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The Song That Changed Your Life
Squirminator2k
they/themNorth Hollywood, CARegistered User regular
they/themNorth Hollywood, CARegistered User regular
A while ago I started a thread about albums that were not just your favourite album, but that defined you as a person. Now I'm curious as to what songs have totally changed your life after you've heard them. I'm talking in a purely literal sense here, and i will cite example.
About year ago I was in a terrible relationship. It wasn't going well. We lived together in a flat which she messed up and I cleaned. All fo my money was used for expenditures and hers was the disposable income (she did pay a couple of bills but I covered the bulk of them), so I couldn't spend any of my hard-earned cash ebcause it was all allocated. I was pretty much under the thumb, and I had no freedom - I wasn't allowed to have friends over without her say-so, and even with her say-so her mood could change like the flip of a coin. I wasn't allowed out with my friends on my own, but she was allowed out with hers. She never wanted to do anythign interesting or go out anywhere... her preferred activity was sitting on the couch, watching Pokemon DVDs and eating popcorn. It was... well, it was not an ideal situation to be in, and I was rather depressed.
I'd got out of the habit of listening to my MP3 player on the way to work (PSP with 526MB Memory Stick, so I didn't have a great number of songs and it got a bit repetitive) so I'd taken to listening to a small portable radio instead. I heard a song one morning called "Fill My Little World". It managed to capture in words and music exactly the predicement I was in - I wanted more out life, I wanted to see the world. Foolish though I was at the time, I wanted her to join me. She didn't want it to happen.
I would be lying if I said that song was not a major catalyst in our relationship. She did not change, and she wasn't about to. And so I broke up with her after two and a half years. Would I have broken up with her were it not for the song? Eventually, but I imagine I would have suffered a little longer. That song got me thinking about the world and my place in it, and I realised I didn't want to rot away watching Pokemon 4Ever and eating 20p bags of popcorn.
So has music changed your life at all, positively or otherwise?
About year ago I was in a terrible relationship. It wasn't going well. We lived together in a flat which she messed up and I cleaned. All fo my money was used for expenditures and hers was the disposable income (she did pay a couple of bills but I covered the bulk of them), so I couldn't spend any of my hard-earned cash ebcause it was all allocated. I was pretty much under the thumb, and I had no freedom - I wasn't allowed to have friends over without her say-so, and even with her say-so her mood could change like the flip of a coin. I wasn't allowed out with my friends on my own, but she was allowed out with hers. She never wanted to do anythign interesting or go out anywhere... her preferred activity was sitting on the couch, watching Pokemon DVDs and eating popcorn. It was... well, it was not an ideal situation to be in, and I was rather depressed.
I'd got out of the habit of listening to my MP3 player on the way to work (PSP with 526MB Memory Stick, so I didn't have a great number of songs and it got a bit repetitive) so I'd taken to listening to a small portable radio instead. I heard a song one morning called "Fill My Little World". It managed to capture in words and music exactly the predicement I was in - I wanted more out life, I wanted to see the world. Foolish though I was at the time, I wanted her to join me. She didn't want it to happen.
I would be lying if I said that song was not a major catalyst in our relationship. She did not change, and she wasn't about to. And so I broke up with her after two and a half years. Would I have broken up with her were it not for the song? Eventually, but I imagine I would have suffered a little longer. That song got me thinking about the world and my place in it, and I realised I didn't want to rot away watching Pokemon 4Ever and eating 20p bags of popcorn.
So has music changed your life at all, positively or otherwise?
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A 1970s electric acid jam mixed with heavy doses of raging baselines and primal drums, reincarnated for the 21st century.
First Dylan song I ever heard. It awakened something Tookish in me.
Best song ever
also got me started on Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, etc etc
While it is not an especially great song, and certainly not their best, I listened to it at a critical time and it made me realize that the last relationship I was in was pretty damn toxic. So I broke it off with the chick and it was a great decision.
First part first, Opeth's song 'Blackwater Park' showed me how truly deep a song can be and pretty much single-handidly turned me into the metaller than I am today. Still designing a tattoo based on that song.
But the one that really opened my eyes, very recently infact, is Porcupine Tree's song 'Arriving Somewhere But Not Here'. Made me question whether the life I've created for myself is really what I was looking for in the beginning... Decision pending.
Shit, you dont ask for much.
*edit - however, signifigently less than I originally thought.
I'm still a huge music noob though.
Njosnavelin by Sigur Ros and The Only Moment We Were Alone by Explosions in the Sky are both important songs to me.
Which is virtually the only kind of music I actually like, strange as it may sound.
Patrick Wolf captured a lot of what I feel and for whatever reason gave me back my sense of desire and passion, first song of his that I heard was "Bloodbeat," so I guess that's my real candidate.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
"that's really good man, what is it?"
It was Roads, by Portishead, followed by Glory Box. I was never the same after that day.
Was the first time that I became aware of how video and sound could integrate to create an experience beyond what either was individually capable of and that it was possible to achieve that without a huge record studio funding you.
Stan Bush's The Touch, from the original Transformers movie.
It sounds ridiculous, I know. But that's exactly it. It bred in me this glorious, ludicrous feeling, that life is too silly to be taken seriously and that any of life's problems can be solved with a spirit of whimsy and a dose of confidence.
The whole "The Planets" suite is awesome. Mars is probably one of the most epic songs ever written.
It is one of those songs that everyone has heard but nobody knows what it is.
Snap. "Mars" is the first piece of classic music I'd heard. The Planets as a whole is a fantastic suite of music. That's really what got me in to classical music, is that suite in its entirety.
Track #1 from ( ) got me into Sigur Ros. It also made my girlfriend cry out of some vague combination of sadness and joy.
But HoppÃpolla has a higher playcount...
Because it is.
