stories in music.

My roommate went to an audition for a musical today, and for some reason, I got really excited. Her auditioning piece was "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat: an overplayed, now mainstream song that is almost borderline bland in vocal inflections. But as we were listening to the song on YouTube, we were focusing on details - the small things that are constantly dismissed when the song comes on the radio or played for casual listening. After listening to the song a million times, the words were lost on me, it was the tune that got stuck in my head, every reverberation. After the song was smoothed out, I got into a music mode, and played Pandora for a few hours straight. Subconsciously, I was picking up on the words and the details, and not just listening because it sounded good (of course it sounded good, I would've pressed the thumbs down button if it didn't).

The thing about music is that it can be interpreted in many different ways. Not only that, but the lyrics of many songs are realistic - about love, loss, sadness, happiness. If you're nostalgic to begin with, listening to a song such as "Here's to the Night" by Eve 6 may bring you back to graduation night, or the one last hurrah before you and your best friends went your separate ways (college, for example). Or, maybe listening to "Better in Time" by Leona Lewis when you're upset over whatever heartbreak will remind you that you're not the only one that feels that way. Saving Jane's "Ordinary" tells the story of what a lot of people think of themselves, but can't put into words.

The magical thing about music is its ability to enchant. Regardless of whether you've experienced something as complex as love or not, there is a certain longing to understand and comprehend that emotion, even if it is foreign. Linkin Park's "Leave Out All the Rest" makes me think twice about what I want to be remembered for, and in those three minutes, I think about what I want to change in my life. Granted, those three minutes probably don't involve a deep thought process, but the idea that everyday, there is someone thinking about you (good or bad) jolts something deep within.

Of course, lyrics are only a small part of the music. Often overlooked and forgotten, the meaning behind the (sometimes) poetic words may change the song as a whole. A sad song with an upbeat tune makes you go, "WHAT!? Is this supposed to be happy or sad or...huh?!" Music is such a fun thing. Maybe its better not to over analyze it then, right?