What Music Says About You

I've never been cool when it comes to music. In fact, exactly half of the music I listen to is old Indian music from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I don't even know any contemporary Indian music. The latest Indian music I listen to is from the movie Taal from the 90's. When it comes to American music, I don't know who any hip-hop artist is. I don't like Taylor Swift or Beyonce. I like Cat Stevens and James Taylor. The most contemporary American band I like is The Lumineers, I like Hozier as well.I know, I'm not even remotely cool or with it. My favorite Indian music is poetic Indian songs called ghazals. I listen to music from Umrao Jaan, a movie about a prostitute, or I like Jagjit Singh or music from an old Indian movie called Nikaah. My American friends around here make fun of me and tell me I listen to Light White music, that is light F.M. I'm not gonna deny that I look a good Elton John tune. He's in town in concert tonight, for his last tour ever. I'm so pissed I missed it. He better never die on me. It will mark the end of an era.I have no idea why I'm so nerdy and old school when it comes to music. I miss the eighties when everyone listened to the same music, like Michael Jackson and Madonna. Music doesn't unite us anymore in America like it did when we could all sing along to a Bon Jovi song. Admit, you know all of the lyrics to 'Livin' On A Prayer.' Remember George Michael? I loved that man.In India, everyone loved Kabhi Kabhi, and it is actually a really good goddam song. And what about the tunes from Silsila? They still rock my world.In terms of Indian music, poets used to write the music and it was profound. Now executive producers who want to make money write the songs. Indian music has lost its poetic edge. American music used to be a lot more profound as well until it also became more commercialized.A lot of people like music with no words, in fact, there are entire musical genre's that are just sound. Classical symphonies are one example. So are trance, techno or drumming. Since I am a lover of words, being a writer and all, I tend to favor music with words. However, I feel like there should be more of a place in my life for just the sound, like when I'm reading or writing, so it doesn't distract me. I am a fan every now and then of Jazz with no words.There are three aspects to music, the melody and harmony of the instruments, then the sound of the human voice and the words. They have to all work together for music to work.I have listened to music in other languages that I don't understand but still find breathtakingly beautiful. In the opening credits of the movie The English Patient, there is a woman singing in Hungarian who is out of control amazing. It is the way she sings that blows my mind.People think that the music you listen to says a lot about you. As one of my best friend's says to me quite often, we are not listening to your bullshit music because it makes me want to poke my eyes out and jump off a bridge. Apparently, she doesn't like the suicide chants that I call old love songs. I'll admit, I only really like a song if it is deeply sad.Does that mean I am a sad person? Quite the opposite in fact. Besides my bouts of depression, I'm actually a happy and positive person. I still listen to songs from an old Indian movie called Barsaat Ki Raat. A Rainy Night. They are all sad songs, but they are so beautiful, they do something for me, to me. There is such beauty in a broken heart.The only upbeat music I really like is some Indian film songs and Punjabi Bhangra music every now and then. I also enjoy some pop American music from the eighties. Like Prince, Cindy Lauper, etc.I also listen to some spiritual music from Satnam Kaur. She is an American Sikh who sings in Punjabi. The Sikh Scriptures or the Guru Granth Sahib is all written in rhyme that can be sung to music. We believe music is one way to god.I think that may actually be true. Besides meditation, it may be the next best thing to feel peace. Music may be a form of meditation as well. The two can really go hand in hand.Now on the other hand, there is also the serious issue that I think I'm a rock star when I sing in the shower. I literally think I sound like Adele or Asha Bhosle. This cannot objectively be true. It's obviously not possible. And I cannot record or sing in public, so you will never know if it is true. But I bet you can guess that this is an actual delusion. I realize I write about a character who does this in my novel. That is one autobiographical aspect of my fiction.My mom has an actual beautiful voice and she used to sing old Indian songs when I was in the womb. That may be one reason I have an obsession with old Indian music. I will admit that I secretly think that I have listened to this old Indian music in a past life, and that is why I love it so much now. I only understand maybe a little more than half of the words, I especially love songs with Urdu in them.I've also very recently discovered that there is some amazing shabads or kirtan on the Internet. Kirtan or shabads are Sikh Hymns.Music does something to your mind and soul. According to John Hopkins Medicine, "If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. ... Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory."I've also heard that playing music can make you better at things like math. It is no coincidence that I cannot play music for the life of me, and I am very bad at math. In fact at the tutoring center that I work at they are making me learn up to 7th-grade math. Can you believe I have a Master's degree and I can't do some 6th and 7th-grade math? I need to learn how to play an instrument, obviously.When I was twelve I decided that I wasn't going to be like the other girls in my class and choose the flute to play, I chose the trumpet. I was so bad that when I practiced playing the trumpet in our basement at home, at one point my parents asked me to stop practicing because they could not take it anymore. They bought me that trumpet for 300 dollars.After that my younger sister started playing the flute very well. My sister is naturally musically talented and has an excellent singing voice. My parents refused to buy her a flute though after their experience with my musical career. So they rented her one for ten years, probably paying many times the price of the flute. Isn't that funny?There are a lot of research out there that proves that music can really do good for you. According to Conscious Lifestyle Magazine, "Outside of music affecting the brain as an emotional experience, it is also a physical experience. ... Listening to music can create peak emotions, which increase the amount of dopamine, a specific neurotransmitter that is produced in the brain and helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers."Dopamine is so dope. That is the same chemical that anti-depressants affect. I think that even listening to sad music makes me happy. It's so meaningful, it makes me feel like there is a purpose to life. I tried to learn to play the harmonium or the Indian piano many times as a child but failed miserably. I wanted to be able to sing shabads at the Gurudwara or The Sikh Temple. However, I'm sure the experience of trying to learn music was good for me.According to Brainfit.com, "Music can improve mood, increase intelligence, enhance learning and concentration, and ward off the effects of brain aging. Music therapy can help various mood and brain disorders, and improve the quality of life for Alzheimer's patients."They did a study somewhere, I know I'm being so scientific, but they did a study about the music that causes universal peace in people. They found that heavy metal music causes anxiety, but everyone's mood was uplifted by classical music. Go figure.It can probably improve the quality of life for everyone.Personally, I think it doesn't matter what you are listening to, just listen to something. You will be the better for it.nina