The Music of Life

For the vast majority of my childhood, I was regrettably ignorant to the power and emotion that music carries. The tunes and melodies of Raffi and the Backstreet Boys were as deep as my appreciation could go in my youth. I was too young and ignorant to truly understand the unearthly voice with which good music can speak to a person. However, I have finally gained that appreciation and now I've found that my iPod's library has evolved into the soundtrack to the movie of my life.

Music possesses the rare quality of being so versatile that it can mold to any emotion or thought that you may be having at any given moment. No matter what your mood is or what situation you are in, you can find a song that will coincide exactly with what you are feeling inside. However, songs themselves also possess this unnatural versatility. There are songs that can bestow the same level of contentment on you whether you are ecstatically happy or morbidly depressed, such as "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service. It is indescribable the consolation that a person can derive from playing a song through once on their iTunes.

However, the magic of music does not end there. For those of us that are so totally in love with music that it makes up the "soundtracks of our lives", every moment and every anticipation of something that is yet to come can be tied to a song. In a particularly romantic situation, "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis may be playing inside our heads. In other, more lonely moments, we may be vicariously listening to "Haunt You Every Day" by Weezer. The list goes on and on, with every emotion, feeling, and experience reflecting a particular song.

This characteristic of music leads directly into the one aspect of music that almost everyone has noticed at one time or another: the inexorable link between memories and music. Have you ever grown nostalgic for a person or place simply by the act of playing a song which reminds you of that place? It is remarkable how music is tied so tightly to memories, but it is yet another example of the beauty of music as a reflection of your life.

How does this affect you? For right now, I suggest that you stop reading this and turn on your speakers to feel the contentment flow...