Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul

So this post isn't what I promised...and for that I apologise. But the whole point about blogging is to share insight, share experience and inform others of opinion, is it not? I intend to share some funny stories with you, but this weekend saw me confide in music...


...So this post is about music.


The quote above from Plato sums it all up, music can reach thoughts and emotions deep in the soul. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a preachy post, but a post to make you think differently about music and how our culture surrounds it.


As Timothy Sieber once famously (yes that's sarcastic, and you'll understand what I mean when you read on...) said:



"Popular music is a powerful medium for
representing, contesting, and negotiating
changing cultural identities within shifting global
diasporas"


He adds:



"Music indexes continuity and change,
sustains and renegotiates connection across
transnational space, and reshapes generational
relation"



Erm... cheers for that Tim...



In English, it means that people identify themselves by the music they listen to, and it's a tool to bring groups of people together. 


That's exactly why "what music do you listen to?" is a great way of finding out more about a person in a quick and simple way. Music preferences identify things like where they like to go out, artists they identify with, music they relate to and even down to things like how they dress (take Emos and Chavs for example). Each of these leads to further assumptions about their personality and attitude.


Now imagine if you saw an artist that conflicted with this ideal? Someone that looks like this:

Is highly unlikely to be famous for singing songs like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-8ez6dGao8


Although its not irrefutable proof, it does go to show that music is deeply embedded in our culture and the way we identify ourselves.

Music can also be an escape for people. 

Escapsim is the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind - basically, you can escape from your troubles and worries by distracting your mind. People do this in different ways - some people might go for a walk, immerse themselves in a good book, have a long hot bath or go for a drive. 

For me, my escapism comes from music. 

Music offers a huge variety of ways to escape - the instruments, the melodies, the rhythm, the vocals, the lyrics, the beat, the tempo, the meaning, it's context and a memory. Each song is unique in it's combination of these, so each song can offer a different route to escapism. 

I had a particularly bad day the other day - half way through the working day I felt crap. It was effecting my work, so I had to do something about it. I turned my phone off and concentrated on working offline for half an hour and put some music on loud. My worries drifted away and my focus on work was at it's best. 

For me, music is a tool to control my mood, motivation and attitude. The music I listen to reflects my mood at that time.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. I would like you to share what music means to you. So please do comment, or tweet @TCAADave with #MusicIsMy 

For me, #MusicIsMy Escape. 

Who knows what next week will bring!

Ciao for now.