Thursday, February 23, 2012

On Music


Another sleepless night and I am writing in a painkiller-induced stupor. There is one topic, one important facet of me that I have left out of my blog for far too long. And that, is music. The voice of God, the sound of the universe, the result of perfectly synchronized oscillations of sound waves, whatever you want to call it, it is the essence life.

One reason I avoided writing about music for so long is because I simply do not know. My music teacher used to tell us, that if the Seven Oceans were music, her knowledge is only so much that she could hold in her cupped hands. After dedicating her entire life to the study of music, she humbly accepts that the oceans of music are too vast to conquer in one lifetime. Never mind conquering, for us mortal souls it is impossible even to have a mere glance at its entirety, as the horizon runs away like a mirage the further you travel. The more music you learn, the more music you understand you do not know. Then how does one write about it? I take my liberty when critiquing books and movies- I am sometimes analytic, sometimes lazy and rather rude. But I cannot do that to music. I would be a circus clown discussing Shakespeare.

Another reason I have not written about music so far is because language fails me. Even with the depth and scope of the English language, its versatility and flexibility, it is not a color palate vivid enough to paint the intricacies and subtleties of music.

But I have changed my mind. Blame it on Acetaminophen, caffeine withdrawal, insomnia, a gloomy Winter's eve and the joy of finding that my old ipod shuffle survived a trip to the laundry. So if my excitement remains unchanged as I hope it will, expect an earful in the weeks to come!! I hope you enjoyed today's pick- Etaisyyksien Taa by the Finnish Neo-folk music band Tenhi.