On Music

I always have a handful of songs that really speak (sing?) to me. Not just songs I like or even love, but songs that I can listen to on loop for ages without getting tired of them, because they strike a real chord in my heart.

Sometimes, it's the lyrics that hit me, but sometimes, the lyrics are second to the music itself.

Here are a few of the songs that I can think of right off the top of my head (though there are more) that never fail to make me feel a welcome surge of emotion:

This is the newest one, "Shake it Out" by Florence + The Machine. I stumbled across it one day on a friend's Facebook status update and from the first listen, it really struck me. I'm still not completely certain why. It's not the lyrics (though they are fantastic); something about the music itself makes me feel good. This song, in my opinion, is a triple threat: great lyrics, great music, and a great video:

Next is a fantastic song by Sigur Ros, an Icelandic post-rock/ambient band that I've gotten to really like of the past few years. None of their music is really "mainstream", but choice tracks have been featured in films and trailers here in North America. I love this song because to me, it's the music equivalent of young love. It doesn't make me think of my own young love (I have plenty of songs for THAT), but of a love I might have in the future which is as pure as young love. Something that I can hope for. The lyrics are in Icelandic and "Hopelandic" (nonsense phrases that sound like Icelandic), so I have no idea what they actually mean, but I do know that the title comes from "hoppa i polla" which roughly means "hopping into a puddle":

I really could go on forever with songs that touch me, but for the sake of brevity, I'm limiting this to the first three that popped into my mind. And so, the final selection for the evening is actually related to the previous one.

Jon Birgisson is the lead singer of Sigur Ros, but last year, he went solo under the name "Jonsi." One of the songs not included in his solo album was called "Sticks and Stones" from the soundtrack to "How to Train Your Dragon" (heard in the end credits). I immediately loved it. If my childhood brain could be heard, it would sound like this song: excited, imaginative, full of colours and feelings and good intentions, not to mention half incomprehensible (the song is in English and Icelandic). And I admit, my brain still sounds like that sometimes...

It's amazing how well-crafted music can make such an impact on a person. I hope I will always be susceptible to falling under its spell.

Emotions can hurt or heal, and music makes both easier.