Image from Unsplash: @mohammadmetri
A song isn’t just a song. Music isn’t just music. For people, it’s a form of communication, a form of release, an escapism. Music is an important part of people’s lives and can speak for them when they don’t have those words to say. Whether you’re just listening to it or creating it, it still holds meaning.
I find that some songs just speak to me in ways someone couldn’t. Sometimes they just hit so deeply that part of your head goes ‘was this song written for me? Was it written about me?’ Some days when I’ve felt completely lost, I’ve just put my headphones on and let the music take me away from the moment that I’m in. On the opposite end of the spectrum, days where everything is going great, I’ve put on my headphones to fall into the music and just enjoy the moment I’m in.
Many people would agree with me about the importance of music for them. People I’ve spoke to have said that they’ve found themselves listening to the same song on repeat – something I can definitely relate to – when they’ve felt an emotional connection drawing them to it. Although that song I want on repeat changes monthly, weekly, or even daily, I will still have the same feelings when I’m drawn to that song. And it’s not always a deep meaning; at the moment I’m listening to Smells Like Teen Spirit covered by Malia J (link below) on repeat as it was playing in the opening credits for the Black Widow film, but it still is a song I feel drawn to. Songs that I do feel deeply about, I would probably only share with my closest friends, or at least only tell them about the meaning behind them.
That’s one reason I get annoyed when people tease someone about their music taste because they don’t know what that music could mean to them. It could be from a significant time in their life which stayed with them because of the feeling it gave them in that moment. For me, I get upset when people pull me down on the fact I sometimes have phases of listening to One Direction again because they were around and creating music I connected to when I was at a difficult time, and then I rediscovered them again when I was at a difficult time. The communication of music can be stronger than words could ever be. Music is a saviour in a lot of ways to many people as it allows them a way to speak out and let out things and realise they’re not alone in the way they feel.
My dad has said he’s had comments to his music taste throughout his life since he enjoys heavy metal. Sure, it’s not everyone’s thing but other people’s choices should be respected. It’s alright when it’s almost playful teasing between friends but when it’s seriously someone pulling you down because of your music, it can really be upsetting. Like for my dad, he said music has been the one thing that has stuck with him and drawn him closer to people, so why pull him down for that?
I think it’s because of the power behind music that makes peoples music tastes change so often or vary. One moment I will be listening to my playlist on some acoustic music from Alec Benjamin then the next song will be something from Sleeping with Sirens or Falling in Reverse. And I will enjoy both songs equally because they both communicate different things to me, or sometimes even the same thing just in different ways. But with my playlists, I have one that I will play around others, but the rest are personal to me. My playlists aren’t something I would share with everyone because a lot of the songs I feel a deep personal connection to, and others wouldn’t understand that connection so showing them or playing them in front of other peoples feels like letting them look into my soul in many ways. Even if it’s a song that lifts me up and fills me with warmth, that’s how deep of a connection there is with music for me.
So why does it matter what music people like? Whether it’s K-Pop, heavy metal, acoustic, pop or indie, it can be part of a person’s personality in many ways, so no one is in a place to judge others music as it holds more strength inside than almost anything else. Although some people won’t have this connection to music, they will have this connection with something, but for many it is music. I wish I had that talent to create it, but, since I don’t, I will settle for listening to it and lose myself in it that way.
By Chloe Hall
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