By Rosalia Jimenez
There is music for everyone.
For as long as I can remember, I have relied heavily on music. No matter what I was feeling, I have always turned to music to pull me from my dark times and lift me on my sunny days. There are many genres of music, each beautiful in its own way. Country music tends to tell stories of a love lost or a love lasting forever, pop music supplies a mood to whatever event is going on and other genres like hip hop and blues, respectively, bear the artist raw. Every person listens to music, whether intentionally or not. Most people make the effort to play the music that makes them feel what they want to, and other people are introduced to music through their environment.
Since grade six, I have been involved in the band One Direction. To this day, I play their songs on repeat, reveling in the vocals unlike any I have heard before. My brothers were introduced to One Direction through the times I blared their songs in the car and through the house. My brothers would not willingly listen to their music, but they have been exposed to that band through me, and, regardless of their opinion on them, my brothers have been affected by that music.
Music brings people together.
When I was a small child, my family surrounded me with all sorts of music. My aunt played me “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison because it reminded her of me. My mother played me songs like “Angel” and “Luv Me, Luv Me” by Shaggy because she loved his music. My father played me songs in Spanish that, to this day, I have no idea what they mean, but I know he placed meaning to them. My grandmother played me songs by Roger Miller because she thought I would enjoy the quirkiness of his records. A song an aunt or cousin played reminded my grandmother of a distant relative. Every family gathering, there was music played. Songs played by one person became a song someone else added to their playlists.
Music creates a bond between people.
Matilyn Vogel, a 19-year-old engineering student from Lowell attending Grand Rapids Community College, spoke of her connections made through music.
“My favorite band, One Direction, brought me closer to my best friend. We bonded over the music.”
Music can bring even complete strangers together. Breanna Spoit, a 19-year-old student from Davison, met her friends through music.
“All of my friends connected over K-pop,” she said. “Music is a way to get people to bond.”
Fans of artists come together at concerts to listen to their favorite singers perform. You stand side-by-side with people who love that music just as much as you. Concerts are a beautiful thing to see. I have been to five concerts so far. At each and every one, I have witnessed complete strangers interacting with one another, dancing together to an upbeat song and then crying together to the heartbreaking lyrics of the next. Seeing these people holding onto each other as they watched the artist belt out the lyrics to their songs was inspiring. Those scenes truly showed how deeply people are affected by the music they listen to.
“It’s heartwarming,” Vogel said. “Being at a concert is heartwarming. There’s no judgment.”
Similar tastes in music creates a bond between people. Ryia Thomas, an 18-year-old social work major from Grand Rapids, said, “You connect with people who enjoy the same type of music as you do, and that builds friendships… I feel like people who listen to similar music as you, have the same mindspace and opinions about certain things. I feel like you can really tell who a person is by the music that they listen to.”
Music shapes people.
Music, whether one listens to it all the time or not, contributes to who you are as a person. Like many others, I have been greatly affected by music. I use artists’ words as a way of expressing myself. For most of my life I have struggled to express my emotions and feelings, never truly understanding how to convey them. Music became a way for me to tell people how I felt without actually using my words. Although some failed to hear what I was saying in my own words, many understood through the lyrics of a singer. Friends and family have since come to understand that music is my way of communicating.
The songs I have listened to in my life have had at least some small effect on me. They gave me the courage to be my absolute truest self. They gave me the ability to enjoy everything that comes my way. The soundtrack of my life is a playlist of all the songs that make me feel like me. My music has grown with me through the variety and the range. Each song I have listened to is embedded in my very soul. My life without music would have led me to feel like the shell of a human. Music became my life. My personality is a quilt of every song I hold dear and every song I skip.
Eighteen-year-old Jayden Franks, a chemical engineering major from Saranac said, “I truly believe that music strongly correlates to character, and by listening to a large array of music allows you to learn more and become a better person.”
A lot of the time, music is the background sound for some of our happiest memories. People attach certain songs to certain memories. Sometimes music can relax us before a big event.
Eighteen-year-old Raylee Farrell, of Lake Odessa, said, “I listen to music when I am getting ready for things, like a dance with my sister or a test at school. It gets me in a good mood.”
Music can influence the world.
Many artists come together to create music for the world. They sing for fans across land and sea. They sing for people to enjoy and come together. Groups such as Playing For Change use music to bring people together from different countries, making cover videos of songs like “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley. Organizations like that showcase the importance and the power of music. They show how much music means to everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from.
Finally, everyone has that one song that means the world to them.
Similar to what Thomas said, you can tell a lot about a person by their favorite song. A favorite song is that one record that makes you feel like, well, you. It can make you happy on your worst days, or it can fuel your bright mood. A favorite song can be of the genre you listen to the most, or it can be that one random song you heard when your Spotify shuffled every song of every genre. It’s that one song that gets stuck in your head or makes you dance in front of the bathroom mirror. Your favorite song is an extension of you.
When a favorite song was mentioned, each person asked had a grin on their face.
Vogel smiled and said, “My favorite song, right now, is “Strong” by One Direction… It makes me feel everything. It makes me happy and sad. There’s just so much passion in it.”
Franks passionately described his journey through favorite songs. He said, “It changes every once in a while, but I think it all comes back to “Politik” by Coldplay… The song is a beautiful gateway into a story. The magical, almost ethereal sound, towards the end after the brash and hard opening, really opened my eyes as to what good music should be. More than just sound but a feeling.”
Thomas, almost immediately, mentioned Ethel Cain. She brought up one song in particular, saying, “She has this song called “Crush”. It gives this feeling of midsummer, like a week before school starts and you’re at home. It gives that kind of scenic vibe. It gives a small town vibe, and we live in Michigan, which kind of feels like that, too.”
Spoit laughed a little before diving in, saying, “River” by Bishop Briggs. I watch C-dramas, and that song was the first song I ever heard from them. I love listening to it, it’s a great way for me to get out of my head. I love it.”
And mine? My favorite song has remained the same for four years. It is a song that focuses on how hard it is to be alone. My absolute favorite artist sings the song, making it that much more special.
My favorite song is “Only The Brave” by Louis Tomlinson. It’s a short song, the shortest one I know, but it holds so much passion and vulnerability that crushes my heart in the best possible way. Hearing someone sing such a raw song that I can somehow relate to is such an inspiring thing. It reminds me that I am not the only one who feels the way I feel. Listening to that song is like a blanket of comfort was wrapped around me with someone telling me that it’s okay to be alone and feel a little sad about it. Tomlinson sings about being so close to love, yet coming up short.
He sings, “It’s a church of burnt romances, and I’m too far gone to pray. It’s a solo song, and it’s only for the brave.”
Listening to people talk about how music affects them really opened my eyes to the impact it has. People from all walks of life are affected by music. Different genres, different geographic areas, different lives. Each person has their own story, their own song. It’s beautiful to see how music brings people together.
Vogel said it perfectly.
“Music is special. There’s nothing wrong with it because everyone has their own taste of it. It comes in all flavors. There is a flavor for everyone.”
