The song that changed it all... - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

peter12 · 10-17-2008, 02:25 PM

So I don't really start topics at all, but I thought for fun's sake I would ask a question that I've been pondering over in regards to my academic work and just to life in general.

Music is a powerful communication tool, probably the MOST powerful that humans have ever developed. It brings us probably the closest to what we could term as spiritual highs and it documents the human experience like nothing else.

I was just wondering if anyone has some stories to share about "that one song" that just changed their life forever and the one that still gives you tingles whenever you hear it. We all have one.

Mine is "The Living Bubba" by the Drive-by Truckers. If you don't know it, it's a true story about a famous local guitar player from Atlanta who was dying of HIV/AIDS. Instead of giving up or feeling sorry for himself, the guy continued to play shows until about a week before he died. It's an amazing story about human perseverence and the joy of being alive.

Ozy_Flame · 10-17-2008, 02:30 PM

Metallica's "Until it Sleeps" was the one that did it for me.

Not because it's a fantastic song by any means (there are better Metallica songs out there), but it was the exact time when I realized that I actually started forming rational thoughts about life (I was about 12). This song started my teenage years and formed many of my personality traits, music interests and directions in life.

Music is a huge influence on everything I do, so I would say this is my most important song based on when I found it. Right place at the right time.

Traditional_Ale · 10-17-2008, 02:35 PM

Let It Roll - by Devin Townsend
from Synchestra (2006) by The Devin Townsend Band

Come on, my love
...come in, don't be a stranger...
There are times, many times...
...When myself I've done stranger...
...stranger, stranger...
Let it roll lassy, roll.

Come what may, anyway...
I was born not to follow
There are times, many times...
When my pride I must swallow.
...follow...
...swallow...
Oh, let it roll lassy, roll.

Because in time, it goes away...
Time proves nothing stays.
The time for change has ended...
It loves you still but I never will again

llama64 · 10-17-2008, 02:35 PM

I'm married to Communications major, so I have to mention that Music isn't a tool, it's a medium. That said, it's one of the oldest and most prolific mediums for human communication

"Lightning Crashes" by Live. That song moved me even before I understood the context of the song.

peter12 · 10-17-2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llama64

I'm married to Communications major, so I have to mention that Music isn't a tool, it's a medium. That said, it's one of the oldest and most prolific mediums for human communication

"Lightning Crashes" by Live. That song moved me even before I understood the context of the song.

Haha, I thought about it too. But I think it also doubles as a tool. It's almost always used to send certain messages that artists want to send. Is that technically correct?

Prototype · 10-17-2008, 02:40 PM

I would say it would have to be "Freshmen", by the Verve Pipe. I've been listening to music for as long as I can remember, and this 'change' was just a few weeks ago. I've always loved the song, but upon further review of the context, I came to find out it was about abortion.

I don't take very much at face value anymore. At face value "Freshmen" is a very powerful song about love between two people. Under the surface, it's about the mistakes they made, and how they delt with it, including suicide.

If you don't look deeper, you may miss something.

Russic · 10-17-2008, 02:46 PM

Born to Kill by the Matthew Good Band. I remember listening to the album non-stop for a few weeks when I first bought it and I never really payed too much attention to the song. Then one day I was driving to school and I was stopped at a red light while it was playing. All of a sudden I got crazy chills and for whatever reason I really felt the music. Been my favorite song ever since.

I don't want to sound like a total drug addict, but since then the only comparable experiences are when I listen to music after weed (or when I'm trying to write a paper for some odd reason).

Rathji · 10-17-2008, 02:51 PM

Daffodils Lament, by the Cranberries.

I have decided to leave here forever
I have decided to start things from here.
Thunder and Lightning won't change what I'm feeling
And the daffodils look lovely today.

Pretty much the song that was my 'anthem' when I decided I needed to kick my teenage angst years and become a responsible adult. Additionally was the song I was listening to when I decided I was going to marry my wife.

troutman · 10-17-2008, 02:52 PM

See my last pick in the music draft . . .

Post # 1318

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...=58673&page=66

Daniel Levitin (This Is You Brain On Music) has written a new book on this subject:

The World In Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature (Hardcover)

by Daniel Levitin (Author)

http://www.amazon.ca/World-Six-Songs...f=pd_bbs_sr_1?
ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224276895&sr=8-1

From Publishers Weekly
Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a powerful force. In this rewarding though often repetitious study by bestselling author Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music), a rock musician turned neuroscientist, argues that music is a core element of human identity, paving the way for language, cooperative work projects and the recording of our lives and history. Through his studies, Levitin has identified six kinds of songs that help us achieve these goals: songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. He cites lyrics ranging from the songs of Johnny Cash to work songs, which, he says, promote feelings of togetherness. According to Levitin, evolution may have selected individuals who were able to use nonviolent means like dance and music to settle disputes. Songs also serve as memory-aids, as records of our lives and legends. Some may find Levitin's evolutionary explanations reductionist, but he lightens the science with personal anecdotes and chats with Sting and others, offering an intriguing explanation for the power of music in our lives as individuals and as a society.

