I think I've grown to like a few songs more after hearing them played in a film or a TV series. A few songs that come to mind are The Calling's Wherever You Will Go (Kate and Leopold), Aqualung's Strange and Beautiful (an Ashton Kutcher movie I watched last year..forgot the title), Evan and Jaron's The Distance (Serendipity), The Rembrandts' I'll Be There For You (Friends) and most recently, Paul McCartney's This Never Happened Before (The Lakehouse). Perhaps after watching those songs being played, I've grown to appreciate the songs better and found the lyrics much more meaningful.
I have also found that I tend to like songs even more after watching the music videos for the songs. Maybe it has to do with watching the artists "sing" the songs in the music videos, and sometimes even acting very dramatic and all. Haha. But well, music videos have succeeded in leaving me with a deeper impression of the songs.
One of the few exceptions I have found to that is Paris Hilton's latest single. I had no idea that Paris Hilton was going to release a single until I saw her music video here. Well, I haven't heard the song before and I certainly did not like the music video, in which she just basically acted slutty. You know, her usual stuff. Left a bad impression on my mind and I basically didn't wait for the song to finish. So now, whenever I see her music video on TV, I'd just immediately not watch it (flip channels or just do something else). Which has actually led me to conclude that her song is quite similar to her music video, i.e. sucky. But Aaron and Huiling have told me that the song is actually quite nice. Maybe I just need to listen to the song itself without watching the video so that I won't be so biased.
Anyway, I have sometimes found it quite amazing that I can remember many many songs, songs from like 7-8 years back, even though I have also listened to more and more songs. Like if a certain song is played and I have heard it before at one point in time, I'd usually be able to guess the title of the song rightaway, or if not, after the chorus. And I'd be able to sing the songs too, or recognize their tunes. It's really quite amazing that I don't forget such things easily. Not like academic stuff, which I tend to forget easily. I think I have forgotten quite a bit of what I learned last sem, which is really bad (or maybe that's just me). Perhaps we tend to forget such stuff more easily because we're forced to memorize it and remember it in our minds, whereas for song titles, we remember them at our own will. Or perhaps such information is stored in different parts of the brain??
(Speaking of which, the author of the book I'm reading now mentioned that while he was interviewing job applicants, he met so many university graduates who forgot even the most fundamental stuff they had learnt in universities. The author then commented that the university education was such a waste for them. Which got me to think about what I have learned so far in university. I hope my university education would not be a waste, if not it would be a waste of time and certainly, money).
Songs songs songs. Huiling and I commented the other day that songs are perhaps one of the best things that God has ever invented. Haha. Well, this comment coming from two people who are really mad about songs and still follow the latest songs and all. If you know what I mean. But really. What would the world be without songs? In a similar way, that would be asking, what would the world be without music? Since I guess songs are part of music. Certainly, beautiful songs can help to enliven or lighten a mood, but I think the more profound effect that songs have is that they express our exact thoughts and feelings, which we sometimes cannot communicate. In a way, songs are a form of communication.
For me, I don't really listen to songs for their lyrics. But songs which have meaningful lyrics, or lyrics which I can identify with, are more memorable to me. I can also remember songs which carry a sad tune or slow songs (aka ballads) better.
Then, there is of course, classical music, played on piano. I was really amused yesterday when my mum played Fur Elise on piano in an attempt to wake me up. Haha. But I must admit she really played beautifully. I could tell that she played with feelings, which is what made the way she play really beautiful and much more enjoyable to listen to. Unlike the way I play. I tend to focus more on the technicalities and not the emotional stuff (and I tend to play faster too), so even though the way I play is technically better, it has a less powerful effect overall, simply cos it lacks the emotional factor. Listening to my mum play though has made me realize that songs (and music) are indeed one of the best things that God has invented.
(By the way, I have no idea why Paris Hilton's and Jessica Simpson's music videos are always played back-to-back. It's kind of telling if you consider the similarities between the two singers. I watched the music video of Nick Lachey's latest single recently, and I was struck by how similar the woman in his music video is to Jessica Simpson. There are also TV crew in the music video, shooting Nick Lachey and the woman, which is, of course, a reference to their reality show, Newlyweds. And after that, the music video portrays the woman as being unhappy and wanting to leave him. The music video is perhaps an account of their marriage, and quite possibly, portrayed from his viewpoint. Interesting, isn't it?)