Thursday, February 26, 2009

Scenes and Songs (o' Sicknasty Songs!)

As my blog is littered with Youtube videos, I suppose it’s no surprise when I admit I am something of a Youtube fiend. Youtube is my numero uno reference source, alongside the ubiquitous Wikipedia of course. I live on Youtube. I watch Jonathan Ross interviews, sing along to Estonian Lolita-Goths, and even watch some anime online.

Most of the time, I’m listening to music I don’t currently have—or more precisely, music I WANT but don’t have. Either I have yet to buy the CD, or…er…I haven’t bought the songs off iTunes. Just because I italicized it doesn’t mean I’m hinting at something. I just like italics sometimes…*shifty eyes*

I love music. I *heart heartiliciously heart* music. I am not a very religious person, but every time I hear an epic song, it’s like an intensely religious experience. It’s like having your senses heightened and then being elevated onto a higher plane. It’s through scores of notes that I feel closest to The Creator, and thank him for that profound experience. I am not usually a sensitive person—I don’t cry at sad scenes in a movie; I don’t cry even when girlfriends decide to pull a Mean Girl on me; but I can shed bucket loads of tears at the philharmonics orchestra—I even cry watching the Firebird Suite off of Youtube (that end bit always kills me!).

I suppose it’s no accident that 4 out of the 9 Greek muses happen to manipulate songs, and the ‘Chief Muse’, Calliope, is the Muse of Epic Song. How many of us have been inspired by the songs we hear? In my case, I ‘see’ the songs—I imagine scenes painted by the harmony of notes—I see adventures, I see life, I see wars, I see death (and all his friends), I get goosebumps. Imagine if I had synaesthesia! That would be awesome actually.

Thus, is it any surprise that the songs I love most (and inspires me most) are mostly classicals and movie theme songs? So here is an homage to my personal muses! (Prepare for onslaught of Youtube vids)

Arise: E.S. Posthumus: Deciphered [upcoming album]

[Also listen to: Unstoppable, Nara]


Firebird Suite: Igor Stravinsky: Disney's Fantasia 2000

Tell me your heart sang at 7:10!
[Also listen to: The Rite of Spring; Watch The Man conduct]

One of my most influential muses: Muse! (Band's name makes so much sense...)
Stockholm Syndrome: Muse: Absolution

That outro is siiiiick! Seriously, among the Things to do Before You Die: WATCH MUSE LIVE!
[Also listen to: Assassin, Hysteria, Muscle Museum, Newborn, Sunburn, Screenager, Falling Away With You, etc. etc.]

And finally, Sigur Ros!
Njosnavelin: Sigur Ros: The Brackets/Parentheses Album ()

See how everyone's all silent and transfixed? Oh my lord, this has to be one of the most ethereal/dreamy/unreal song in existence! I absolutely love the whole cello bow on guitar thing.
[Also listen to: Gobbledigook, Hoppipolla, Staralfur, etc. etc.]

Whoa. My posts are turning into novellas. Well, hope you peeps were inspired! I'm off to write battle scenes. Wop wop!

3 comments:

Jarod Yong said...

Since you can visualise music...
Why dont you try to be a music video director?

Let me know when you start.
I got some songs that need visualising!
=)

- D. said...

Ahaha, seriously? That would be soooo awesome, except at present, I have no idea how to go about that. I was planning to do a short course in communicative media, so maybe once I'm a bit more tech-savvy, I'll be able to put visuals to notes. Mmmm...wonderful...*dreamy*

What songs were you thinking of?

Jarod Yong said...

Nothing much only several songs I wrote over the years that are full of stimulating innuendos but all so sweet & innocent.