Modern technology allows us to escape the audial reality that surrounds us and delve into a world of music inside our heads. Walking down the sidewalk, it seems over half the people I pass are wearing headphones or earbuds (often myself included). While some people may be listening to a podcast or audio book (just last week I was listening to “Spanish for beginners”) many –if not most– are listening to music. Listening to music has, in some ways, become increasingly individual. Because of earbuds, a lot of the time I’m listening to music, I am the only one who hears it. People now have the ability to completely personalize their musical experience. It fascinates me to ponder the ways in which the individualization of listening to music not only shapes people but is a form of expression. 

The music that someone listens to can impact how they see themself, present themself to the world, and even perceive the world around them. Using myself as an example, I listen to a lot of music styles from the 60s and 70s; most notably The Grateful Dead. How I present myself visually is comparable to an expression of that time; I am often dressed colorfully; in tie dye, and if there’s ever a concert, I’m eccentrically dancing. Furthermore, my mindset reflects the music I listen to as I am very observant of nature, experimental, and curious; which are characteristics common in music like The Grateful Dead’s (psychedelic rock, bluegrass, blues, etc.). Genres that people listen to can even impact their mood. My last year’s Spotify recap labeled my music type as “Happy and Chill”. I think these words accurately describe the mood I am most often in.

Overall, in many ways, the music one often listens to can tie into their identity as a whole. Walking the PSU campus surrounded by people who’s earbuds reinforce their individualized musical world, I wondered if I could gain insight into this personified music phenomena by asking a random person what song they were listening to. A boy wearing a tie dye Mt. Joy shirt and headphones walked towards me on the sidewalk. I stopped him and inquired if he was listening to music. He was, so I asked for the name. He optimistically provided.

The song is called “Moving Light” by Ezra Glatt. P.S. My first reaction will be recorded in this blog and I encourage you to listen and compare your reaction with mine. Starting with somber and exceptionally sweet sounding guitar picking, the multiplicity in the sounds of is comparable to having your head wrapped with a warm blanket or smelling lush green nature. The lyrics, breathy and emo sing, “I don’t know who I am anymore”. Continuing on–OH wow. Unexpected. This got deep quickly. The lyrics are about feeling death coming closer but the writer doesn’t feel ready to go yet. There is juxtaposition created between the calm and peaceful picking with the dark and gloomy lyrics. Expressing feelings of regret the author says, “feel the weight of the world on my mind”, and continues on with a theme of wanting to go back in time to find happiness that is now lost. The lyrics close and the music intensifies with the addition of an elegant and soft sounding piano. An emphasis is placed on higher pitches bringing about an uplifting sensation. Just as the next verse starts up, the piano closes and an addition of background vocals takes it’s place adding a sense of fullness in combination with the guitar picking.

The lyrics continue on along lines of: everything is dream so don’t be fooled by how things seem. The writer then says he will be “floating down the endless stream of golden moving light”. Then the song ends. It is difficult to uncover whether this song is about having hope or giving up. It could be positive representing the impermanence of life and not taking things too seriously because in the end there is heaven or it could be negative saying life isn’t worth living anymore and peaceful death would be better. It could be a mix of both representing the complex, existential, and confusing emotions that humans feel. Overall, I’m drawn towards it’s use of expression.

I find it interesting this was the song some guy was listening to when I stopped him on the sidewalk. While It would be ignorant to say this song choice necessarily reflects the inner thoughts of the boy who was listening to it, I feel confident in saying it shows traits of contemplation on life and deep emotion. These are what I believe to be the two most human traits, so I assuredly conclude that the boy I passed on the sidewalk is human. In some ways I feel connected to him as I too am human and have contemplative thoughts on life and purpose. Perhaps, though we’ve made our own musical worlds, we’re not so separate after all.