One of my favorite movies ever is "Almost Famous," and one of the biggest messages of that film is how much music can really speak and relate to you in different aspects of your life. Since I first fell in love with the film, I have taken on a new perspective regarding the music I listen to. I am one of those people who when you ask "What's your favorite kind of music?" I will always respond with "A little bit of everything." This is true, I like to listen to vastly different kinds of music and genuinely enjoy it.
Some music is perfect to work out to, sing along to in the shower, listen to on car rides, or to keep me focused while I'm studying. Occasionally, however, I find music that I relate to so deeply at that point in my life, that it becomes ingrained within me, a connection that goes beyond just liking a song or an album.
The most recent album to really, honestly affect me was Halsey's "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom." This is an odd choice, I know, but this album was really perfect for me when it came into my life. I didn't listen to this album when it first came out, and I had no intention to. The whole concept of the album wasn't something I was entirely invested in, and I wasn't really into the whole alternative-pop genre as much as I used to be.
But then, at the end of my first ever semester of college, one of the songs came up on a Spotify playlist I was listening to. The song was "Strangers," and it is still one of my favorites of the album. At the time, I had stopped seeing a guy who I genuinely liked, and I walked away from the situation realizing I barely knew anything deep or non-superficial about him or what we really were. He just felt like, well, a stranger.
After listening to that song a million and one times, I finally started to listen to more of the songs of the album and found I could relate to more of them in different ways. If I would've listened to "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" when it first came out, I am sure I would've liked it aesthetically, but it wouldn't have taken on a deep meaning for me at all. Instead, the album gave me a perspective on how I viewed relationships and how I approached them. It took me different experiences with relationships, not all great, to get me to the point where the album entered my life and could truly speak to me the way it has.
On another note, the song that I think has spoken to me more than any other has to be "Storms" by Fleetwood Mac. I started listening to Fleetwood Mac when I was sixteen, the perfect age for angst and heartbreak. However, I didn't listen to their album "Tusk" fully until I was seventeen. When I did, I immediately connected with the song "Storms" more than any song I had ever heard and truly listened to. Stevie Nicks is one of the best songwriters in my opinion because her lyrics are so beautiful and vivid, they could almost get with being poems. "Storms" is the prime example of that to me.
As someone who fears of losing everything because of their own actions, I have never related to a song more. Things hurt, and people leaving hurts. It's never easy, especially for me, to pretend nothing ever happened or went wrong. To hear that vocalized so beautifully and soulfully, gave me comfort. I listen to "Storms," a lot, whether I am happy or sad. But most importantly, I listen to it when I need the reminder that some things will hurt, but the hurt will end. It is okay to not always be a blue, calm sea. Sometimes you have to be a storm to truly feel.
Music can bring out different emotions for all of us. Some songs bring joy, others sadness, and some we want to skip because we simply don't like them. Whatever the sentiment, music undeniably goes with it, as something that can help us cope with a situation or help punctuate just how much joy we are feeling at a given time. So next time you listen to a new album or playlist, maybe you'll find a song that just seems to get you. Let music help you embrace your emotions and help guide you wherever you find yourself It can bring you to some amazing places.
