My Theory of Music
Most of those of you who know me well probably know of my music obsession. I have close to 100 CD's at the moment, plus plenty of homemade mixed ones, and then lots more on my computer. I always wind up spending too much money on music, but I enjoy it, so it's a guilty pleasure... still better than blowing it on cigarettes or drugs, imo. I listen to music pretty much around the clock, which is why being a delivery driver is perfect for me: can listen to cd's or the radio, drive around, and get paid for it! (of course, there's all the hard work of greasing pans, portioning pasta, etc that goes with the job as well, but I'm not complaining). I also have played drums for about 8 years now, so I look at music from an analytical perspective as well, and am starting to pick up more and more of how it is structurally composed. Anyways, to get to the point: I was recently thinking about how diverse my taste in music is (many of you can affirm this), and trying to come up with some common denominator between the different bands and genres that I came up with. I actually thought of something that seemed pretty deep (to me, at least: might just be random and stupid to some of you), and, more importantly, fit my music taste to a T. Here it is (CAUTION: THINKING ALERT: You'll have to use your brain even to label my line of reasoning rubbish, so those of you who prefer summer vegetative states may not wish to read on...):
I think it was the ancient Greek philosophers who had the idea of man being made of body, mind and soul (but I could be wrong). The idea's always appealed to me: seems to clarify the different points of human experience quite well, so I thought I'd try applying it to my musical tastes. Much to my surprise, it fit almost perfectly. For me, at least, there is music that appeals to my body, music that appeals to my mind, and music that reaches out to my soul. I'll try to give some examples to demystify this a little. For example, one of my favorite bands is AC/DC. They aren't known for deep insights in their lyrics, or really spiritual moments in their songs. Why then do I like them? Well, there is something in the pounding, earth-shaking riffs that reaches right out into your body: it is almost impossible for me not to tap my feet to one of their songs, or even start drumming on my steering wheel while I'm in traffic (thus earning strange looks from fellow road-users). Also, their lyrics primarily appeal to surface emotions and desires. Therefore, I would put them generally into the "Body" category.
Conversely, take my absolute favorite band, Rush. They are a deeply intellectual band: not just with their profound and often incredibly clever lyrics, but in the amazing skill each of the band members display, and even more so in the almost symphonic way they play together, arranging musical parts to give a certain impression: this is demonstrated by how effective and themed their long instrumental segways and soloes are, enhancing album and song themes, rather than deviating from them. As such, I would drop them into the "Mind" category.
Finally, I'll mention another band I really enjoy, U2. I had the priviledge of seeing them live this year with a few of my close friends, and it was an incredible experience. However, I liked them long before this year. Yet, their music doesn't seem to really fit into the Body or Mind categories. They aren't needlessly cerebral, but they can be at times. They also don't rely on straight power and crunching riffs. What I've found most in their music is a sort of spiritual attraction. Here, I am not talking about what their religous beliefs are, or how they are expressing them: rather, I think that they are able to build a deep connection with people through their music. They play on the universal human themes of longing, love, and conflict, and are able to reach above the body and bypass the mind, to touch the soul, so that is the category I'd put them in.
Some final notes: I don't claim that any of these three dimensions are superior to the others. I think they all have their place, and there's definitely times when one appeals to me more than another. The mood you're in has a lot to do with what you choose to listen to. This theory also goes beyond music: the same thing is true in any form of entertainment. For example, in movies, there are action ones or comedies that are just fun to watch, without thinking too deeply (body). There are incredibly subtle movies that either try to make a point or just use witty humour (mind). Then, there are those movies that deeply affect you: make you empathize with the characters, laugh when they laugh, cry when hard times come to them, etc, which I think draws close to the soul. The same is true with books. Also, it's pretty hard to say that a band/book/movie is entirely one-dimensional: there are always many that cross the boundaries, and even the examples I mentioned appeal to the other dimensions as well: I just referred to their primary impact. Anyways, let me know what you think of this idea: am I way out of my tree, like usual?
P.S. I'm going to try and write/post one detailed album review for each of the categories per week, mostly just for fun, but also to see if I can defend this theory more specifically. Stay tuned to the Underground HQ to see/comment on these!
I think it was the ancient Greek philosophers who had the idea of man being made of body, mind and soul (but I could be wrong). The idea's always appealed to me: seems to clarify the different points of human experience quite well, so I thought I'd try applying it to my musical tastes. Much to my surprise, it fit almost perfectly. For me, at least, there is music that appeals to my body, music that appeals to my mind, and music that reaches out to my soul. I'll try to give some examples to demystify this a little. For example, one of my favorite bands is AC/DC. They aren't known for deep insights in their lyrics, or really spiritual moments in their songs. Why then do I like them? Well, there is something in the pounding, earth-shaking riffs that reaches right out into your body: it is almost impossible for me not to tap my feet to one of their songs, or even start drumming on my steering wheel while I'm in traffic (thus earning strange looks from fellow road-users). Also, their lyrics primarily appeal to surface emotions and desires. Therefore, I would put them generally into the "Body" category.
Conversely, take my absolute favorite band, Rush. They are a deeply intellectual band: not just with their profound and often incredibly clever lyrics, but in the amazing skill each of the band members display, and even more so in the almost symphonic way they play together, arranging musical parts to give a certain impression: this is demonstrated by how effective and themed their long instrumental segways and soloes are, enhancing album and song themes, rather than deviating from them. As such, I would drop them into the "Mind" category.
Finally, I'll mention another band I really enjoy, U2. I had the priviledge of seeing them live this year with a few of my close friends, and it was an incredible experience. However, I liked them long before this year. Yet, their music doesn't seem to really fit into the Body or Mind categories. They aren't needlessly cerebral, but they can be at times. They also don't rely on straight power and crunching riffs. What I've found most in their music is a sort of spiritual attraction. Here, I am not talking about what their religous beliefs are, or how they are expressing them: rather, I think that they are able to build a deep connection with people through their music. They play on the universal human themes of longing, love, and conflict, and are able to reach above the body and bypass the mind, to touch the soul, so that is the category I'd put them in.
Some final notes: I don't claim that any of these three dimensions are superior to the others. I think they all have their place, and there's definitely times when one appeals to me more than another. The mood you're in has a lot to do with what you choose to listen to. This theory also goes beyond music: the same thing is true in any form of entertainment. For example, in movies, there are action ones or comedies that are just fun to watch, without thinking too deeply (body). There are incredibly subtle movies that either try to make a point or just use witty humour (mind). Then, there are those movies that deeply affect you: make you empathize with the characters, laugh when they laugh, cry when hard times come to them, etc, which I think draws close to the soul. The same is true with books. Also, it's pretty hard to say that a band/book/movie is entirely one-dimensional: there are always many that cross the boundaries, and even the examples I mentioned appeal to the other dimensions as well: I just referred to their primary impact. Anyways, let me know what you think of this idea: am I way out of my tree, like usual?
P.S. I'm going to try and write/post one detailed album review for each of the categories per week, mostly just for fun, but also to see if I can defend this theory more specifically. Stay tuned to the Underground HQ to see/comment on these!
posted by Andrew Bucholtz at 1:23 a.m.
1 Comments:
Interesting theory buddy. As far as me personally, I wouldn't really categorize my music distinctly into those three categories, though that could make sense. Human emotions, experiences and moods (especially teens hiked up on hormones) just vary so much that it's only natural that we relate to certain styles of music at certain times.
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