend to find that whatever I listen to can be directly related to who I have around me. Boyfriends, close friends, new friends, co-workers... whoever it may be, I find that their taste often is reflected in my musical taste for the period of time when I’m around them.
Not that this is some big news or anything. Obviously word of mouth is one of the easiest and biggest influences on finding new music. There are often times where I’ll scour the interwebs trying to find a new band or new song to enjoy but a lot of time it comes down to word of mouth. Considering that music, the producing, recording and sharing of that music can be so accessible these days, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. And while this may be good for your average indie band that has some talent in them, most of the time it means that you have to wade through a lot of crap to find that one gem.
I guess I never really appreciate or fully understand my love affair with music until I go through a period when I don’t listen to very much of it. Sure, I’ll listen to my ipod on my bus (what better way to avoid the crazies?) or I’ll have something on in the background but I don’t always quite /listen/. Yeah, I know. It sounds pretty artsy fartsy there but bare with me, I’m not trying to be a hipster or anything.
What I mean to say is that, there are often times where certain bands, certain songs, certain verses that just sweep me away. Whether it’s an awesome beat, a particularly powerful verse or just a certain singer’s voice, there are those very few songs that just bury in deep and strike something. It’s really a hard thing to describe, that feeling of loosing yourself in a song but if you ever get it, it’s kinda a special moment.
So I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I’m just starting up that love affair with music again. Looking into new bands, listening to old favourites, getting swept away with music that I hadn’t heard in a couple of years...it’s been awhile.
I’m certainly not blaming him but when I was with C we didn’t have that much in common music wise. There’s the odd band, a favourite song or a radio station that we could agree on but music wasn’t a huge part of our relationship. He viewed music very differently than I did and so we didn’t discuss it often. At the time it didn’t seem like a big deal, we liked some of the same songs and bands but we never tried to make each other grow or discuss favourite bands or song lyrics. However now, I guess being able to share a song, a band or a music lyric is a little more special to me. It’s another way of connecting.
One of my favourite things to do with a friend of mine is to send each other song lyrics. I don't remember how exactly it started but it use to be a game between the two of us. See if we could guess the title of the song just from two or three lines of music. Now it's just something we sometimes do if we're bored, or want to say something but don't quite know how. Somehow--and don't ask me how, but music is able to capture all that you ever wanted to say so beautifully and easily. Sometimes they're just goofy little lyrics of songs that make each other laugh, or just a memory or a song that we know is terrible but we love anyways. Sometimes if I want to be melodramatic I put in a serious song, or if I want to say something but can't I'll manage to find something to describe that feeling. Whatever it is, they're always something that makes me smile and something that's been very special to me.
Another friend and I were recently discussing this and he compared music to smells but for your ears. We were discussing how a song, how a band could make you remember a time in your life, or a person, a moment and how for better or worse, it’s pretty awesome that a couple of chords and a few words could make you feel that way again.
So in honor of music I’m going to let you in on what I’ve been listening to the past week and give a bit of a commentary on it.
The Roots - Duck Down!
Okay, yeah I'm probably a little late on the whole bandwagon and yeah, I'm a weird nerdy white girl so hip hop is probably not the first genre of music you'd think I listen to. And you're right, I don't normally. However good music is good music and the Roots just swept me away. Sure, I was a bit skeptical when S mentioned them to me--and then proceeded to hand off all their albums to me, but I randomly put one of the albums on my ipod and yeah, I was hooked. This is the first song I listened to of their's and probably still one of my favourites. Don't ask me why but I love the beat.
Again, not exactly something you may see me listening to. However, again S (who is a HUGE source of music suggestions for me) put this album on and I was blown away. Sure the lyrics are dumb and they're pretty much just kids but that growl is still pretty damn epic.
Plus working out to this? Yeah, I totally own the elliptical with this blaring and a bad day of work behind me.
Angus and Julia Stone - For You
This is a band that G recommended to me and for awhile I just couldn't get into them. He swore up and down by them but I don't know, I guess it just took me awhile to come around to her voice. However, once I started enjoying one of their songs I was hooked.
Cruel Black Dove - Love Song
Okay, you can laugh all you want but I got this song from Vampire Diaries (a show which I adore by the way so you can shove it.) While word of mouth and friends are generally huge influences on what I'm listening to, television shows and movies are probably the other half of how I discover new music.
Hot Hot Heat - Middle of Nowhere
In honour of C's birthday I figure this one may be apt.
Songs, the new scents. Go figure.
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