Wilde-in Out
Oscar Wilde was the one that once said something along the lines of music being the perfect form of art. While Oscar was better known for his writings, he brings up a good conversation as to why music is so impactful to our lives. Especially in moments of intense emotion, there is no other artform that can accomplish what music can.
Let me make it very clear up front that I appreciate and enjoy all types of art and know that their value in the world and on individuals isn’t something to be ignored. But music has a way of doing two things instinctively.
It can bring you back to a moment in your life like nothing else
Music makes the unexplainable make sense
For the first point, this isn’t me just talking nostalgia. This goes far deeper than that. Like when I listen to “O Fortuna”, I’m transported back to being a little kid watching a trailer for the 2nd X-Men movie. Memories start flooding back and I’m there in my room again. Or the song “Blue Moon” that always reminds me of my grandfather humming to himself while he grabbed dinner. Lorde’s entire “Pure Heroine” album is still the soundtrack to my life from 19-22. And 10 years out, I still bring up “I Gotta Feeling” to SAXMan to get a good laugh. And that’s what music can do. Life isn’t a movie, not even close. But sometimes with the right song, you feel like you got yourself a soundtrack.
Onto my second point, in moments of heightened emotion, music is often our go to. Sometimes it’s the music itself that creates that emotional response. An artist can pour their heart on the track and in return pull that same emotional reaction out of you. A song that tells you exactly what you’re thinking and feeling without the need for dissection. Of course that doesn’t mean dissection won’t EVER happen.
Close to a year ago now, Mav showed me a track that he’d been working on, see what I thought of it. Ever since, I’ve listened to the track seemingly 100s of times by now. The track just stuck with me. And it pulls from me a way to better understand and process certain things. And over the past year I've come to find, a roadmap to understand what the hell is going on is invaluable.