WP 2: Music Moves Me
Music is the most important form of art in my life. Before I had Apple Music on my phone (I know, I know, I’m on a family plan, it’s not by choice), my parents were planting their music in my head. My house is rarely quiet which is surprising given that there’s only three of us. But there’s always at least one person playing music on a booming speaker that can be heard through the whole house. Sometimes it’s multiple people, multiple speakers, and multiple songs all at once. I believe that music colors our memories and is foundational to our perception of self.
Music is an art form that helps to understand your own loneliness as well as uniting with other people. I could hear a song about exactly what I’m going through and I feel seen, like maybe I’m not the only one feeling the way I do. Or I could hear a song and the subject is nothing like what I’m going through, and yet I feel comfortable sitting in that feeling because I’m the only person having this experience with this song right now. No one else in the world will ever experience this song exactly the way you do. And creating a playlist of songs is the same as creating our identity. We curate pieces of music to create an overall feeling that transcends the differences in artist or genre.
Playlists can be as personal as fingerprints. Part of the popularity surrounding streaming services where you can create your own playlist comes from that creative freedom. We create playlists that are specific to our emotions even when these are songs that different people relate to in different ways. We have the opportunity to create our own experiences with music based on how we know ourselves and how we relate to the music we listen to.
Studies have shown that music has a profound effect on human beings’ mental and physical wellbeing. In fact, those who consider themselves music listeners have higher rates of happiness and cognitive functioning. There is correspondence between music and experience because just like experience, we pick which music we hold onto and think about. Both music and experiences we have shape how we interact with the world around us and our past. Even today, certain clubs have embraced themes like 90s or 70s or 2000s now because the music of each decade influences how we associate our past with who we are today.
Welcome to my musical journey through my own life. I’ve gone through some of the music that most closely identifies certain aspects of who I am today and compiled six playlists to showcase these parts of me. This isn’t just an exploration of myself; it’s an exploration of how music affects our identities and the importance of having music we can relate to and interpret ourselves through.
