Why I Fall in Love With Music Over and Over Again, and Why You Should Too

Music is an integral part of my daily life. It is something that continiously makes my everyday life just a little bit better. How do I know this? Well, this past week as I made the switch onto a new bank account, I didn't account for the fact that my monthly Spotify payment occured during the transition period between my banks. Meaning that my bank account that was supposed to pay for Spotify, was empty! I remember the notification from Spotify that told me my music will be stopped if I don't pay the charge soon. An overwhelming feeling of dread enveloped my body as I thought about the possibility of not having music. What would I do as I studied? What would I do when I go to my car and drive somewhere? What if I have a lot of work to do, I can't do it without my music! Please god, if you do exist, please don't rip my music away from me. Fortunately, everything panned out and I wasn't left stranded without my precious Spotify account. But the stupidity of switching banks and jumping through their numerous hoops isn't the moral of the story, it is the feeling of fear I experienced as I thought about my life without music.

To me, music is not only an integral part of my day-to-day life, as I use it for when i'm working, driving, or just hanging out. But it is one of those things that can boost my mood instantly, and completely change the trajectory of how my current day is going. Music is something I fall in love with every single day. It seems as if every time I listen to it; I hear and feel something different. I think everyone can share this same love for music, as music can offer something to anyone who listens to it. And I think everyone should strive to love music. And here are a couple reasons why I think that.

I will never be able to listen to all music that exists, but I sure as hell can try

Music is infuriatingly vast. I try to listen to at least one new artist every day, and I try to switch up the genre of music I listen to about every month; even then I know that I can never, ever (!!!) get to listen to all of the music that exists. I view music much like knowledge, it is something that I continiously strive to better myself in, but at the same time I know that I won't ever know everything just like I will never get to listen to all of the music that is out there. But that's fine with me. I know that if I continue to listen to music for the rest of my life (which I most definitely will), I'll at least listen to a sizeable chunk of the world's existing music. Music itself isn't simply limited to the number of artists either, each genre, artist, style, instrument, and sound can have layers upon layers of depth that someone has tweaked and made anew. To put this into perspective, the artform of music in the late 1600's was simply limited to instruments such as piano's, strings, lute, and violin's. Fast-forward to now, where groups such as Superorganism sample and use sounds such as the sound of biting an apple, the swishing of water in a bucket and the sound a toy car makes when it's wound up all the way. The level of creativity and depth of sound in our music has never been more complex, thus making my goal of listening to all of the music that much harder. But frankly, it's a great problem to have. (Superorganism pictured below)

Music holds the ability to make simple moments, into beautiful moments

Weddings, barbeque's, birthday parties. I could go on and on about the events that aren't just made better by music, but pretty much require it. But as a college student and avid music listener (pretty much every second i'm awake), I have found multiple uncommon situations in which music makes my day just a little bit better.

1. Either late-night or early-morning studying, music can be the catalyst for intense focus on that imposing Statistics 4100 final that's coming up.

2. When you've run out of all of your pre-workout and need an extra boost, music can get you pumped so you can hit those squats even harder in the gym (remember to do leg day people, it's important).

3. When you're doing a work project that doesn't require a lot of brain-power, throwing on some surf-rock jamz can make that four hour work session into a four hour jam session.

4. When you can't seem to peel yourself off of your bed in the morning, throwing on some fast-paced tunes on the speakers can help you finally start your day.

5. When you're reading in the morning and eating breakfast, moody & slower paced music can really enhance the experience (nice weather and sunlight are recommended for this one).

6. When you're sitting in a coffee shop and all of a sudden a pack of chattering teenage girls floods the table next to you, sweet music is the only elixir to drown out their nightmarish sound (rock & roll ain't noise pollution, but Jenny screaming about Michael all the way across the room is).

Music has the ability to help connect & bring people together

Music & food share the same all-important ability (and responsibility) to bring people together. By this I mean not only in the physical sense, but in the emotional sense too. Think about it, what is your first instinct when you want to go on a date with someone? That's right, your first instinct is to take them out to dinner to a place that has good food. And what's one of the first questions you ask them, you ask them what's their favorite kind of music. And much like a renowned local restaurant, a great band can also illicit a small army of followers to it's shows.

The human being craves connection. As humans, we cannot exist without the proper coordination of millions of people around the world. Music is one of the many ways we connect with each other. From an artist's perspective, they use their music to communicate with the listener, the message being different from artist to artist of course. This is why we ask someone we're on a date with what kind of music they listen to or why we put up with finding a parking spot in the city just to see our favorite band.

As a 21-year old kid who knows practically nothing, it is difficult for me to summarize the overarching effect that music has had on my life. I simply lack the vocabulary, perspective and descriptive skill to accurately pinpoint the exact influence of music in my life. But I can say this, without music, without bands, without Chance the Rapper, hell, without Kanye West, the world would be a shitty place to live in. And that is why you should strive to love music, and why I fall in love with music every single day.

And with that, here is a GIF of Chance dancing