intro
Je n'ai pas peur de la route
Faudrait voir, faut qu'on y goûte
Des méandres au creux des reins
Et tout ira bien là
Le vent nous portera
noir desir- le vent nous portera
blog
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Classical music.Searching through the junkyard that has absorbed my bookshelf yesterday, i chanced upon my old beethoven CDs. The limited edition "Beethoven Masterworks" set that i borrowed and burned from a family friend that had visited Vienna (Stacy, we have to add this to our list of places we HAVE to visit. Eliz speaks German so we're covered :D ).
Oh my god, how i have missed these twenty-five minute long orchestra peices. It makes me want to unearth my violin and start playing again. My playlist now consists of three hours of solid Beethoven - and i have it on repeat. Im nowhere close to tiring of it even though its been playing all day today, and all day yesterday, and ive heard every single track at least thrice. Its still eternal - even though its now pretty much memorised (again).
There was a time when i would only listen to classical music.Lyrics had relevance in poetry and in nothing else. Beethoven, Vivaldi, Chopin, Strauss - they would dominate my playlist, they'd be played in the car, they'd be the soundtrack that i lived my life to. I would never think of "So take of all your clothes" as next in line to the comment "Its getting hot in here." Junk like that was out of mind, even though it wasnt quite out of sight.
Even though my tastes have taken a modern turn, i have to say i am dissapointed at my inability to filter the junk out of my playlists. Seriously, there are so many songs that talk about totally inappropriate, sick, twisted, absurd things that shouldnt even be voiced, let alone put to a catchy tune and recorded for millions of teenagers to dance to.
Take "Soulja Boy" for example. Seriously, i shouldnt have that in my library. I shouldnt know the lyrics to that song. Yet i do. I actually know that "I'mma supersoak that ***" comes after "watch me crank that". Dear god. What have i come to? This song has to be one of the most poorly chosen bunch of random words to string together i have ever seen. And yet i actually know the lyrics!
Of course, there are obviously lyrics that are beautiful. Coldplay's a shining example in that respect. Their lyrics are absolute poetry. There is no disputing the several levels of meaning they convey, the thoughts they provoke, the fact that with every catchy tune comes an idea about life itself that makes the listener reflect on his or her actions. Coldplay is amazing.
But honestly, even Coldplay doesnt measure up to classical music. The emotions that the peices skillfully draw out of their listeners are truly superior to those inspired by mere words. Beethoven's fifth symphony is one that im sure everyone reading this has heard at least once. Go back to that for a second. (heres a link to the first movement :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5c4x0yuKpeY&feature=related )
Close your eyes. Let the music flow over you. Lose yourself in the music. You can actually feel yourself getting angry, curious, saddened, pensive, happy, tense, excited - you can feel the music playing YOU.
That is why it is superior to today's popular music. Because soulja boy can never make you do more than bob your head. Because kanye has a good beat, but really nothing else. Because music is pure. Let it be a part of you.
