Music

I am by no stretch of the imagination a music person--I don't keep up, I'm not anyone's fan--but every now and then I get the urge to hear, and even get pretty excited about, a whole bunch of new music, most (though not all) of it on the relatively pop end of the spectrum.

I never really understood why this happens, where the peeks and valleys in my interest come from. But the other day I was talking to my friend Kristen and she mentioned she experiences the same thing and that, for her, it has to do with the ebb and flow of her mood or state of mind. I thought the way she put this was quite clever, so I asked her if she'd share a few thoughts on the subject here. This is what she had to say:

"When i come out of a fog enough to feel a tad bit more alive, music is one place i turn. Something moving or resonating, or more catchy and poppy, anything that helps you feel, helps you know you are alive and this, this music is a part of that.

"i have plenty of music i stew in when i am sad or pained, but when i am flat and numb nothing really connects. Anything could be playing.

"But then i was There and Hearing it.Wanting to make mixes, even just in my head, was a sure sign i was awake again, here, present.  If i can relate to music maybe i can be with people more, maybe i start being with myself more.

"Music is a wonder of humans and when it moves my booty, my soul, or my brain it is worthwhile, it deserves to be heard as much as needed to keep that feeling going as long as possible, to stay alive while living, as much as i humanly can."

Thanks so much to my pal K for sharing her open and thoughtful musings here on the Cabinet. I particularly like the parallels she draws between happy/sad, open/closed, awake/asleep, present/absent, and the way appreciation of music functions almost like a barometer for all of that internal weather.

Images in this post represent musical artists' whose work has been resonating in my own brain lately (several of whom, indeed, Miss Kristen introduced me to). From top to bottom: Macklemore, Florence and the Machine, the National, Zoe Keating, Gweneth Paltrow on Glee, Wild Cub, Icona Pop.