"Music was my first love"

A line or two from one of my enduring favourites (actually, it's basically the only words in the entire song) says, "Music was my first love, and it will be my last - music of the future and music of the past. To live without my music would be impossible to do, for in this world of trouble my music pulls me through."

On my quest to download a couple of free songs and burn some cool CDs, I've been wondering what it is that makes some songs last for years, and others fizzle out very quickly. Songs like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" go on in popularity for years, while "Everybody Walk the Dinosaur" died a rather quick death! :) There are a couple of golden oldies, like "What a Wonderful World" that everyone knows and almost everyone loves. Then there are other songs that are popular and lasting only for a certain taste or style.

As a musician myself, I know that certain tunes, certain combinations of those few notes we possess (like the alphabet, with different combinations the possibilities are endless) seem to move my soul, or create "happy vibes". Others grate on me and I quickly lose interest. It works like that in church music too - think of a couple of hymns that still go on hundreds of years later, and a few popluar worship songs that die after a single try.

I wonder if the ongoing popularity of some tune gems has something to do with how our brains work, the frequencies that soothe or stimulate our cells. If there are certain songs or musical combinations that resonate well with our human form, and others that jar or cause discord. And if that's the reason why the general populations loves some music and just plain hates others.

I know that songs can create certain feelings in me - like Sting's "Desert Rose", which seems to be a hot, dry, summer song, perfect for driving in a car without aircon through a dry and dusty plain with the windows down and heat in your throat. But that may have something to do with the associated music video! :) Many songs bring back memories - good or bad - and I like or hate them as a result. For years I couldn't listen to the heartbreak type love song - I'd end up in tears because I was lonely/hurt/unloved. Now, no problem. I actually like some of them.

I'm big on a huge variety of music - everything from some heavy metal to extremely classical stuff. But not all of it within the genre. There's again some I love, some I can't stand. Must be those cellular vibration things again.

Anyway, this was just something I was wondering this weekend. And it's way too heavy to ponder on a Monday morning when you've landed running! Let me rather go download a few more favourites.