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Originally Posted by KeithHandy  While said challenge is getting you down, I would assume you're probably not using the word "challenge" to describe it.  But yeah, even Steve has alluded to something like this in his posts comparing life to a game that we decided to play just before being born. Why be a bad sport now? Why say "this game sucks because everything isn't handed to me on a silver platter"?
And I think part of the role of music is to express that challenge, that difficulty.
It's a two-way thing -- music is us speaking to the universe, and the universe speaking back to us as well, if that makes any sense. Even if you don't play an instrument and just listen to records, I think that's still true. In a way, non-musicians become a musician while listening, because they're still synchronizing their brain with it, even if they don't have the skill to involve their fingers or voices -- so I consider active listening to be a form of expression.
(I get frustrated with people who seem too passive about listening to music, because I don't consider their lack of musicianship to be a good reason for this.) |
Good points Keith. It's funny when you mention people who are passive about listening to music. I've had people say, "I've never met someone who was so interested in music! There are more important things in life" and that kind of bothered me, but now I realize that to them there are more important things in life. Everything to me revolves around music because that's the context I've always viewed life in. I can't get enough of it, and I know it's good for me. I used to be kind of elitist about it when I was younger, like I understood something other people didn't, and people who didn't care about music (I liked) were missing out. Now I realize people are all unique and have different interests. In the past it cost me a lot of potential friendships, because I was so busy trying to be cool and like music no one had heard of, and I judged people on that basis. I'm much more open-minded now. I can actually relate to people who have different interests than me.
I also like what Lucas said, about Jeff Buckley. Sad music with hopeful lyrics. That's what I tend to do as well. The music is usually sad sounding but the lyrics are almost always transcendent. I'm already doing what comes naturally. I think the problem is when you think too much. You can get in your own way. When you start second-guessing your motives, there's no way to grow, you stay stuck.
So this year I resolve to not take everything so damn seriously, lighten up, relax, and accept that I don't have to have all the answers.