Music is what feelings sound like.
Photo by: Angie Nan
From time to time, I find myself listening to a song that stirs everything up. This song will then be played hundreds of times, over and over again, for weeks, sometimes even months. Usually it’s a song that make me feel something. A song with a very good melody, one that gives me a couple of goose bumps here and there, or one that reminds me of a particular someone or event. Of course the music that I find extremely inspirational might be annoying to you, because each individual experiences music differently. Generally however, fast paced music evokes happy feelings, classical music in major key tends to evoke a sense of relaxation and slow music in minor key tends to evoke recollections of sad memories. This much can be said with ease, because it’s a general concept. However, one slow song that affects me won’t necessarily affect the next person. That’s pretty obvious.
But why? Studies have shown that music affects different hormones. One of these hormones is cortisol which is involved in arousal and stress. Another, testosterone is involved in aggression and arousal and finally, oxytocin which affects our nurturing behaviour. Oxytocin also triggers the release of endorphins, which explains the high feeling some people experience with certain songs or types of music. When music goes hand in hand with hormones, our reactions to certain types of music makes perfect sense. The reason why two people will experience a song differently also makes perfect sense once you look at peoples personal experiences. Someone listening to a sad love song who just had their heart broken will most likely recall the good times they had with the heart breaker and inevitably feel sad. Someone listening to the same sad love song that is happily in love, might feel happy listening to the sad song, because they have no negative connotation to the song and it’s message.
So although you might not be able to relate to the music I listen to, and you might not be able to understand why I like a certain song as much as I do, remember there are many possible reasons for someone to like a certain song. Maybe they like the voice, maybe they like the tune, but more often that not, they can relate to the song on a personal level. And this is why I never judge someone for the type of music they listen to. Music is something beautiful, something that evokes feelings and makes people feel alive. Whether that’s rap, ska, punk or pop – the music a person chooses to listen to most likely makes them happy, and that’s what’s important.
Having said that, I thought I’d share some songs that have inspired me some way or another throughout the years. Perhaps you’ll be able to relate, perhaps not. Perhaps you’ll be curious and listen to a few of them, perhaps you already know them all. Either way, I’m always on the lookout for new music that I can potentially add to my list, so your suggestions are appreciated.
- David Gray (ft. Annie Lennox) – Full Steam “Forlorn, adrift on seas of beige, In this our golden age”
- David Gray – Hospital Food “You’ve stood there before You’ve basked in the glow You’ve stood in the roar You’ve tasted the snow”
- David Gray – Please Forgive Me “Feels like lightning running through my veins, Everytime I look at you”
- David Gray – Late Night Radio “Head for the city lights, yearning inside”
- Chairlift – Bruises “I tried to do handstands for you but every time I fell for you”
- Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire “Hot as fever, rattling bones, I could just taste it”
- The Streets – Blinded by the Light “People pushin’ by and walkin’ into the night”
- Enya – Only Time “And who can say if your love growns, as your heart chose? Only time”
- Fleetwood Mac – Landslide “Can the child within my heart rise above?”
- Eddie Vedder – Long Nights “Have no fear for when I’m alone, I’ll be better off than I was before”
- Everlast – White Trash Beautiful “White trash beautiful, there’s something you should know, my heart belongs to you”
- Keane – Bedshaped “Many’s the time I ran with you down, the rainy roads of our old town”
- R.E.M. – Everybody Hurts “Sometimes everything is wrong, now it’s time to sing along” (really, try singing along when you feel down, it works wonders)
- Souad Massi – Le bien et le Mal (The good and the evil, song in Arabic)
- Al Bano & Romina Power – Felicita (Italian)
- Moody Blues – Nights in White Satin “Nights in white satin, never reaching the end”
- Elton John - Goodybye Yellow Brick Road “You can’t plant me in your penthouse, I’m going back to my plough”
- Neil Young - Heart of Gold “I want to live, I want to give, I’ve been a miner for a heart of gold”
- Guns N Roses - November Rain “Everybody needs some time on their own”
- T.I. – No Matter What “But still I stand, no matter what people, here I am”
- Adrian Copilul Minune – Of Viata Mea (Romanian)
- The All American Rejects - Swing Swing “Dreams cast into the sky, I’m moving on”
- Creedence Clearwater Revival – Have you ever seen the rain “Someone told me long ago, there’s a calm before the rain”
- Edda Muvek – A Kor (Hungarian)
- Element of Crime – Mach das Licht aus, wenn du gehst (German)
- Joni Mitchell – One Week Last Summer (Instrumental)
- Missing Heart – Prison of Passion “We were lovers in a stormy night, never asking what is wrong what’s right”
- Orb – Fluffy Little Clouds “The skies always had little fluffy clouds … it was beautiful, the most beautiful skies as a matter of fact”
- One Republic – Good Life “This could really be a good life, good life”
- Rednex – Wish you were Here “Wish you were here, a battlefield of love and fear”
- Patience Dabany - Sango Ya Mawa (Gabon & The Congo)
10 Responses to “Music is what feelings sound like.”
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I write about self-improvement. I write about my conception of beauty and love. I write about happiness and traveling. I write about cherishing the old. And I write Monday - Friday.
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This is a really good topic for discussion, it is so interesting how a song can move a person strongly, while others may not be moved at all. For me there are some songs that it’s the music itself that stirs something, but more often it’s the lyrics. The Weakerthans’ song ‘Plea From A Cat Named Virtue’ I know all the words to and love to sing along to, but I always shed a few happy/sad tears when singing along at the end, the song perfectly captures the unconditional love of animals and how important that love can be for someone who’s really depressed. The song is actually pretty upbeat, but it’s the final lyrics that get me every time, just simple words written from the perspective of his cat, hehe, but it gets me every time. Actually, almost all Weakerthans songs make me feel emotional, John K. Samson is an amazing writer. His lyrics are always so simple and beautiful and honest.
Two of my favourites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBPunpIna70&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWeP5TSz1ZI&feature=related
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Oh, I quite enjoyed both videos – especially the Plea from a cat named Virtue. The video and the words are so sweet, I too teared up at the end. Makes me want to get my cat and hug her like crazy – although she’s having her crazy hour right now, I don’t think she would appreciate that. :) Thank you for the recommendation, I have heard of the Weakerthans before, but I can’t remember actually listening to any of their songs.
I like this post. I never really thought deeply about it, but you are right about how personal music is.
Hi Raina, thanks for stopping by! Music is indeed personal and that’s the beauty of it. What are some of your favorites?
I know what you mean — sometimes I get so obsessed with a song that I listen to it over and over until it just falls flat. Lots of good tunes on that list! I wanna download the ones I haven’t heard. Right now I’m listening to “Corner of Your Heart” by Ingrid Michaelson.
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Never heard of Ingrid Michaelson – off to YouTube her. Thanks!
I am with you, I think. I like some oldfashioned mainstream music such as David Bowie or Pink Floyd, but I also like music no one has ever heard of. Well, almost no one. I like Marek Grechuta who is quite well-known in Poland, but almost completely unknown outside Poland.
Thanks for the recommendations Raina! I love David Bowie and I grew up with Pink Floyd, but I have never heard of Marek Grechuta – I will definitely look into him since I’m a fan of world music. Thanks again.
I love the way you have described how the same song is perceived differently by people.
I love the collection that you have put up. some i have heard some i have not. so i’m off to checkn them out. thanks
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Hope you enjoy them! :)