#10; The Sound of Music

Another blog entry, two in one night? Ridiculous! But yes, i'm in a big writing mood tonight and I feel like I could let out so much at the moment, it's bit strange. Anyways, the ttitle of this entry pretty mushc sums up what I'm just thinking about right now - music. A lot of people would happily agree with me that a world without music, whether it be rock, rap, pop, r 'n b, jamaican rastafarian reggae, hardcore metal, whatever the hell rocks your world, would be a very boring world for us all to live in. I'm pretty open to music and I 100% respect that every individual gets their own rights to listen to what they like and have the tastes that they do but I do wonder -how do we as humans find it so easy to judge a person by their musical taste?

I'll give you an example with the local area I live. Most teenagers now listen to dance music, r'n b, hiphop, that kind of music. Sadly, there seems to be a general closed-mindedness approach to other genres when encountering such individuals as I have found out from experience and from off the mouth remarks that have been... 'discussed'.. in previous events. If you like rock music, or like metal, or anything like that, if you wear dark clothes or earrings or have 'emo- style hair, then immediately you are deemed a 'sweaty'; an indidivual not accepted into the chavtastic affairs that dominate the teenage lifestyle of millions throughout the United Kingdom. I know it;s almost totally ignorant of me to say such an outrageous statement without any real proof backing me up but to deny that the 'chav' stereotype is one undoutedbly routed into the younger society.

But music isn't something to be started at, judged upon, and ridiculed without giving a chance! Music is the expression that we all may hold inside in our own individual ways that allows us to express ourselves through sounds, words, lyrics, screams, instruments, anything our creativity can drive us to! If I were stuck on a desert island with my Muse CD's or iTunes with my entire library then i for one would be a happy chappy because music can get you through anything! There are so many emotions that can be protrayed in so many ways from the way an artist expresses themselves and pours emotion into a song they've worked over, or even in the manner in which you portray songs yourself. Music helps me personally keep my life going, and it would be fair to say that music is such an good indicator into how your mind is feeling - sad and down? put on some uplifting, inspiring pieces of music you love and it can make you right as rain again. Want to go crazy amd mosh like a churchill dog on a rollercoaster? Chuck on that Black Sabbath and make Ozzy proud.

I have absolutely no reason to boast about my own musical tastes. I honestly feel it's no better than anyone elses and I have no reason to feel that it can be judged by others as well, but I'm always willing to listen to what people have to say, recommend, suggest and enjoy. I adore music, without a shadow of a doubt, it keeps my mind sane alongside the fantastic friends I'm lucky to have and my choice of lifestyle. But despite saying I have no reason to boast, I;m damn proud of the music I love! I look at iTunes and see allsorts from Muse, Smashing Pumpkins, Fleetwood Mac, Andy Williams, even classical composers like Rachmaninov and Beethoven whilst ranging back to the progtastic wonders such as Pink Floyd and Rush, and I wouldn't change any of these for the world. Music can have such a stupidly huge influence on your life and I'm more than thankful for the incredible sounds they've made over the years that have brought myself and so many others joy.

So whats driving my mind loco in joy recently, you may be asking? Here's a general list of what i'm hearting recently...

• Smashing Pumpkins - The End is the Beginning is the End and Ava Adore

How can such dark, disturbing songs have such gorgeously innocent choruses? It's such things like this that make me sit back in awe at the Smashing pumpkins and Billy Corgan's truly wonderful voice. They're such a good band and to say these two songs don;t stand out for me would be totally unfair because both hold so much anger and emotion yet bellow out the sweetest choruses...

• Muse - Fury

When music provides the opporrtunity to make the hairs on the end of your skin stand up and goosebumps run wild across your back then you know it's special. I can't stress enough how muvh this song terrifies me in the most pleasing way - probably the stupidest sentence I'll ever write. But it's true! Menacing riffs, crushing basslines, again a sweepingly soft chorus that speaks about the hopes of an atheist (hey!) and just a stunning piece of music

• Franz Ferdinand - Lucid Dreams

I'm not a big fan of electronic music-y genres. They can have their highlights but for me personally, I can't get into them. To be in love with a song that has a 5 minute electronic riff that bounces about from side to side in your mind profounds me to the point of unexplainability. But I can't help it - the addictive feeling I get from lucid Dreams and the incredibly sharp electro melodies it has is just a wonder for my musical tastes to be hold. concerning the album, this is easly the standout track on Tonight, which is a good album in all fairness.

• Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

I had do, didn't I? But I can't help it! That bassline... the story behind the song and the album it's from... the buildup in the song and just how incredibly poignant the lyrics are relating to Fleetwood Mac as a band and their personal issues... it's just an incredible mix of real life worries and musical brilliance. That bassline is one of the most genius pieces of composition personally, as an F1 fan seeing it open up the sport on the BBC, and as a music fan who geniunely appreciates music for the sheer talent and skill it must take to produce music like this without machines and computers doing the work for you.

• Sigur Ros - Sigur 1

So simple... but so beautiful. So quiet... yet so elegant. Sigur Ros are more than pioneers for the music theyr create in their genre. The ability to ease your worries, relax you, or create allsorts of emotions in just the most simple of forms. Sigur 1 is hard to explain because it doesn't do much apart from simply flow into your head like a silk mattress and make your mind as peaceful as possible. All of their music is a gorgeous composition of instruments, sounds, and the musical equivalent of an art gallery as bizarre as that sounds, and yet even though they don't need to do much to create the style of music they achieve, the diversity of emotions they can create for a listener is incredible.

There's so much more I could talk about musically at the moment and different songs but I shall leave it at that. Having the opportunity to ecpress myself on here concerning an area of life that billions of people worldwide run their life alongside is a pleasure because I love music because it's music. Music can sell, it can suggest violence, sex, greed, hatred, it can do anything and people may like it for those stupid reasons, yet I love music because it is music. That's all there is to it. It's emotional, it's beautiful, it;s diverse, and more importantly, it's our lives.

What would I do if music never existed?

Tap a few spoons on the table... tap my knees... and build it up from there...!