Music

I constantly have music playing somewhere and over the years I come to realise how much it ties me to certain aspects of my life.

We all have that song that we link to a relationship or an event that brings added meaning.

Iris by the Goo goo dolls reminds me of my relationship with my wife in a moment when things were less complex. This song has lived rent free in my head since 1998. It also in more recent years become a song about how I feel about myself And I don't want the world to see me / 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand / When everything's made to be broken / I just want you to know who I am

Creep by radiohead or Growing sideways by Noah Kahn also fit that bill.

American pie (Don Mclean and I don't want to miss a thing (Areosmith) we songs I used to sing to the kids when they were tiny.

There are songs that just creep up on my and I end up in tears, they might not have any great meaning, they just invoke a wave of emotions. Some are pretty obvious, something like Fight song by Rachel Platten which is so positive but has undertones of loss.

The other day I was listening to a random playlist and Lose yourself by Eminem came on and it just triggered something, it was the same where a video cropped up on Facebook, it was a Ministry of sound concert at the royal Albert hall, they played Toccata & Fugue in D Minor (Bach) that merge in Insomnia (Faithless), it just gave me goosebumps and then I just became overwhelmed.

I'd love to know that you all have the same relationship with music and would be willing to share your experiences.

Or am I just weird?

Parents
  • Music is really important to me and has been since infancy. It can ground, energise and soothe me.

    I am a dedicated Radiohead fan. I also really like The House of Love, Doves, Ride, Sigur Ros and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, among others.

    My preference is for music which engages me - where there is quite a lot to immerse myself in sonically.

    Back in 1986, I bought my first hi-fi separates system. I still use the same amp and speakers!

    I have been lucky enough to see lots of bands and solo artists live. Somehow, I navigate that type of sensory and social experience better than everyday life.

    As with , music has at times been a lifesaver for me.

    Certain songs anchor me right back to specific moments in my life, and to specific people, and I find that comforting.

    Weird, Hergé? Lots of us are by that measure, and weird is good.

  • "W.E.I.R.D." reminds me of the psychology literature demographic acronym:

    • Western,
    • Educated,
    • Industrialized,
    • Rich, 
    • Democratic.

    "..."WEIRD" in psychology literature oversimplifies the global diversity of human behavior."

    "...WEIRD was initially a useful reminder of the bias toward certain demographics in psychological research."

    www.google.com/.../amp

  • Interesting! I hadn't come across that acronym before,  

    Where I can, I try to reclaim the word from its corrosive use to invalidate or 'other' us. As an antidote, I hold in mind a sense of weird as mysterious, powerful and unconventional.

  • I think I've used many words to describe my feelings of "otherness", I tried out oddment for a while but I don't really think that's right either and quirky just don't fit as I'm not that whimsical.

    We are all different, just like everyone else.

    I think I'll just try and gain some sort of self acceptance and just be me?

Reply
  • I think I've used many words to describe my feelings of "otherness", I tried out oddment for a while but I don't really think that's right either and quirky just don't fit as I'm not that whimsical.

    We are all different, just like everyone else.

    I think I'll just try and gain some sort of self acceptance and just be me?

Children