I think by now I'm representing myself as some sort of insufferable (un)intellectual. Nevertheless, I'd like to talk about music, as much as my knowledge permits to.
I usually listen to music without any lyrics - instrumentals, classical, electronica, that sort of thing. Because of the lack of lyrics, and even though lyrics are up to each individual's perception anyway, I think I'm able to make the music I'm listening to more meaningful to me. I assign my own meaning to the music through my interpretation of it, and that makes the piece more personal and appreciable.
The first time I thought that lyric-less music could stand as a metaphor for something was when I heard Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto for the first time. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and the piece was intended by Tchaikovsky to embody the beauty of Switzerland. The second time I listened to the concerto, I tried my best to imagine the lush mountain ranges that I imagined Switzerland had. It allowed me to appreciate the music better, to say the least.
I would like to talk about one particular piece of music, electronica in genre. Probably labelled as experimental, ambient, and instrumental.
I think it's glorious.
Granted, it's an unusually long piece of music given it's genre, and I'm going to admit that I didn't like it much the first time I stumbled upon it. It was probably because I got bored of it and stopped paying attention after the first 15 minutes or so. However, during a long walk home from a shopping centre, I decided to give it another listen. I realized how beautiful and moving it was to me.
To me, Stella is a metaphor to life. It's choppy, unpredictable, and progresses almost un-melodically. Then it starts to smoothen out, make some sort of sense. It's almost as if lures you into a false sense of security where you think you can predict the next note, and you're able to for awhile, but then everything goes into chaos again. But you listen harder, and you notice a pattern in the melody, an obscure one, but a pattern nonetheless. Soon enough, (just past 23 minutes), everything just falls into place. The rustling of what sounds like metal, the awkward creaks of the violin, the drips of water, a little bit of this, some flutes, some trumpets, and a little bit of that. The cacophony of whatever becomes a breath-taking and wondrous symphony. Then you can't help but think, it's your life and life. Everything seems choppy and rough, but in the end everything comes together to form an amazing symphony, and that symphony is you as a person.
Probably Jura Margulis' piano rendition of Danse Macabre
And 1st mvt Winter by vivaldi
I don't much like talking about classical pieces and ascribing particular meanings to them, but I can definitely appreciate the emotions and moods of each piece and acknowledge how expertly they were composed.
None of the music I listen to is really just instrumental, sometimes it will be heavy instrumental with some few spread out words, but I don't listen to music like Stella much. I did a report on music as an art and what I found was that music is always a symbol, since music is never written in a vacuum. What I mean by that is music means different things, and has different intrinsic meanings to different people. So you can find solace or the human precondition in a song, while someone about 15 years younger is going ROFLWTF to it; not saying you are finding something where nothing exists, but that is the nature of the beast. Also I know like no music theory, but a friend of mine who does said that music becomes increasingly boring as you understand music theory, that when you know what will happen next music loses that sponteneity that you talked about. I guess the base of what I want to say with this is that music is personal, and what music gives each person is beauty, and I think you have found that beauty.
A wise man once said: "Creator, the alphabets let's communicate When I translate the situation's straight No dictionary's necessary to use Big words do nothing but confuse"
You don't need fancy words to describe something or move people.I don't listen to classical and electronic music these days as much but they are definitely the best source when you need a soundtrack for your life or just a day.It's all really subjective and if you find meaning in a specific musical piece for yourself than great
This song reminds me of more things than I can possibly express through words, but anytime I am feeling "out of time" all I need do is put this on and reminisce. Musical memories are an integral component of my sanity, especially with my family history of depression, ADHD, and overall neurosis. Considering that I listen to music at least 3 hours a day, one could say I adhere to a sort of musical prescription regiment
I think it is a slightly paradoxical thing to say that the music you listen to gains meaning through personal interpretation when you actively try to envision the Swiss Alps while listening to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Is it not his interpretation then?
Obviously the Switzerland you imagined is still your interpretation of it so maybe I am rambling a bit but I think that it might be best to try to approach some sort of middle ground between what you think it means and (if you have established this) what the musician says the meaning is.
Personally I have a hard time envisioning things other than moods and emotions in (instrumental) music. And even those moods and emotions are subject to change whenever I listen to the same piece in a different context/setting.
I think you can definitely view an instrumental or any piece of music as any sort of story or metaphor, and undoubtedly the artist had something in mind when he was creating his piece, from a vague emotion to a detailed story. Personally I think it comes down to you as a person. Personally when I'm looking to listen to something with substance, I prefer lyrically deep selections (For instance something like Elliot Smith, Tom Waites or even early Jay-Z) rather than an emotive piece, just because that's how my mind works. I always identified with poetry. I have several friends who much prefer instrumental pieces, however, because that's what they identify with.
On January 04 2013 05:47 sam!zdat wrote: I suppose I would think about music more in terms of evocation of emotion than as really strictly metaphorical.
I would agree. As a music instructor, I believe music is the expression of emotion in a way that words can't describe. I could say "there was a feeling of impending doom, a feeling of a shadow just around the corner" or something, but it would never be as good as the first 4 notes of Beethoven's 5th.
As for OP's song, I couldn't get into it, but that's just me. I'm a melody and steady beat kind of guy. I like ambiance in music, but with a driving for behind it. If that makes sense. It probably doesn't.
This song has a for sure steady beat, some ambiance, and a nice little piano groove.
This song reminds me of more things than I can possibly express through words, but anytime I am feeling "out of time" all I need do is put this on and reminisce. Musical memories are an integral component of my sanity, especially with my family history of depression, ADHD, and overall neurosis. Considering that I listen to music at least 3 hours a day, one could say I adhere to a sort of musical prescription regiment
Everybody should listen to that song. Damn farv.
On January 04 2013 05:47 sam!zdat wrote: I suppose I would think about music more in terms of evocation of emotion than as really strictly metaphorical.
EPT
