Permanently black and blue/ permanently blue
In the past, music genres would be inextricably tied to the life I was leading. So for example in my younger schooling days I listened to a lot of Travis and Keane, and whenever I listen to them now I would immediately be reminded of those lazy afternoons and evenings in bed after a long day at school. Specific songs would also remind me of specific chapters of my life. Toward the end of NS when I was clearing offs and leave I listened to Asobi Seksu's Walk on the Moon a lot. Listening to that song now I am reminded of those bittersweet days where I would be soaking in the tranquility of a free afternoon but dreading the day I would have to return to camp.
These days, music has no such association with everyday life. Music has become abstracted away from reality. I can think of a number of reasons why.
1. Great influx of songs means there's little time to associate a specific song or artiste with a specific chapter of my life.
2. There's no clear variation between the days now. There are no sustained periods of ups and downs which can be clearly distinguished from surrounding periods. In other words, life has no distinct flavour now, such that I can associate the music I frequently listen to currently with this period of life. I think this is an important factor because I have been listening to some songs repeatedly (eg Emiliana Torrini's Big Jumps), yet when I listen to them after a break I can't recall the details or feel the flavour of that period.
3. I have a vague feeling the intellectualization of my self has to do with the corresponding decrease in sentimentality of recent times. If one were to look at the archives of this blog, one would note marked differences in content and style from the entries now.
4. Global warming.
The assumption I have been making here is that reality comes first, and then whatever music I happen to be listening then becomes associated with that period of life. Perhaps this is true, but I wouldn't rule out the 2 other possibilities. The first is that my choice of music is determined by the kind of life I'm leading. Thus it isn't a coincidence that Walk on the Moon is associated with August 2007, toward the end of national service. It could be that the circumstances of that time led me to appreciate certain songs more than others. The second is that my choice of music actively shapes my perception of reality. Thus I perceive my earlier schooling days as mellow and carefree precisely because I was listening to mellow and carefree-ish music then. In this sense, the association between music and life is not a matter of life first, music second. It is the other way round. Music comes first, then it affects how the perception I have of life then, which affects my behavior and ultimately affects the shape of that period of life. I then associate that chapter with the dominant music then.
Last night I saw a man feeding some cats. Somehow I got the impression he's a cat-killer.
These days, music has no such association with everyday life. Music has become abstracted away from reality. I can think of a number of reasons why.
1. Great influx of songs means there's little time to associate a specific song or artiste with a specific chapter of my life.
2. There's no clear variation between the days now. There are no sustained periods of ups and downs which can be clearly distinguished from surrounding periods. In other words, life has no distinct flavour now, such that I can associate the music I frequently listen to currently with this period of life. I think this is an important factor because I have been listening to some songs repeatedly (eg Emiliana Torrini's Big Jumps), yet when I listen to them after a break I can't recall the details or feel the flavour of that period.
3. I have a vague feeling the intellectualization of my self has to do with the corresponding decrease in sentimentality of recent times. If one were to look at the archives of this blog, one would note marked differences in content and style from the entries now.
4. Global warming.
The assumption I have been making here is that reality comes first, and then whatever music I happen to be listening then becomes associated with that period of life. Perhaps this is true, but I wouldn't rule out the 2 other possibilities. The first is that my choice of music is determined by the kind of life I'm leading. Thus it isn't a coincidence that Walk on the Moon is associated with August 2007, toward the end of national service. It could be that the circumstances of that time led me to appreciate certain songs more than others. The second is that my choice of music actively shapes my perception of reality. Thus I perceive my earlier schooling days as mellow and carefree precisely because I was listening to mellow and carefree-ish music then. In this sense, the association between music and life is not a matter of life first, music second. It is the other way round. Music comes first, then it affects how the perception I have of life then, which affects my behavior and ultimately affects the shape of that period of life. I then associate that chapter with the dominant music then.
Last night I saw a man feeding some cats. Somehow I got the impression he's a cat-killer.
3 Comments:
I would like to think is because you have not come across a song that has struck you enough yet. Gems dont come often.
White Winter Hymnal is a gem, but it doesn't remind me of the past the way other songs listened to further back do.
That's good too, you appreciate the song more on its own merits than the memory associations you have with it.
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