In the interest of getting my readers involved, I’m opening up a tumblr wherein I am asking/encouraging you all to stop by and drop me an ask. Questions and comments welcome! It will be anon or not and asks will not post by default (though the odds are high I will post them unless you ask me not to). So ask away.
The URL is
Askthewolfe.tumblr.com
Now then, on to our topic: Why music?
Okay, so I’m not a sociologist by any leap I have very little understanding of the origins of music. While it would be a very interesting thing to research, that’s not what I’m going for here.
What I’m talking about is why I picked music as my obsession and a little bit about why other people listen to music.
Music has been around pretty much since people figured out how to make sounds. It serves as a means not only of communication but also of self-expression. It is how we talk both to ourselves and to other people.
Most, if not all songs are built to say something, even if its something simple or something that cannot be expressed with words. Even bad, shallow songs have something to say. The beauty of music though lies in the fact that even with a very clear song no two people will interpret it quite the same way.
I’ll use a shallow example that I’ve heard other people’s opinions on so have some anecdotal evidence
Lets look at Lady Gaga’s Poker face.
I have heard the following interpretations:
1. Bouncy pop song, flirty if shallow
2. a song about reclaiming female sexuality
3. a song about rape
I made the same face you probably just did (for the curious I can go into a longer explanation/analysis if it is requested) and it took me a lot of thinking to get the idea that the song could be interpreted as being about a cold, wounded, woman who is just out for the game because someone hurt her or is hurting her.
I personally am not a fan of the rape interoperation, but I can see it.
That song got dark fast and it's a very simple song. The interpretations get more intense and complex as the songs do. I just picked a simple one to illustrate with.
Go to any music forum (Particularly check out songmeanings.com) and find a thread about a particular song I f someone says anything about what they think a song is about you will get dozens of comments about either very much agreeing with them or about how incredibly wrong they are according to the commenter. And these aren’t even toned “I respectfully disagree” type comments, rather they are vehement, often a little insulting and very adamant that they are the right ones not the poster. The passion and conviction in the comments is unparalleled. Lest you think this is just an Internet thing, I’ve seen it happen in real life as well. Hell, I’ve been guilty of being involved in these conversations myself.
So why do we care what some random person has to say about how we listen to a song? It’s just music right?
Wrong. Very wrong.
Time and again I see comments about how music saves lives or brings people together. Hell there’s an old adage about how music soothes the savage beast. I’ve heard people declare that a particular song either saved them from suicide or pulled them through a particularly dark place in their life. Most people are quick to say that these are predominately melodramatic teenagers, but in my experience their ages range all over the map. There’s an incurably heartwarming video of an elderly man in a nursing home and how he responds to his music(Warning: tearjerker) There are also countless testaments from young people about how music has saved them.) What’s even more interesting is what songs do it. Its not always the fearless, motivational songs or the songs explicitly meant to save lives. Sometimes it is a song that most people would write off as shallow. Not to obsess on Lady Gaga, but I recall very vividly someone explaining how a friend of theirs, after losing someone they cared about a great deal four the strength to carry on through Lady Gaga’s “Just dance.”
I can hear your eyes rolling from here. Stop that. Right now.
Because of how many interpretations even the shallowest of songs can have, music is very personal. Who am I to take trivialize something that could well have saved a life? And weather we admit it or not it stings like hell when someone shit talks a song that hit you right in the gut the moment you heard it. I tend to feel a lot like a kid with a crayon drawing who’s just been shrugged off or an angry teenager. This is why we get defensive of our music and why a lot of people trivialize music. Better to not get attached to something that’s “just a song.” lest someone hurt you. Nevertheless, ‘m wiling to wager that everyone has that one song that got under their skin and just won’t leave. That one song that speaks directly to something so deep in your bones that it is imposable to describe what it does to you. You might even keep this a guarded secret. But that song is always there, like an old friend.
And I’d bet you know exactly what song it is without even thinking about it.
(hell if you’re feeling brave, throw it in my askbox)
In short, yes it is personal when you insult my music. And it is precisely that vulnerability that drew me to do what I do.
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