This Song is For You

I think I've talked about this before but just a few minutes ago this phenomenon became clear to me again. I would characterize myself as contemplative person, I think a lot. I think about myself and my relationships with other people, and I think about my place in the Universe. I often think  while listening to music. I am not an audiophile, my taste is pretty mainstream, in fact I subscribed to Rolling Stone for two years to broaden my musical horizons. When I am in a particularly contemplative mood, I will apply myself to the lyrics or the story that the songwriter is telling. Because we as human beings experience the same basic feelings happiness, misery, love, loneliness, contentedness, all to various levels it is no surprise that artists tend to focus on those themes when writing.

I am sitting at my desk right now and have my iTunes open, I was listening to some music, and for a moment I was paying special attention to the lyrics of a song. How often do we just listen to music, enjoy the beat but not really listen to the words? How often do we listen to the words and not the message? For the longest time my favorite song has been "Wonderwall" by Oasis. I find it sonically pleasing. Yet, despite the fact that I have been listening to that song for about 15 years I still don't really know what it is about. I even looked up an a lot of theories were postulated. The meaning of the song is mostly irrelevant because I just happen to enjoy listening to it.



I have listened to most of my songs so many times that I hear a few notes and just kind of space out as I am listening, but as I was sitting at my desk I started listening to a song that I didn't immediately recognize. A song that I had recently added to my iTunes. I paused from the work I should have been doing and paid close attention the lyrics, in fact I googled the lyrics and started the song over so I could read along. And I gasped (in a manly way) and thought, wow this song that is being sung, is describing my life at this moment.

It's weird that songs can remind you of people and places. If I ever hear the song "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo it will forever remind me of my Junior Prom.



It doesn't work for every song on my iPod but a lot of them I'll be reminded of a person. I think that is why I have a number of personalized ring tomes on my phone. It's usually a song that reminds me of that person. (With the exception of my Dad who I gave the ringtone "Party in the USA", in that case I just enjoyed the juxtaposition).

I can not pinpoint the exact moment when I started to insert myself into the lyrics. I would guess that it was probably freshman year of college, when many of us begin to be more contemplative and more existentially aware.

I don't know how Beck knew exactly how I would be feeling on the evening of 9/24/2010. He most certainly did not do it intentionally. Nevertheless, as I sit here writing reports, thinking about what it means to be turning 30 this year, as I listened to the song, I thought to myself, WOAH something is happening here and I need to write about it. If you don't do this narcissistic activity, try it. Listen to the words, see how they apply to you, and feel reassured that there are other people out there who have felt the exact same things you do.

Evidently Beck has gone through some of the same thoughts I have had, he was just smart enough to make it rhyme and add it to a haunting beat.