And I'm not old and not stuck up! Wow, I bet you thought that was impossible, right?
In the wake of all my recent political/social commentary, I decided to say something about music. Right now, my on-the-go play list includes Billy Joel, 4 Strings, Within Temptation, Slipknot...
And The Devil's Trill.
I listen to modern music all the time, and I love it. But nothing is more profound, more enlightening than classical. In my sociology class (ignoring my disgust with the course in general), I learned that words are just symbols, existing only to designate meaning to abstract ideas. So lyrical music, by definition, is weighed down by these symbols, attempting to grasp an idea through words. But some things cannot be expressed through words.
That's why classical music is more profound. Instead of trying to chain the abstract with mere words, it embraces it. It soars to heights unattainable through lyrics, and most people don't get that. Which I completely understand. By nature, I am an abstract person, but some people are not. For some, concrete ideas are better.
No matter which you prefer, the impact of classical music lies beyond lyrics (no matter how rhythmic and cool), instead touching the soul (not to sound cheesy or anything). Personally, I feel more uplifted when I listen to Valse de Fleurs than Summer Sun, and I feel tragedy greater through The Devil's Trill than Tonight I Wanna Cry.
Of course, I'm high on NyQuil, so my opinion probably means nothing.
This is why I should be president.
-TS
P.S. Wow... my second blog in two days... I'm setting a record! Let's see if I can keep it up.
P.S.S. A friend of mine inspired this by referring to classical music as "boring," so I felt like responding in a post that he'll most likely never read. I can never come up with good arguments at the time...
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3 comments:
Now, I agree and disagree with you. I don't know about the whole, symbol thing but I believe that sometimes the melody and mood of the song can really make an impact.
Like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8cliWNSM4U
And when there's a story to them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qggxTtnKTMo
But how can you not feel something relatable when listening to "Fix You"? Or get a goofy smile listening to Mr. Blue Sky. Rap is really just a modern poem. You've heard it before but just look at Eminem, Tupac, and Dr. Dre. I think they're all kind of crap but they all sing what they know about. And when singers do that, not just top 10 hits that have no feeling like "I kissed a girl" then, lyrics truly have more emotion and meaning then just a violin or piano playing. And I freaking love "Moonlight Symphony" once and awhile; don't get me wrong. It's just nothing's better and more expressive in my opinion than singing along. Oh and by the way. This blog is super rad. Not to be a kissass, but it’s totally a thought provoker.
I hear you. And I agree- music with lyrics CAN be powerful. My current favorite song is 99 Luftballons by Nena, and the words are saturated with layers of meaning. But it's not like that with most songs, and that's what i was really attacking- not the rare gems, but the shallow, overdone songs about "spank that thang" and "honkeytonk badonk-ee-donk (sic)." Of course, those -are- extremes...
Thanks for offering your opinion! I mean, I don't think you're a kisass or anything. Because, of course, everyone who reads this blog is amazing. That's just the kind of people we ttract (ignoring past comments by certain freaks).
-TS
I'm going to argue this. As good as music is with words, there's just something about listening to music without words. It doesn't necessarily have to be classical. I listen to Yanni and Celtic Women, and soundtracks-like Pirates of the Caribbean-where there are no words at all, just music. That can move me more than music with words. I do agree that there are some songs that have words that are defintely strong and touching. But I don't hear that many. I personally like Linkin Park, but they're not everything. TS is right. There are a lot of bands that make songs with absolutely no meaning and are completely devoid of any life or feeling at all. They're nothing more than publicity songs. John Lennon's song "Imagine" is an amazingly good song that actually means something and talks about what if...It's really a good song.
Anyways, I find there to be more emotioin involved in songs without words than the ones with words. If you go onto youtube and look up Yanni, you'll find so many comments that say, "This reminds me of..." or "I love how you can feel..." Those songs don't nee generally useless words. The music is the embodiement of the creator's feelings and message. Any words would probably just just destroy the song. But if you look up most other songs, they'll have a few comments of how it reminded them of something, but for the most it's just about how much the band rocks or awesome AMV, etc. Nothing talking about the depth of emotion that wordless songs seem to carry.
So yeah, that's my input.
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