Sounds familiar

Music as a noun is simple. I know what it means, you know what it means. So does my five-year-old sister. There are possibly a billion different words we could put together to describe it, but really, that's never necessary because as a unit of language, it's generally understood. Musik. Música. Musique. Or even, 音楽. Spelling and pronunciation don't change anything about it. There is a universal acknowledgment of what the word means.

I personally speak this word several times a day. And I know it's buzzing all over the world this very instant. In conference rooms, dance halls, 5th period algebra, flight 791 to Luxembourg... In the canoe off the dock you drove by the other day. The traffic lights on the corner of Park Ave and East 57th. That farm you passed on the train last September with the big apple tree and tire swing out front. Under the Côte d'Ivoire sun.

But it's more than a piece of diction or topic of discussion... for me and for so many like me. Music as a concept, an idea; an abstract to which you assign meaning... is something else. Getting down to basics, yes, it's a sound... or combination of sounds. Sounds that can be made to please others, express emotions, or created for the sake of making noise. But furthermore, it's a unique embodiment of everything that means anything to anyone. Did that make sense? Let me try again.

Take a look at what you're listening to now. Band names, artists and any genre classifications aside, notice the projection of emotion through a particular sound. You listen to this because you like it. You like it because it speaks to you. It reaches out to you, just as you are reaching for it, and you feel connected, understood, pacified.

Or, maybe you don't like it under normal circumstances. But for some reason, you're listening to it. Same thing... You're listening because something inside of you says, "I know this..."

In some way, it's a reflection of you. Otherwise, you'd hit "stop" and move on with your life.


I'm not sure where I'm going with this... it's just something I was thinking about. Maybe I'm just having one of those "deep" Stephanie moments, where I think until my thoughts turn into something completely nonsensical. Maybe I'm having an ephiphany. No--I've always felt this way. ANYWAY, it's out of my system, and that's all there is right now. If you read all of that, you should get a coupon for 1/2 off your next venti chai latte at Starbucks. Too bad I can't give you one. Know that I love you anyway.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what I'm listening to...
South- Paint the Silence

Do I lose credibility for fake pink reading glasses?

Whatever...