Music is such an impactful part of our lives controlling our emotions, mood, and overall well being. It’s an area of influence I find intriguing, especially figuring out what kind of music influences my mood and emotions.
I’m on Spotify 24/7 listening to whatever fits my mood, but I’ve noticed that when a slower, sad song (like Alone by Cat Burns or Falling Behind by Laufey) begins to play, my mood drops and I feel gloomy. However, when songs like Poster Boy by Lyn Lapid or Back on 74 by Jungle start playing, I instantly feel uplifted and energetic. It’s a crazy concept that I don’t fully understand, but I find it interesting and kind of fun.
I’ve started to take note of what kind of music influences different moods and experiences, and what I’ve noticed I find really exciting.
There’s an unofficial genre of music that I like to call “Vibes.” It’s really just a playlist I’ve created of music that sounds surreal. Not just evoking a general feeling you can get from an event or memory, it makes you feel as though everything in the world stopped and nothing matters. For just a few minutes, everything loses relevance, and it’s just you and your music, existing. It’s a feeling I think is neither negative nor positive, just a feeling you can only experience through music.
Concerts are also a major factor that play into how we experience life. It’s a crazy idea but it kind of makes sense.
Take Sam Smith’s performance of Latch with an orchestra, for example. Now, I’ve never been to a concert, but I’d like to imagine this concert being a life-changing experience. The orchestra, backup singers, and Sam Smith all blend in a perfectly curated experience I can’t imagine you’ll find anywhere else. The top comments, full of people who attended, praising and admiring the performance not only validate how I’d imagine the concert experience being but also give me a new-found appreciation for the artist and their art.
I’ve started to listen to more of Sam Smith’s music after watching this performance, like when I’m doing homework or driving home after school. His music hasn’t taken over my life, as drastic as that sounds; it instead influences my feelings in the moment and how I experience my everyday life.
Of course, opinions on this are always going to be different. How people view music and its impact is never the same, but I overall feel it’s pretty significant in our daily lives and holds a lot of power as to who we are and how we experience life.
Hi, Brody! I really enjoyed reading your blog and reflecting on your insight about how music holds an important power over your mood and emotions. In fact, this is something I’ve experienced, too, although a little differently. Usually, I listen to music from a genre or playlist based on the emotions I’m feeling at the moment, and the music typically offers an escape or fosters that mood. Still, like you, I do believe that the type of music we listen to controls the way we experience things and interact with people.
ReplyDeleteApart from the content of your blog, I really liked how you’ve formatted it with short paragraphs to bring flow. The parenthetical references to songs that you associate with certain moods, as well as the link to your playlist, is a great addition, too, and really offers a personal touch to your blog. Overall, this is a really insightful and well-written post, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Hey Brody. Your “Vibes” playlist is something that’s really interesting. Sometimes I’ll be listening through my playlist and a random song pops up and kills the mood. If I went 40 minutes straight listening to calm melodic rap and then suddenly the next track is an aggressive drill song that completely kills the mood. I’ve always had one single playlist where I put all the songs I like into, and if I get bored of it I take it out. Your playlist creating strategy sounds like something I need to try.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you find music as a catalyst for emotions like comfort. It’s honestly what music was designed for! If music gives you emotions which are good, that's great. There’s also a bad side too which I’d like to bring up. Sometimes the content of music isn’t all that positive, and in modern hip-hop there exists a degree of acceptance for certain lifestyles and actions which aren’t really acceptable at all. Sometimes the music matches these lyrics, and can influence folks to make bad choices. This has been something I’ve wanted to say and I’m glad that music’s power and influence was brought up in this week’s blog.
Your paragraph structuring is neat and organized which makes your entire blog very clear and coherent. I enjoyed reading your blog and I’m looking forward to reading next week’s.
I love music, and your post very easily caught my eye. At first, I was thinking, “how does ‘music is crazy’ relate to power?” As I read more, I realized how the title does relate to power, and I completely agree with your point that music has a strong influence on us. Just as with you, the music I’m listening to has the ability to change my mood quite a bit. Usually, I listen to music when I’m working, and listening to music allows me to focus. The music creates a barrier between my random thoughts and what I need to focus on, blocking out any distractions. While I primarily listen to music while working, I love listening to music at all times. Being in the band program at AHS, I have many opportunities to fully appreciate and enjoy music on its own.
ReplyDeleteYour post is a very well written one, and the way you personalized it with bits of your own life (like the linked playlist and listed songs) helped make it very relatable. If you were to improve this blog, I would recommend discussing a little more how music has affected others around you.
Hi Brody! As someone the kind of person to be listening to sad songs like, all the time, your blog really spoke to me! That one state that you were talking about where it is just us and our music is the reason I often listen to these "depressing" songs. The opposite of you playlist, "Vibes" (love the name, by the way), my un-named playlist is quite slow and melodic, and I love to just put on some headphones and tune out the world while listening to it. It makes me feel so down to earth, and when thinking that music is really just a bunch of complex vibration, it feels crazy to say that it can impact my mood so much.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to what you were saying about its power, I think that a true superpower that music has is being able to transform any environment. Music scientifically does invoke a certain reaction or emotion with us, and in turn, these emotions affect our perceptions. It's like a little domino effect of its own, and considering the strength of these perceptions in shaping our every day lives, I completely agree with that particular aspect of music. Though what you said is true (that people experience/feel music differently), I am glad to say that I whole heartedly agree with your piece. I can't wait to read more of your work this semester!