Gozer · 10-17-2008, 02:55 PM

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Probably didn't "change it all" for me, but its the song that has the most meaning to me that I hear often.
Hon mention: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

troutman · 10-17-2008, 03:04 PM

Songs that give me chills:

Saint Behind The Glass - Los Lobos
Brick - Ben Folds Five
The River; The Rising - Bruce Springsteen
Family Tree - TV On The Radio
Disconnection Notice - Sonic Youth
Hurricane - Bob Dylan
Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys
Little Motel - Modest Mouse (especially the video)
Perfect Day, Halloween Parade - Lou Reed
Nothing Compares 2 U - Prince (as performed by Sinead O'Connor)

Machiavelli · 10-17-2008, 03:52 PM

Mine is "Yesterday" by The Beatles

For some reason this was the wedding song for a family friend. Ever since, whenever I hear it, it brings me back to the raw emotion at their wedding and also reminds me of the drive between Lethbridge and Calgary.

Table 5 · 10-17-2008, 04:37 PM

George Harrison's Cloud Nine album was the first thing i bought specifically (disguised as a birthday gift to my brother), and one that still takes me back to my early childhood in the 80s. Definitely one of my favourite albums, regardless of the context.

peter12 · 10-17-2008, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutman

See my last pick in the music draft . . .

Post # 1318

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...=58673&page=66

Daniel Levitin (This Is You Brain On Music) has written a new book on this subject:

The World In Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature (Hardcover)

by Daniel Levitin (Author)

http://www.amazon.ca/World-Six-Songs...f=pd_bbs_sr_1?
ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224276895&sr=8-1

From Publishers Weekly
Charles Darwin meets the Beatles in this attempt to blend neuroscience and evolutionary biology to explain why music is such a powerful force. In this rewarding though often repetitious study by bestselling author Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music), a rock musician turned neuroscientist, argues that music is a core element of human identity, paving the way for language, cooperative work projects and the recording of our lives and history. Through his studies, Levitin has identified six kinds of songs that help us achieve these goals: songs of friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. He cites lyrics ranging from the songs of Johnny Cash to work songs, which, he says, promote feelings of togetherness. According to Levitin, evolution may have selected individuals who were able to use nonviolent means like dance and music to settle disputes. Songs also serve as memory-aids, as records of our lives and legends. Some may find Levitin's evolutionary explanations reductionist, but he lightens the science with personal anecdotes and chats with Sting and others, offering an intriguing explanation for the power of music in our lives as individuals and as a society.

Yeah, that's one of the books that got me thinking about this topic. Actually, you might be interested in my masters thesis.

Muta · 10-17-2008, 04:50 PM

I have a couple of EXTREME different varieties that do it for me. All discovered between 10 years old and now (I'm 25). All have that special sound that keeps me coming back and never getting bored.

Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
Halcyon On and On - Orbital
Da Funk - Daft Punk
The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel
World I Know - Collective Soul
Apparitions - Matthew Good Band
Hey Man Nice Shot - Filter
That Song - Big Wreck
etc...

rogermexico · 10-17-2008, 05:00 PM

I was fifteen in 1992. I grew up in Okotoks. At that point, enjoyed music in kind of a surface way - I'd liked AC/DC a lot since first hearing them, and for the last couple of years I'd gotten more and more into REM. But like I say, music wasn't particularly important to me.

A friend of mine went into the city and the Southcentre HMV. Asked the guy at the counter for something new and good, and was given Copper Blue, by Sugar. I will never forget hearing that record for the first time.

I'd never heard anything like it. I new in one of those complete epiphany kind of moments that 1) if there was more music out there like that, I'd have to hear it, as much of it as I could, and 2) that I would have to learn how to do it myself.

So yeah, that record changed my life probably more completely than anything else that's ever happened to me.

There were other songs that would have similar effects (I can still remember equally vividly the first time I heard Heroin by the Velvet Underground, Silent Kid by Pavement and the first Drive Like Jehu record) but the first chords of Copper Blue were the real defining thing, the 'everything is different from now on' moment.

3 Justin 3 · 10-17-2008, 05:08 PM

Painkiller by Judas Priest...that song got me into metal and I love them for it, hell without Painkiller I wouldnt be listening to Judas Priest for 2 hours a day...everyday. I know I am young (18), but that song has done me wonders. I listen to it before every test, after every sh**y situation, before I do anything important. Got me focused on guitar too, to be as good as Glenn Tipton.

In fact I plan on getting the ¨Painkiller¨tattooed on my back when I butch up.

OilersBaby · 10-17-2008, 05:29 PM

for me, whenever i listen to sad songs, it always gets me all emotional, even if there is nothing sad going on in my life because I associate it with sad times. Examples are "I will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan or One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.......

onetwo_threefour · 10-17-2008, 07:13 PM

I don't have many...

The Lady in Red... Chris de Burgh. First song I slow danced to in Junior High...

At my most beautiful... REM. My wedding song.

Say Hello to Heaven AND Hunger Strike... Temple of the Dog... Just really powerful songs

Try... Blue Rodeo

Eastern Girl · 10-17-2008, 07:39 PM

Here's to the Night by Eve 6, played at the last blowout party me and my friends had before we all went our seperate ways at university.

Under the Bridge by RHCP, first slow dance with my first boyfriend. This one is bittersweet, cause it was a nice moment, that first dance, but bitter cause that boyfriend turned out to be a huge D-bag.

More Than Words by Extreme, for some reason me and my friends always sing this one, out at bars or restaurants, roadtrips, anywhere really. It's not lifechanging, but certainly one that makes me smile.

In Loving Memory by Alter Bridge, it was played at my friends funeral as part of a tribute video for him. I don't hear it often, but when I do, I have to fight tears.