"What Music Is To You" or "Another Seil Thread That No One Will Comment In"

[Seil]

Boogers, you goobers.



The King Arthur movie stunk, what else is new? Blockbuster movie turns book into battle sequence starring "Lord Of The Rings," "Gladiator" and "Hop On Pop."

...Was Gladiator a book? I don't know.

But there was some okay music in King Arthur (see above.) Now, music plays a big role in my life. It was how I first identified with my dad. My mum took my brothers and I to a performance of The Magic Flute when we were young. My mother's weird, she's a music teacher.

The point is that as I grew up, music was a big part of my life. I dressed up as Pavarotti for Halloween one year. (Again, my mum was a music prof.) My dad showed me the glory of Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. I went out to see Deathcab For Cutie and Ra Ra Riot in concert.

Why do I bring up that and King Arthur at the same time? Because Kate Rusby. Because of The High Kings. Because of The Great Big Sea.

Because music is far older than anyone knows.



And it's gonna be there long after we're gone.

So what is it you you?

---------- Post added at 02:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:32 AM ----------

I could probably have used something older than Irish folk, but what with video games, folk music could be considered pop music:





---------- Post added at 03:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:56 AM ----------

Music is expected. Music is stereotype. Music is parody.

[Amake]

You sure do ask some tough ones, Sergeant Washington. I went to a school where nine out of ten students played at least one instrument and everyone was huge fans of Beatles, Cornelis Wreeswijk and classical music, and I learned a bunch of music history and music theory and to sing in a choir, but I still managed not to really notice music until I was about 16. Following a period of being convinced the only point of music was the words and enjoying some local talents in the vein of Weird Al, I made an embarrassing discovery of power cords by the white power band Ultima Thule; Metallica's black album playing on the radio half the time, mixed with sad songs by No Doubt, Soul Asylum, The Verve, Sinead o'Connor, Crash test Dummies, Joy Division, REM, I guess you know all the ones I'm thinking of, and then Final Fantasy 6 (3 at the time) came with music to fall in love with, music I love to this day even after finding out the depths of different music there is, and how much there is to like about almost all of it.

But what is music to me? Sometimes I forget it exists for days at a time. Sometimes I sing with my cousin, something none of us do with anyone else, which I think is underrated. One music teacher told me there was a study that showed communal singing is the most effective stress reducing leisure activity known to man, and i think there's some truth to that. Just singing along with any music, at any time, seems to make me happy. I've posted about my randomized playlists before, and I guess it's a little weird, when I go from song to song, while I'm reading or writing or playing games with less interesting sound, and I try to mimic the singer's voice, without thinking about it I can immerse myself in the mood of the song and change my mood at the drop of a hat, to fit the next song. Music to me can be an exercise in memory, in multitasking, in listening, in controlling breathing and voice apparatus and in conjuring emotion. Or a social, bonding experience. Or a journey to unknown places, or pure nostalgia, or a mood enhancer.

Though deep down I think those harmonious vibrations are a part of the fundamental structure of the universe, probably related to superstrings, and our enjoyment of them comes from the glimpse they offer into the true nature of reality. Essentially, the reason to make or play or listen to music is the same as the reason to float with the current down a river rather than going against it.

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Me and my sister played violin through middle school as part of the standard 90's middle class "gifted student" package. Hated it then, wish I'd stuck with it now.

[mauve]

My school lacked a sufficient music program. My musical education came from my parents, hence my fanatical adoration of the Beatles throughout middle and high school.

My dad introduced my sister and I to the Moody Blues and the classic rock of the 50's and 60's back when he used to watch us when we came home from elementary school, while my mom taught painting classes during the evenings. We used to dance to his cassette tape collection.

I still really enjoy the Moody Blues. This is still one of my favorite songs:


My mom, for her part, introduced me to the Beatles (I had a crush on John Lennon), The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, and of course this little piece of badassery by the Edgar Winters Group:


My dad taught me how to play guitar when I was in high school. I had access to three different guitars: His six-string acoustic that we affectionately referred to as "The Orange Crate," then later his 12-string acoustic Lotus, and finally, my very own Fender Squier Strat (in sunburst) when I turned 15. I had a small amp and a distortion pedal of some kind (can't remember what it was) too. I stopped playing once I got into college, but I still have the guitars.

This was my favorite song to play as a teenager:

...I need to rewatch Help!. That was a weird, trippy little movie.


Currently I've been listening to Omodaka. I don't know why, but I really like the odd juxtaposition of perky chiptune with traditional Japanese folk songs and modern rap. Some of the original music videos are a little NSFW, so here's some still image versions.

[Seil]

Me mum made us go into piano when my brothers and I were kids.

...Kind of wish I stuck with it.