Music means something different to everyone. It can be a
soundtrack to everyday life, enhancing the good times, or it can help to hold
us up in the lowest of moments. A song will never argue with you, or fight back
- a singer will never judge. You’re not just listening to music, you’re
connecting with a songwriter, seeing parts of your own life reflected in their
lyrics, and glimpsing a small part of their world. You’re getting inspiration
from the thoughts of someone else.
In difficult times, a song blasted from speakers can drown
out reality, the noises of life replaced by music. It can be a tool to help you
rationalize your life, or simply help you imagine a different outcome. Just for
a while, you create a life different to your own, a dream world inspired by the
lyrics of a stranger. For a few minutes, you live in a musician’s creation.
It is easy to be judgemental about a certain style of music,
or a song you can’t stand, but it’s equally easy to overlook the meaning
someone might find within it. However unappealing it may seem, that song might
mean as much to that person, as your favourite song does to you. It is human nature - if something makes you
feel stronger, you automatically return to it. For me, that is the role that music
plays. I listen to songs that inspire me, help me, that relate to my life. It
can seem to improve situations at times, and whether that’s true, or just a
figment of my imagination, I can’t say. But is there a point where this level
of reliance on music becomes unhealthy rather than helpful? As beautiful or
life-affirming a particular song may be, it is still just the words of another
person. Most likely the words of a stranger.
It can be easy to associate a song with the musician who
wrote it, which therefore can link these positive feelings with the person themselves.
I think this is where ‘musician worshipping’ sometimes begins. I use this term
lightly, as for most people a band certainly does not evolve into some sort of
religion. I admit that I have been known to be quite ‘enthusiastic’ about
certain bands – infact there are one or two bands that I’d miss my own birthday
for than miss on tour, but is there a point where this level of dedication to a
band or musician hinders your life rather than helps it? Does it encourage
people to live in a fantasy world rather than concentrating on reality? Or is
it encouraged because musicians wouldn’t make half as much money if this almost
obsessive behaviour were to cease?
