It seems ironic that I come back to this old draft just as I’ve been introduced to a great band, Mumford and Sons. (Check The Cave.)
Music has a real power over me, particularly when combined with a secondary stimulus. I can watch a sad or poignant moment in a TV show and not be the slightest bit affected if it doesn’t have the right musical trigger. But once that trigger is there, it takes the most supreme of controls for me to not be deeply affected on multiple watches. One of the best examples of this came in “Vincent and the Doctor” (see here for the video of the section I’m talking about).
My first introduction to the power of music over me was in my teens. I was reading “Magician” (Raymond E Feist) for the first time … I can still remember it so strongly. I was house-sitting for an aunt, and indulging myself with some loud music through headphones while reading. And I reached the point in the book where Pug has had enough, and destroys the stadium. The raw power described was amplified by … Queen, “Was it all worth it?”
To this day, likely more than half my life later, I can’t listen to that song without almost eidetically remembering the scene painted by Feist; the music not only affected me, it burnt the images into my memory with a cathartic-inducing intensity.
Yet it doesn’t have to be stimulus linked with what I’m reading or watching; sometimes it’s a combined emotional or memory stimulus. In 2000, I worked for a brief time at a finance company with toxically unpleasant people. It was my first introduction to working in Sydney, and I lasted six months before I found the opportunity to move on. (In fact, toxic probably didn’t even come close to describing some of the people I worked with. It taught me a valuable lesson though that I later strived to remember as a manager: if you take out your bad mood from your personal life on your staff, you’re a supreme arsehole, and everyone knows it.)
I survived those 6 months, particularly the final 3 months, due to one song – Sarah McLachlan and Delerium, “Silence“. Every morning, without fail, as I got off the train at Wynyard station and made my way to the office, I’d slow down to an amble and listen to Silence. It allowed me to centre myself, and give myself a barrier against the toxic atmosphere I was about to enter. And every afternoon, when I left, I’d play the same song again, and wash away the day. It wasn’t always perfect, but it profoundly helped.
So, there are songs that I like, there are songs that I love, and there are songs that I have such a close connection to that they’re part of me. Or, if you saw me with headphones on and a smile at the edge of my face, or a tear in my eye, it’s likely I’ve just lost myself in one of those songs.
2010 has been a big year for me in terms of personal growth – a permanent mohawk and tattoo are the most visible manifestations of my changes, and obviously I’ve been making big plans, with Darren, for a move to Melbourne in 2011. Mind you, one of the best compliments I got this year was when @rodos said at a storage blogger event, by way of introduction, “You’re one of the few bloggers who looks like the profile pic”.
Oh yeah, before I forget, here’s the current state of Icarus (I’ve got another session next week!):
For me though, much of my life revolves around music. If I’m not listening to it, I’m still hearing it in my head most of the time – it’s like I have a personal soundtrack 99% of my waking hours. It can be remarkably settling.
So, here’s some of the songs that have been occupying my head space in 2010 – in no particular order – noting that they don’t have to have been made in 2010 – they’re just the songs that have grabbed my attention this year:
Most recently, we have Caro Emerald’s “A Night Like This”; quite frankly, the entire album is sublime. In fact, sublime is a complete injustice to the quality of Caro’s talents:
Having finally(!) acquired the sound track, The Diva Dance from The Fifth Element has often accompanied me on all sorts of occasions, including being on repeat for sometimes half a day at a time. This clip showing it in the Fifth Element doesn’t really do it justice – what is amazing is that there’s no manipulation involved at all; that’s really an opera singer throwing out those notes:
Gin Wigmore’s S.O.S has been a mental life-saver for me this year. It’s so full of energy, life and happiness that it is truly a song of sheer bliss for me:
Going for something more relaxing, “Breathe” by Alexi Murdoch has been frequent compelling listening to me. I discovered Alexi Murdoch via Stargate Universe, and treasure the show just for that reason alone. Alexi Murdoch is a damn fine artist:
Now, I have to say – I loathe heavy metal and thrash metal. So it came as a complete surprise to fall in love with “You Won’t Know”, by “Brand New”, also featured in Stargate Universe:
Continuing the Science Fiction influence, Doctor Who introduced me to “Chances” by Athlete:
And jumping briefly back to Heavy Metal, a friend introduced me to Marilyn Manson’s take on “This is Halloween”:
Over time I’ve learnt to appreciate Marilyn Manson – in very small doses – as an extremely talented artist. His take on “This is Halloween” is just amazing.
A friend introduced me to Charlotte Sometimes (and then promptly forgot he had – lol!) … her song AEIOU is a pretty good representation of what she can do:
Kate Miller-Heidke’s Facebook song, “Are you Fucking Kidding Me?” has to be heard to be believed. It’s brilliant, absolutely (fucking!) brilliant:
I’m a huge ELO fan, and I came to Lily Allen late, so I was amazed when I heard her version of Mr Blue Sky:
Going for the more contemporary, I’ve had “Hey, Soul Sister!” running around in my head for months:
From American Idol, Crystal Bowersox completely blew me away with her version of “Me and Bobby McGee” … it’s a song I loathed until I heard her singing it:
Finally – because I could go on for months, but I have to select a cut-off point, I can’t count the number of times I’ve been driving along and listening to Adam Lambert’s “Fever”:
There you have it, if you want to get in my head, listen to those songs on repeat for a few days, and you’ve got a good idea of what I was hearing on a daily basis throughout 2010!
I like the fact that iTunes keeps a play count of songs. It can be like a trip through memory lane, but it can also be a useful way of seeing what songs have occupied my time most. What’s more remarkable is that when a recently released song ends up making its way up towards the top. That can only mean one thing – I connected with it, and I ended up spending a day with it on repeat…
There’s an eclectic mix in those songs, and you shouldn’t draw any conclusions from the fact that the first two songs are operatic in nature. Or if you do, equally consider that within the top 20 is “Spider Pig” from the Simpsons Movie.
If you’re looking for a bit of new music, I’d obviously recommend any song that I’ve played as much as in the above list.
A while ago, I was lucky enough to stumble across a fantastic upcoming Kiwi artist by the name of Gin Wigmore. If you’re not familiar with Gin, the easiest way of describing her voice is that she’s a mix of Duffy, Amy Winehouse and Billie Holiday. Still in her early 20′s, Gin’s musical talents are utterly amazing. Here’s a few of my favourite songs of hers with clips from Youtube:
These Roses, one of her first singles (if not her first). A heartfelt and passionate soulful song:
Then there’s a song that just brings a smile to my face every time, S.O.S:
For something newer and with more of a rock edge, there’s Oh My:
If you’re looking for some new music, I’d heartily recommend Gin Wigmore.
All opinions expressed in blog articles are entirely my own. Individual respondents are responsible for the opinions expressed in their comments on articles.
