Soul-Piercing Sounds
/Throughout my life, I have kept many of my passions a secret. I believed that their exposure would be detrimental to my social status. Now, being mature enough to understand that popularity is not nearly as important as I once thought, I have decided to periodically confess my guilty pleasures. This is one of those confessions:
Our taste in music runs through our veins. Many of my comrades get a kick out of Top 40’s and songs about drinking and carrying on, but music should be more than that. Music should travel into your ears, through your body and pierce your soul. There should be songs in your collection that evoke enough emotion to send shivers through your skin.
Vincent Carrington 1957
I have not always thought this way. As a child I was into chart-toppers and songs about nothing, and I can still appreciate these in the right setting. It wasn’t until my grandfather passed away that I changed the way I listened to music. My family and I were cleaning out his house when I came across boxes and boxes of jazz records. In memory of my grandfather I decided to listen to a few songs. I never listened to jazz before, I mean really listened. The first song was one by Miles Davis and the sounds entered my ears and travelled right to my soul. Since then, I have filled my library with jazz. I believe that this love for jazz music was pre-determined. It was inside of me and needed to be discovered.
I now look for emotional connections to music and have found great comfort in many different sorts. Pearl Jam brings me to my childhood trips to the cottage, sitting shotgun with my father, enjoying the fresh air of the north. Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack bring me to my childhood home on Sunday nights when my mother would cook a fancy meal and insist on everyone’s attendance. And of course Miles Davis and many other jazz artists bring me to my grandfather. Music can change your life, and I urge others to search for these soul-piercing sounds that will bring you comfort in any setting.
Max Carrington
Max Carrington is a 21 year-old writing student. In his spare time he can be found in the gym, at the movies, playing sports, listening to music or nestled in a comfortable spot reading literature.
Some blogs Max follows:
