Music and association

Recently I’ve been writing music reviews, with the intention to be as honest to the music and critically accurate as possible. To this goal I’ve tried to write in length within my reviews, so as to not be misunderstood. I’m also hoping to approach each new album with a fresh and clear mind, which can certainly be difficult. It’s easy to allow other songs that you have heard recently to impact how you consider songs you are reviewing. If, for example, I’ve spent the last hour enjoying “King of Limbs”, and then I start listening to a band that shares sonic elements with Radiohead, I’m likely to notice those similarities more easily, and this will surely impact how I appreciate the band. This is obviously unavoidable, but it’s interesting to keep in mind as you engage in analysis on any subject, whether that is music or politics.

One dimension of this “unconscious association” is where or how you first find out about a particular song. For example, when my mom, who does not share my exact musical tastes, suggests something for me to listen to, I’m not expecting very much. If the song turns out to be decent, I may find myself enjoying it more than I probably should. Likewise if a band mate suggests a song, I’m probably going to have much higher expectations, and am more likely to be underwhelmed by what I hear. This is true, even though the song that my band mate recommends is more likely to be a song that I actually enjoy. I don’t know if this is at all interesting to anyone else, but it does help me to remember the subjective nature of all things.

Be on the lookout for more reviews in the next few weeks, and also some news about Common Swift related videos.