They were going all-out. It was getting towards the end of a nearly four-hour set.
They'd been teasing us with samples of their most famous songs through the entire show. Rez, Pearl's Girl... and finally, Born Slippy.
When the song reached the crescendo and then broke into that long beatless synth, they cranked every light in the venue to max. The crowd and the band were bathed in pure blinding white light.
I think in a way I've spent the last eight years chasing the peak experience of that night.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Stop laughing. It helped me through a lot of angst-filled middle school drama. Every time I hear it, it brings back so much nostalgia that I actually feel nearly ten years younger for just a few moments.
XBL: QuazarX
I kinda need something to boost my life a bit, so I'm grabbing a few of these now.
For me, "The youth of the nation" by P.O.D.
I was shocked that such an entertaining song packed in so much meaning.
That is such an awesome fucking story, and it makes me wish I had something to compare to it. Music has been a constant companion through my life, and has helped me through tough times, but it's never changed me the way certain books or films have.
That's one of my regrets, really - I knew so many people in HS and college who were like "[band x] saved my life" and that's an experience I've never had, though on the other hand I suppose it's good that my life has never been quite so shitty as to require saving.
Hrmmm...
The Verve - History.
Yes. Internet friend sent me Glory Box video from Roseland NYC Live concert, and I had never heard anything like it before. Now I listen to at least one Portishead song a day and consider them a perfect band. Everything they've ever released has been top-notch. I only wish they had released more.
Other songs that changed me.
Rage Against the Machine - Bombtrack: The song that got me into rock music.
N.W.A. - Express Yourself: The song that made me understand that any genre of music can be good as long as the people making it are talented and actually have something to say. Now Straight Outta Compton is one of my favorite cd's, although one I can't recommend to many people.
Jurassic 5 - Remember His Name: The song that got me into hip-hop and Jurassic 5. Great concept, great execution.
A Perfect Circle - Passive: Amazing song, got me into A Perfect Circle.
Pink Floyd - Money
Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
The Beatles - Come Together
All 4 of those songs bring good memories into my head.
Weezer makes any nerd feel proud to be a nerd. Didn't they write that song at the end of mallrats just for the movie, like as in a favor to Kevin Smith, or was it already out?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanne
Pretty much any Nails album since then has become an almost religious experience to me. Enough so that my sons initials are NIN.
Stabbing Westward - What Do I Have To Do? That song single handedly pulled me out of a huge depression when I was stuck in a completely retarded back and forth relationship. The song just seemed so powerful at the time, that I felt like it gave me the strength I needed to pull myself out of the entire situation.
There're plenty of songs that have affected me heavily, but those were the most influential, I think.
Kind of Blue - Flamenco Sketches (alternate take)
It is one of my fondest memories of what friends can really do for you. To this day the song will calm me and give me focus.
1. Bill Withers - "Ain't No Sunshine"
My dad had all the "Solid Gold" tapes when I was growing up and that song was on one of them. We would always have to go on long car rides to visit my grandparents and dad would always pop that tape in. I would quietly watch in awe as my dad kind of rocked out to the gentle melody. I remember looking at my dad in a different way after that. He wasn't just an adult but a person with a sense of what he loved.
Plus I always thought the "I know I know I know I know" part was hilarious and would always sing along with it. My parents thought it was hilarious.
2. Pink Floyd - "Dogs"
This was sort of the awakening of my realization that drugs can sometimes take you to a place that exists outside of space and time. I had heard the song previously many times but this time it was just different for some reason. It was a cold winter night and me and my buddy were sitting by the window having a quiet game of checkers whilst having a smoke. Everything seemed to just fade away for a while and all that was left was the music. We sat there and didn't say a word for a few minutes until the "stone stone stone stone stone" part came up. Suddenly it was like we were simultaneously snapped back to reality. My buddy looks at me and just says "Wow" after which we both broke into hysterics.
I usually like to keep my drug escapades fairly private but there was something about that moment that was just so poignant. We still talk about it to this day because it was a truly unique experience where the music completely took over. A true testament to the power of music (and to some extent marijuana).
The first time I heard Buckley's cover I was moved to tears. This was probably one of the most emotive experiences I've ever had and while I can't point to any direct change, I do feel that it is a significant event in my life.
1: 'Without a Trace' by Soul Asylum.
The lyrics 'Standing in the sun with a popsicle, everything is possible'
I was in D.C. outside the National Gallery eating a bomb pop. It was the most beautiful day there has ever been. I was supposed to be on a field trip, but a couple friends and I left and went to The Air and Space Museum, The Natural History and American History Museums and climbed to the top of the Washington Monument. I've never felt more in my life like I could do anything. The bomb pop cemented the deal.
I had taken pictures on a disposable camera but had never developed it. !0 years later I found an old disposable camera in an old bag while moving (for the 5th time since high school) and took it to an hour photo.
There were my pictures
Song 2: 'Wedding Day' by Cracker
Lyrics: 'Well, I heard about your new man, and I will laugh at him sometime
Yeah, I heard about your new man, and I will laugh at him sometime
Cause I can see his sad day coming when your lies will burn him blind'
I was in the dumps after braking up with my GF of 5 years (she cheated on me etc.) and was especially depressed about her finding a slew of new men (it only took her 1/2 a day to replace me!) and hearing this song made me comforted in that a lot of other people were going to get the short end of her emotional stick and that 1: I had nothing to be sad about because she sucked anyway and 2: eventually her ways would bite her in the ass.
Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack.
I remember when I really started liking weezer and listened to their blue album for the first time on my way back from ocean city for senior week. That was a time in my life when I didn't have a care in the world, and looked to the future. I'm not trying to downplay the "awesome" value of any of our revolutionary songs, but does anyone think that these songs would be as revolutionary if said event were not taking place?