If you don’t know the words to a song can you still say that you like the music? Of course. Most of the music I listen to I don’t really listen to the words. I like the tune or the arrangement. Some singers no matter how hard you listen to them you can’t make out the words anyway. You need the lyrics in front of you to work it out. If I don’t know the words to a song it doesn’t bother me that I don’t know all the words. It may be just the chorus that I manage. It doesn’t seem so important. If the notes are put together well you just enjoy the music. By now you’re thinking I don’t sing along to music. Well I do sometimes and the words might be different. My best friend listens to music and checks the lyrics and knows the meanings behind the songs and will quite happily play the same song over and over again.
Listening styles vary from person to person. Some listen to music by themselves and close their eyes and float off into the song. Others play music as background while they do something like cooking, housework, writing or working. Others listen to music as a social activity and invite people over and share the moment in the form of a party. Some go to live concerts. Some play music to drown out the sound of parents or neighbours arguing. Some prefer headphones to shut out the outside sounds or the commuter traffic. Then again it depends on the moment. We listen to music in different ways. It’s a way to relax or change our mood, a time to not think, but to enjoy.
Discovering new music is exciting and I tend to associate music with places or times. When you hear a song or the radio you can instantly be transported back to the moment when you heard the song the first time or at some memorable time in your life. Some music I listen to now I wonder why on earth I liked a particular singer or band. Some are just cheesy. Tastes change and we grow and morph our likes with our growth. Others still enjoy the same music they listened to in their earlier days and reminisce about the good old times. If you are lucky the bands of your youth are still together for most they just fade away into obscurity. That’s life.
I like a wild variety of music and some I need to be in the mood to listen to it, other times the music puts me into a better mood. Music is universal, it can be enjoyed regardless of whether you understand the secrets of the lyrics or not, or whether you understand the language or not. If it makes you happy, or mellow isn’t that enough?
I said earlier that I don’t really listen to the words. But is that really true? Is that because I have listened to the song so many times that I know what the words are and don’t hear them themselves but instead hear the essence of the song? I don’t know. Or am I a lazy listener? There is no right or wrong way to listen. I’m just glad that people keep bringing out new music. It is quite incredible the millions of way we can tell the world about love, sadness or heartbreak. And then there are the new versions of old songs. The original is not always the best. But again each to their own. Luckily. Otherwise we the choice would be limited.
Music touches you without you really knowing how. It brings joy or tears. I don’t really want to unravel the mystery of music. I want the magic to remain. I want to thrilled and surprised. That is why I love Shazam, the music capture app that allows you to find new music at the touch of a button. I have used this in taxis, in shops and restaurants. It’s like a music jotter pad. When you get home you can check out the music and download it at your leisure. Of course you can do all that from the back of a taxi too. One song I heard on a Thai Airlines flight and asked the flight attendants and luckily someone knew. It was the music they played in between film selections. It’s a Thai song and it is really catchy and is just a happy song. Again no idea what the lyrics are. I don’t even know how to pronounce the title but still love the bubbly song.
Got any songs you want to share?
MUSIC BOX SELECTIONS in no particular order
Evanescence – My Immortal
Stromae – Papaoutai
Deep Forest – Sweet Lullaby
25 hours – โลกใบใหม่ (1st song on the Colours in White album)
Jeremy Redmore – Bad Philosophy
Nina Pastori –Cuando Nadie Me Ve
Buika – Jodida Pero Contenta
Goyte – Somebody That I Used To Know (featuring Kimbra)
Miguel Bose with Paulina Rubio – Nena
Niraj Chag – The Lost Souls
Elis Regina – Aguas de Marco
Oceania – The Trumpet/Pukaea
Sa Dingding – Alive
aspergers on toast 