But does it define you?

A person that wants to remain anonymous asked me the question whether or not I thought the music that I like defines me as a person. I think this is a very interesting question. Do I think that I am defined by the music that I like, love, admire?

I guess it really depends on what you think the word define means. I think in many instances the word would mean to explain, to put in a way which explains it's subject matter. There is also an element of being succinct about it that define brings to mind. So if I am looking for music to explain me, then surely it must be music that i relate to? More than I like.

For example, I like and have always liked this song by Ice-T

I would however be somewhat delusional if I thought that there was a modicum of truth in it defining me as a person. Not being a famous musician and never having to deal with any of the descriptive day in the life that he puts together so well.

This being the case then it would have to be a song that might describe what i thought was my state of mind. If a song can not describe my life then it must be something a little less tangible than the cold hard reality of it all. This then becomes a very interesting issue. Because there is no doubt that there are songs that have described my state of mind very well at a particular time.

For example, the cold and somewhat detached fury of this song by Radiohead

I think that this song was very good at describing how i felt about certain situations. I love the echo effect, and as always Thom Yorke's lyrics seem to capture the isolation quite well. The way the line
"you and your cronies" immediately puts all of the associated people except the subject of the song into a secondary and inferior position in his mind. That is extremely effective and the way the song soars momentarily as if he was trying to control the anger and losing the battle for a moment.

However, before you get the impression that i am a slightly deranged serial killer, this song has also described my mood a number of times

The sentiment of the song, have some bad fun, whatever bad fun may mean. I like that a lot and have often listened to this song prior to going out to put me in the mood to be prepared to accept whatever the night may have in store for me. i love the line
"mayhem children take no lip
rev your engines from the hip"
There is a definite sense of not only being a little bit dangerous but also a little bit fired up and cocky.

i think I am getting closer to the point here. There are songs that can help you to define yourself in a mood. There are however an almost limitless combination of moods that you may be in at any one time and as such , a single song to define you is impossible. Unless of course you wrote the song. Could you write a song that defined you , and would you be happy with it. I can't say, I have written to lyrics to songs that never got sung, but I have not ever written the music, so i wouldn't know. If you have then please comment.

There are also some songs that attempt to describe a general state of being

listen to this by perennial favourite The Bravery

Maybe that describes the lyricist? maybe someone he knows? It doesn't describe my life, but I do think it is a very good song and I am very sure that must describe and even define a lot of people's lives.

The other bit about music defining you could also be the fact that hearing a song from the past reminds you of a particular time and place. Usually a particularly good or bad time and place.  You know what I mean, a Holiday, a Funeral, the time you got fired, or when you met your partner etc . I think this really comes back to mood though doesn't it. You had a particular mood at the time and as such whatever you heard either connected with you, or really didn't. So when you hear the music again it brings back those memories.

So, Anon from somewhere on the planet, no my music taste doesn't define me. It describes my moods to me through other peoples interpretation of their moods. I have a lot of moods and so you would need to have a very large collection of songs that I like in one place before I would be happy about saying they came to describe the moods I have.

I guess this must be the same for all music lovers, although I do wonder what people who don't love music do, maybe it comes up in colours?