What Makes Me Connect To Music?

I was putting out into the ether not long ago the point of contention I hold wherein I am usually frustrated when people say, "If you like ___, you'll like ___." The idea behind that sentiment is people who enjoy a certain sound are likely to enjoy other bands that have a similar sound. It isn't unsound logic, but it just doesn't hold true for me. Liking a band is far more complex than whether or not they sound like something I've already liked. Given my own fickleness even with my favorite bands being so wildly inconsistent in meeting my expectations, recommendations are only of a small degree of use.

So that brings up the question; what does make me connect to the music I love? It is a complex phenomenon, and it can't be boiled down to an equation or algorithm. Every case is different, and the reasons for my love don't always make sense to me, if I'm being honest. But there are four main categories where I can see trends.

1. Mood

Music is largely about feelings for me, and certain artists and albums are able to conjure a mood that evokes a feeling no one else can. I love them when that happens. Jimmy Eat World's "Futures" is my favorite album in large part because of the mood it sets. It reminds me of the feeling I had when I was sleep-deprived at 3am during my college days, feeling the hollowness of another night spent chasing away disappointment. No other record is able to do that for me. That happens to be the extreme example, but the idea carries through everything I listen to. If the music doesn't make me feel something, whether that be existential or merely a smile curling up, I'm not likely to go back and keep listening. Mood is more than amp settings, and it's indescribable.

2. Lyrics

As a writer, you can't be surprised I'm saying this. Words matter to me, both for the good and the bad. The reason I loved The Wallflowers so much when I was younger wasn't just in the melodies of the songs, it was Jakob Dylan's poetry. The words on "Breach" opened my eyes, and gave me so much to think about. The same is true of my love of Elvis Costello, Jim Steinman, and even Blues Traveler. They all spun phrases that caught my ear, that made me want to find my own unique way of expressing myself. On the other side, there are those bands who write so terribly I can't get over my issues, even if their songs are otherwise good. I've written plenty about my inner conflict regarding "Pinkerton", which is a battle I still fight on a regular basis. What you say is just as important as how you say it.

3. Melody

This is the most important element, to be frank. No matter how closely two bands can align their sound, every writer has their own ear for melody. Some of them will coincide more with mine than others. The waves will amplify for some, dissipate for others. The very identity of a song comes from its melody, and if those hit differently, then any number of bands doing the same thing are doing to wind up being nearly as different as if they were in separate genres. It sounds odd to say, but I have always considered myself both open and closed-minded when it comes to my music. I will listen to any genre, but only if it gives me the type of melody I crave. It's an ethereal thing, however, and even those who have hit my target repeatedly nearly always find their aim drifting at some point.

4. Voice

Finally, we come to the hardest of these to talk about. As I have said before, there are no words to properly express how a voice can resonate in your soul, or how it can stir emotions you didn't know you had. For every one of us, the voices that do that will be different. I have my list of singers who move me, and that collection is shared with no one. Plenty of singers who are adored by the majority do nothing for me, and there isn't a way to explain how or why. All I can say is that a singer who possesses that unique gift is going to get every opportunity to win me over with each and every song, while a better songwriter who leaves me cold is going to have to work twice as hard for half my attention. It isn't fair, but nothing really is.

And thus, I believe I have made my point that what connects me to the music I love might just all come down to dumb luck. That's fitting, no?