Margit Anna
Group: Members
Posts: 7
Joined: Aug. 2007 |
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Posted: Aug. 24 2007, 12:09 |
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| Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Aug. 24 2007, 08:45) | I'm one of those who believe "emotion" is not a property of music itself. Music is sound, and sound has frequency, amplitude, timbre, and so on... but not "emotion". Emotion is something the listener extracts out of the music, many times by his own will, sometimes influenced by what he considers emotional, or even by what he read and knows about the artist in question. Many artists do put their personal emotions in music, but it's not always easy to receive it just by listening to it; for example, what emotions would one receive from Autechre's Untilted, or Kraftwerk's Computer World, or Frank Zappa's Lumpy Gravy? And whatever emotion we get from that, is it really the same emotion the artist put in it? Just WHAT did Sigur Rós mean with that ( ) of theirs? Are the first four tracks really "happy"? Are the four last tracks really "sad"?
This... scepticism of mine, whatever you might believe, actually helps me in enjoying music. I am fully aware that the emotion I get from music is my own fault, and I can't accuse the artist of "not putting emotion on his music". It might be just me. And if I get emotional over a certain piece of music, heck, it might depend merely on my mood. And it does happen. To use Mike as an example, Incantations can sometimes send me flying (metaphorically! ), sometimes it's just an engaging intellectual exercise (snob! ), sometimes it's just fun. And I like it that way. Music becomes unpredictable. I can have a fun afternoon playing computer games and listening to Unknown Pleasures, by Joy Division, or Pornography, by The Cure. Insensitive, me? Maybe.
Mike Oldfield's music in general has a lot of depth, which is what I believe makes so many people feel emotionally attached to it. It can carry all sorts of meanings, and it's open to them. Yes, I know that's kind of opposite to some school of thoughts that say Mike's albums seem to be very specific. But I actually think their openness is the key. The album gives you some key points to cling on, but on the whole, they are quite vague. And so, you can have one single album that can be happy to some people and sad to others. That depth of character is what makes musicians like Mike Oldfield interesting to listen to. As much as you might not feel like it, you make the music as well. The emotions come from within you, not from him. |
I disagree with you, Sir Mustafa. Sorry that you don't feel what some music tells you. Some people (Mike Oldfield is one of them) are able to talk with their instruments. These musicians are musicians with their hearts, they believe in what they are doing and they often can say more with their music than with simple words.
For example you are writing a story, and you are in a very bad personal situation, would you be able to write a funny story? I don't think so. If you would try it in that bad mood, any attempt to be funny would sound like a sarcastic remark.
When I am sad, I am humming a sad tune. When I am happy, I am singing happy songs. And musicians do the same, they are not always in a good mood when they are creative. It is often so, that music is their way to express themselves.
Off course, there are also musicians who make music for money only.
Kraftwerk made a very stereotype music. How can you get emotions when you are listening to a computer tune. Everone who is able to use music programms on the computer can play that tunes in the same way. But it is not so easy to play a song on the guitar with the same intensity and feeling, like Mike Oldfield does. You would always notice the difference, if you tried.
I agree that we have our own emotions when we listen to his music. We won't have the same emotions like he had when he played them, but we feel that he was telling us something. Whatever emotions everyone of us gets by listening to his various music, it is nice to feel something.
I don't know if you understand what I want to say. 
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