About Music & Magic
When I was a kid I listened to music in a passive way. Then I began to listen to my father's old Tchaikovsky albums, when I was alone, and time I began to buy my own music. The first music I ever purchased for myself was Iron Maiden. The first album I got was "Killers", and then their debut album, and I was probably around 12 years old. So when I listen to these old albums today, something happens. Everything comes back to me, as if by magic. The music is like a trigger! When I close my eyes I am there, back in my boy's room, listening to the same music, having the same worries and the same emotions, only everything is coloured by my current knowledge. Other bands existed at the time, but I didn't listen to them, so none of my memories connected to their music and they therefore mean nothing to me. Not then, and not today.
As a musician myself, I some times hear listeners complaining about the new music I make, because it is not the same as the music I made before. They want me to make music giving them the same "magic" feeling. But that is of course not possible. New music can only help you bind new memories to that new music, and in the future you will remember those experiences when you hear that music. Both music you like and music you dislike does this for you, but of course music you like does it more and better - because you listen to it more and thus also experience more whilst listening to it. That is how music works. That is the magic of music.
When I was a kid I listened to music in a passive way. Then I began to listen to my father's old Tchaikovsky albums, when I was alone, and time I began to buy my own music. The first music I ever purchased for myself was Iron Maiden. The first album I got was "Killers", and then their debut album, and I was probably around 12 years old. So when I listen to these old albums today, something happens. Everything comes back to me, as if by magic. The music is like a trigger! When I close my eyes I am there, back in my boy's room, listening to the same music, having the same worries and the same emotions, only everything is coloured by my current knowledge. Other bands existed at the time, but I didn't listen to them, so none of my memories connected to their music and they therefore mean nothing to me. Not then, and not today.
As a musician myself, I some times hear listeners complaining about the new music I make, because it is not the same as the music I made before. They want me to make music giving them the same "magic" feeling. But that is of course not possible. New music can only help you bind new memories to that new music, and in the future you will remember those experiences when you hear that music. Both music you like and music you dislike does this for you, but of course music you like does it more and better - because you listen to it more and thus also experience more whilst listening to it. That is how music works. That is the magic of music.
Video version of this article
0:01:36
Just some thoughts about music and its effect on us.