Music plays an important part in many people’s lives – we find music or music finds us in one way or the other. I find it intriguing that, as much as music holds an important place in our lives, we have a hard time defining it. We often describe music in metaphorical terms and based on what it does to people – as a form of therapy, relaxation, and other things – and never in terms of what it is. But what exactly is music? Don’t worry, this post won’t be about defining what music is, because that debate seems somewhat outdated. Many settle this debate by regarding music as subjective – and I guess that’s a fair point. In fact, I think we get more out of music this way by leaving it as subjective than attempting to condense it into a single, unified definition – although some certainly disagree with me when it comes to interpreting literary work.

I actually love the many different ways people describe what music is to them. As one of our friendliest interns, Merav, describes it, “Music can do something funny to us. It can force us to feel things in the loveliest and most wrenching way […] It’s a good hurt” – and I couldn’t find it any other way to describe it better than she did. Or, as our talented Isaiah puts it, “Writing was a good vehicle for me—books were (and still are) a nice distraction, and the same goes for film, but they lacked a certain quality I could hold onto—there was a sensory disconnect there that I couldn’t account for. Music is what bridged that gap.” And for one of our former, lovely interns, Michelle, “Music has this really cool power of transporting you back in time.” Before I was an intern, I remember reading a post, also written by a former, equally talented intern, Renee, and I thought she summed up the discussion quite nicely: “Music can represent people in ways no other form of media could. Music can make us sad, happy, angry, and so much more. Music can help us cry or dance or stay alive.” I often envy these friends of mine in having the ability to take something simple and put it in very descriptive and beautiful strings of words.

To me, I picture music as a living locker – one that captures the memory and locks its place in a particular song, tune, rhythm, or other forms of medium, storing it until whenever you feel the need to retrieve it, like one of the many times when my family want to reminisce about our life before moving to New York and the many memories created there, and they blast a number of Vietnamese songs – the same ones over and over again! Or like when I want to reminisce about that moment when I first discovered Taylor Swift’s music with two good friends of mine, who are equally big fans of Taylor, I play this song:

This was the first Taylor Swift song I heard. While some may find the song childish, I love this song – both for the joy and the memory that comes with it! And even though it has been a long time since I last listened to this song, that same joy I felt when I first “discovered” this song is still here – and the memory too! To some, I may have a terrible “taste” in music, and people are have the right to think that, because I don’t actively keep up with the latest hit songs, and often times I have questionable selections when asked what my favorite song is –  but I am proud of it that way [in a confident voice]! Seriously though, Taylor’s music or a handful of songs that comprise all my childhood memories (Clifford, Dragon Tales, or Pokemon)? Tough call.

– Jason