The second test or rule involves emotion. When you hear a favorite piece of music you tend to feel a basic emotion such as happiness, sadness, sorrow, joy or anger. This may manifest itself in wanting to get up and dance, or simply smiling or laughing. The key is that no thought is required... Music is not an intellectual exercise. You either connect with a piece of music or you don't.
Recently I was driving into work, late, on a highly stress-filled morning, and turned on an oldies station by habit. I drove on automatic pilot and wasn't really hearing the songs being played until... I heard the hand claps and bright guitar notes opening I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits. Suddenly, I was smiling and happy, feeling the youthful optimism of so many years ago. Why this happiness and sense of contentment is tied to this particular song is a mystery to me, but it is.
The Power of One
When Elvis' second greatest hits album was released in the late 1950's it bore the subtitle/headline: 500,000 fans can't be wrong! Conversely, a half-million critics can be wrong. It's true... If today's most respected critics write that the Jonas Brothers are producing the best music on the planet and you do not agree, then you are right. And if the critics label someone as a musical genius, and you do not see it, then you can - in the words of Dave Mason - say that we just disagree.
One of my late uncles bought a minimal amount of music during his lifetime. But he went out and paid good money for every one of Ray Charles' singles and albums the moment they were released. Did I, then, grow up loving the music of Ray Charles? Honestly, no. I can respect it but I never quite "got" what one was supposed to get from it.
The same holds true, for me, with the music of The Righteous Brothers. I don't dislike it, but when I hear a song like You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling I kind of tolerate my way through it... and I have no desire to hear it again.
Emotions...
When I hear one of my very favorite albums - like Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, Beatles VI, Straight Up by Badfinger, Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan, or The Rising by Bruce Springsteen (the Boss) - I tend to go through the entire range... I'll smile, laugh, feel like celebrating or dancing, and I'll feel like crying. That's because, for me, these collections represent the reality of life, from good to bad, bad to good.
Anger...
One thing that has surprised me is that I'll find that some music that I actively disliked or disdained as a younger person is now music that I understand and/or appreciate. That which may have seemed threatening earlier - like teen angst or alienation - is now understood. (The years supply context.)
Of course, the point is that the anger or dislike means that the music had an impact on me even back then, back in the day.
It's the music that you ignored back then - to which you felt no emotional connection - that will be ignored today and into the future.
(To be continued... part of a series.)
Photo: flickr
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