Notes of Strength - by Ainsley A. Cheng
For
a moment, for a split second, that note, the aching melody, those words, they
pull me into their arms just long enough for me to catch my breath. The comfort
of those songs, of music— be it the playfulness of Bach’s Inventions,
the joyousness of Mozart’s Sonatas, the rebellious nature of Lady Gaga,
the childish words of Taylor Swift, or the upbeat-catch-your-heart-feel of
Jimmy Eat World—carry me away from the world almost too perfectly. Comfort, oh,
the comfort – people wouldn’t understand the chills that just run up and down
your spine on days that don’t seem to make sense. But a song, a simple song,
translates your feelings into words and music; for that minute, listening, you
realize that someone out there gets you wholeheartedly, and you’re not alone.
I’m not alone. It’s then that I remember exactly why in times of silence – when
no one’s home, TV’s off, radio quiet – my music becomes my strength, my escape,
my joy, my tears, my everything that I turn to.
Changing
circumstances and growing up constantly color new music into my life because
with every event, every person, and every moment, I’ve found that I am always
able to find a song to perfectly explain my exact feelings and emotions that
occur at that time. Because of this, I truly believe that my love for music
cannot be limited to or put into a small box of qualities and characteristics
to describe it. My interests are all over the musical spectrum and with the
change of the day, it fluctuates and transforms, but essentially it’s the
ultimate combination of the perfect words and the perfect melody that are the
hook-line-and-sinker. My heart and mind can’t differentiate the artists every
time, but the above recipe of perfection, just does it for me. I cannot simply
pinpoint a single artist, a genre, or a type of music to generalize my taste in
music. It comes with the day – today it may be Sara Bareilles and her
feel-good-uplifting poetry, tomorrow it may be Muse and their eerie yet
enticing voices in combination with their strange musical arrangement, and
yesterday, it could have been Miley Cyrus and her get-up-on-your-feet-and-dance
Party in the U.S.A. My interest is fickle. The days that seem lonely and
too quiet for my own good are painted perfectly by songs like Superstar
sung by the yearning voices of the Carpenters, Where I Stood by the
scratchy voiced and extremely talented Australian artist, Missy Higgins. The
single moments that elation just breaks out all over my face and my body
language are depicted so well by the innocent and youthful songs by Taylor
Swift, the upbeat-kick-off-your-shoes Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet,
ABBA, The Beatles, and Jimmy Eat World. The incidents that my heart is
just wrenched in frustration and hurt can easily be lined by Taking Back Sunday
and their throwing-guitars-and-TVs-on-stage ways, old-school Yellowcard and
their known “emo” whiny lyrics, and finally, Eminem and his dangerously vulgar
rap. Today, I will tell you that all these artists and their songs are only a
small taste of what I enjoy, but tomorrow, it may be a whole new list. Find me
a song that carries my heart and soul, and that is all I need, nothing more,
and nothing less.
