How Music Decorates My Life
I don’t know how to start to talk about this topic and I also don’t know much about music, too. I’m just an individual who loves music whether it has vocal or not, and I’d like to talk about it. As for you, you may find some new artists or new songs to listen to.
When I start to write a story, a article for blog, or even my journal, I always have background music beside me. When I listen to it passively or actively, somehow I become immerse into the music and able to write a lot. One of my favorite album of soundtrack is the one from an anime movie called “A Silent Voice”, composed by Ushio Kensuke. There’s no lyrics in it and his music can be described as minimalistic because there’s not much instruments’ sound, only piano (mostly). But his soundtrack is so relaxing and emotional. Also, the movie is about communication problem (verbally and non-verbally), friendship, and mental health, which are really relevant to real life. That boosts my energy and brain to write even much more. A few weeks ago, when I drafted my article “My Journey with Journaling” for the blog, I also listened to this album. Finishing the part about the third year, I became stuck, not knowing what to write next. Then, for some reason, I start the new paragraph with a phrase “When I became a fourth-year student…”. After that, I kept on writing, writing, and writing until the paragraph became nearly 1 page long (in Khmer language) that I was surprised by what I wrote.
“Wait! Now I have to write about my journaling, not my feeling!”
Realizing this, I started to rewrite it from the start of the paragraph. As a result, I wrote another 1 page. I think the factor which played a part of making me to go out of the topic like that might be the soundtrack playing in the background. That time, the music gradually became more and more emotional and made me subconsciously want to express my feeling.
Speaking of Ushio Kensuke, he’s one my favorite composer in the recent time. I want to write an article about my appreciation to his music, too. However, I’m not sure if I can do it because I know nothing about music. How can I explain why his music is so great that I love it so much? Anyway, currently, he also composes soundtracks for an anime called “Chainsaw Man”. I’m so excited!!!
Back to music…
Beside the music boosting my brain and heart to work, there’s music which makes me feel nostalgic (I know I’m not the only one). In addition, my nostalgia is divided into 2 types. One is a nostalgia made by conditioning the music to an activity or event. For instant, I always listen to the soundtracks in an anime called “Adachi and Shimamura” (composed by Tabuchi Natsumi, Nakamura Hanae, and Sakurai Miki) while reading the light novel by the same name. Of course, I also watched the anime. So, whenever I heard or listen to the soundtracks, I start to recall some scene in the anime or in the novel and it makes me feel warm in heart. Moreover, I also listened to the instrumental version of the song “花火” (hanabi) (the vocal version’s sung by Fujita Maiko) specifically when I read the summer festival part of the light novel. Now, when I listen to the song (or the instrumental one), the memory of reading that wholesome part, and the awkward Adachi and the emotionally dulled Shimamura in their yukata just runs into my mind. Man! I love this song and these two girls!
On the other hand, there’s another type of nostalgic feeling, the strange one. I think you can understand that some music makes us miss an experience or event which we’ve never even gone through it. The soundtrack like “Summer” by Hisashi Joe reminds me of that time when I walked along the rice field under a hot and shining sky even if I’ve never walked there! (I mean I’ve been there before, but I was so young and I didn’t listen to any soundtrack at that time!). Even weirder, there’s a Japanese BGM called “雪解け” (yukidoke, meaning snow thaw) by unknown composer. By the title of the music, we know that it’s about a period when the snow melts as the weather gets warmer. And guess what? I become emotional and nostalgic when listen to it while flying back to Japan from Cambodia! Because of it, I miss my family and the good time I spent for nearly 1 month when visiting my home country! And remind you, I DID NOT listen to this even once when I was in Cambodia! Not to mention that it’s about the melting snow! There’s no snow in Cambodia! There’s only ice falling from the truck in front of my neighbor’s house!
Anyway, this BGM made me cry for 2-3 days after arriving Japan.
Enough of nostalgia, let’s talk about music for walking or jogging. In Japan, people walk a lot. I sometimes get bored when walking around the same places. It makes my destination look even farther. That is why I often listen to music while walking, especially when going back to home from the hospital I’m practicing the clinical clerkship in. Also, Japan is very safe even at night. So, even when I walk alone at night, I don’t really feel afraid or worried about anything (except the very, very dark place and narrow road because I don’t want to get crashed by a car). Adding music into my walking, I feel even more calmer while looking at the tranquil scenery of Japan at night even if it’s the same places. Furthermore, depending on the songs or music, my mood changes (whose mood doesn’t?). When I listen to “Lens”, by Ikuta Lilas (a singer from YOASOBI), or “花火” which I mentioned above, I become relaxed after the exhausting day in the hospital. On the other hand, when I listen to “おもかげ” (omokage), by Ikuta Lilas, Aimer, and milet, the dopamine suddenly runs all over my body and I want to dance immediately. As I said before, Japan at night is so quiet, so I can just dance a little bit without worrying that anyone will see. But usually, I just match my steps to the beat of the song and it’s really fun! Also, this song’ beat is so suitable for brisk walk. You can try it and you’ll know.
All of these are just a tiny part of the music which brings colors to my life. If I have to talk about all of it, I may need one book to fill in. Finally, what I want to say is that I’m so grateful that I have the chance to listen to all of this amazing music, and thank to all of the artists who makes it and decorates my possibly boring daily life!
