You might think all melodies sound the same when you're on hour sixteen of your workday, but pitch — the intensity, the modulation, the rise and fall of a violin — it really makes a difference. I've been in a quiet spot today, and venture that Radiohead could have been a mistake. The last four albums I've listened to are Amnesiac, B-Sides, Hail to the Thief, and Kid A, in that order. By the time the Kid A cut of "Morning Bell" shimmied into my aural space, I thought I was going to die of heartache.
Music and mood are of course intimate bedfellows; sound has an uncanny way of manipulating feeling. My quest then is not just for sound patterns that won't distract from number plugging, but also something that will buoy, rather than press, against the serrated edge of working long, isolating hours at home alone this month.
Enter Sigur Ros. One might argue that to the distracted brain any minimalist, experimental, and mostly ambient sound after midnight could replace another. Not so. I pity the heart that doesn't swell once more with the opening pulse of "Staralfur." Listen below, or here or here.
Hope you are hanging in there Emily...I feel like I haven't seen you in many weeks. This is so true about music. At my office, we have the delightful ability to play music in our communal stereo system. Unfortunately, EVERYONE is allowed to play their musical selections. I sometimes find myself completely tense and jangled as a result of a musical selection which just doesn't mesh well with my mood or musical taste.
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