Just shut up already. Seriously. Gah…
I stare at the floor of the car where my feet are. Purposely not looking up. Not making eye contact. Head kept low, simply contemplating ways of getting away. Anything to put me out of my misery. Shoe strings? No, can’t choke myself in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. Head out the window? Nah. No trees around to knock my head off. Oh God, something! My mother is driving me insane with all her ques….WAIT!. Turn up the radio. Oh hell yea. This song rules!
And suddenly, the adolescent world of gray skies and rain clouds shifts to a momentary, yet almost hopeful existence.
I’ve talked before about the transformative power of music and the ability of that medium to weave through one’s life, linking memories and forming new ones. But what hit me this morning on my drive to work was the power of surrendered musical decision making. And in all likelyhood, that phrase means little to anyone.
Have you ever noticed that the CD in your friend’s car is more interesting than what’s in your own? Have you ever been in a store and caught yourself tapping your foot to a song that otherwise you would have been embarrassed to admit listening to? There’s even a scene in High Fidelity where Jack Black’s character subtley introduces the customers in the store to the Beta Band, knowing they’ll all flip over it. It’s because it sounds better when you didn’t pick it.
Even though we have our moments of musical snobbery and aural elitism, we can’t deny how much better a song can sound by simply being surprised by it. I never listen to the radio. All of my music choices are coldly calculated, either with playlists or by delving into specific albums. I’m not surprised by anything because I’m trying to choose music that fits exactly with what I think I want to hear next. This is, in all likelyhood, why I am increasingly bored with my music collection.
I think most of us can attest to the scenario above. We’ve all been consumed with the drudgeries of life and our woes when suddenly a song on the radio makes you forget how miserable life is. You’re stripped of your pretenses and emotional put-ons for one hopeful instant. But if you had chosen that song? Nothing would have happened. You likely would have continued to sulk.
Perhaps this is why jukeboxes were so popular (well, besides the fact that listening to music at home was more complicated and prohibitively expensive back then). Even today, I would gladly choose a bar with pricier drinks and a better jukebox over one with the opposite (or worse, no jukebox at all). Having a random assortment of music and being caught off guard with some truly great tracks is like finding a $20 bill in your pocket. It can change your outlook on things instantaneously.
Being caught up in life and suddenly surprised by a great song is simply a gift, and one that I don’t open myself to often enough. I’m not saying that I’ll be listening to the radio anytime soon, but maybe I’ll just put the soundtrack to my life on shuffle and let someone else pick once in awhile.
