Food for the Soul

135 Minutes of Commute: Hip-Hop - Dead Prez

Uh, one thing about music, when it hit you feel no pain

White folks say it controls your brain

I know better than that,that it's game and we ready for that

Two soldiers head of the pack, matter of fact who got the gat?

And where my army at?

Rather attack and not react

Say it ain't so: I think MIT and Cambridge, with un-hip populace and behind-the-times radio-stations (which were impossible to tune into in my locale anyway), respectively, collaborated in an attempt to make me to forgot how very much I live music. They succeeded, but only temporarily. My 135-minute commute (and relocation to NYC) has afforded me the uniqueprivilegee of being able to focus all my attention on the music at hand and forget all auxiliary activities. I ran through my CD's with the quickness and was left destitute with nothing to consume but National Public Radio (heaven forbid that I would purchase a new CD). Behold! Thanks to my father for presenting me with a 40gig Apple's iPod for Christmas, as well as to various contributors (Marc, Michelle, Phil , Slava...), there is now too much music for me to absorb at a reasonable pace, even during these considerable daily chunks; I must revert to listening to music at home and say "fie!" to la televicion.

"one thing 'bout music, when it hit you feel no pain"

There is something about this line that just feels right to me, but if I take a second to digest it, I think it's actually the stunning beat that jump-kicks my heart and then reverbrates deep down in my pelvis. It's not pain you don't feel, but rather comfort in the form of an expression of whatever it is you are feeling; music that "hits you" is often acknowledgement that someone else has been there, done that, considered your thoughts and joys and pains. Some songs attempt to draw opinions, some give advice, some simply relate a story or theory, and of course some are all about the drums, bass, violin, melody, instruments. The beauty is that some else in this world can connect to each song; certainly one person can connect with multiple songs and, yes, these connections transform depending on the time in the person's life.

Perhaps the line that comes to mind to better describe my connection with music is from Missy Elliot and Ciara's new single: "music make me lose control". If you remember me from freshman year or before, you will remember a young girl (always adorned with hoop earrings) who, at any time of day, in any situation, would likely be found dancing. In fact, I was so used to dancing to the endless soundtrack* that boomed through my mind that I sometimes didn't even notice it. Somewhere along the way I lost it a little bit. I don't know if that was due to lighter flow of new music into my world, or stress, or what, but it's coming back, thank the gods (or rather, thank artists!).

* Speak of the Devil (addendum) : Today, July 11, 2005, I found in The New York Times an article clumsily entitled Neuron Network Goes Awry, and Brain Becomes an IPod, which explores the new medical condition known as "musical hallucinations... a result of malfunctioning brain networks that normally allow us to perceive music." The article explains that "For most people, these spontaneous signals may produce nothing more than a song that is hard to get out of the head. But the constant stream of information coming in from the ears suppresses the false music." As such, muscial hallucinations are apparently what I've been experiencing for the better part of my life. Clearly mine are not so severe as those who are hospitalized for it, but it's nice to finally know that I'm not alone. Or am I being assured that sanity is not mine? Does dancing to the music increase your crazy-level? Oh, Camus, help me...