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Just wanted to make sure I'm not completely freaking out here, and that in fact others have had similar experiences.

So, in a nutshell, various points in my life I have been faced with pretty severe choices to be made, and not known which is the best part. And yet for some reason at these junctures in life, I find myself seriously listening to the lyrics of songs. As in listening to what is actually being sung, and the context. And every time I have done this, I have felt some kind of reassuring guidance.

For example, currently just chosen my path in a major juncture, and I cannot help but feel a certain CD has been very influential in my decision and indeed approach to making that decision a feasible one. One of the songs is by Muse, with the lines 'You're last chance has arrived. Best, you've got to be the best, and change this world'. Particularly poignant for me, as I have just turned 30, and was beginning to feel like life had passed me by. The other song on the CD is 'Golden Years' by Iron Maiden, particularly the line 'So understand, you've been wasting time always searching for those wasted years. So, make a stand. Realise you're living in the Golden Years'. Poignant this time as 7 years ago, I had something of a disastrous end to a relationship and spent the time since essentially with my thumb up my arse feeling sorry for myself. And on a totally seperate CD, been listening a lot to Devo's 'Whip It' which is inspiration all it's own. After all, 'when a problem comes along, you must whip it'

As a net result, I have taken what I see to be serendipitous messages, and now find myself with a lovely girlfriend, a Management training course, and a whole new chapter in my life opening up, including moving out of this crappy little town and away from the Drama Queens, liars, backstabbers and general malarky normally reserved for these horrible little suburban hell holes.

So how about you Dakka? Have you ever had music related epiphanies/divine inspiration? Or am I just some weirdo who reads far, far too much into things?

P.S. I find this particularly interesting as it's challenging my atheistic view, swinging me back toward agnosticism once again....

I feel you. I'll often play a song for someone that has recently blown my mind and they're all like "Yeah, that's a good song" and I'm frustrated by them not getting what I did out of it! I don't think you're crazy(at least not any more than I am) because the truly great songwriters will say that they don't even know where these songs come from! I've heard Bob Dylan and John Lennon and a few others say that the songs just sort of appear in their heads out of nowhere. Believing that is true would make an Agnostic out of me, if I wasn't already.

I listen to a lot of different music, and a lot of it is pretty heavy, but the stuff that really strikes me lyrically is a bit more folky.

I know what you mean about the Folky lyrics, as they tend to be more about every day life than some extreme of emotion that other genres depend on.

I had just broken up with a girl a week ago, and Simple Plan's Me Against The World came on the radio. And I started listening.

And then I realised that I was identifying with Simple Plan, kicked myself in the ass, and got on with life.

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:I know what you mean about the Folky lyrics, as they tend to be more about every day life than some extreme of emotion that other genres depend on.

Exactly. Warren Zevon is really good example of this.

Monster Rain wrote:Exactly. Warren Zevon is really good example of this.

Zevon was awesome. He is sadly missed

Monster Rain wrote:

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:I know what you mean about the Folky lyrics, as they tend to be more about every day life than some extreme of emotion that other genres depend on.

Exactly. Warren Zevon is really good example of this.

I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain

Shush you!

So going back on to topic, anyone else had some kind of music related erm, muse guide their hand at any point?

Bathory, once inspired me to make a longboat wood carving.

I keep it on my desk, I think it's beautiful.

I find depending on the music i listen to, it seriously affects the emotions i feel. For example, if im listening to pendulum or enter shikari, i feel pretty happy, and, well yeah. They're great for cheering me up.

Conversely, if ive had a gak day, i'll listen to metal to put me in an angry sing mood. This is how i learnt to sing (i swear it wasnt the singing lessons i got)

And finally, if im about to play rugby, or go paintballing, i find i must listen to something suitably heavy, to get me in the mood

As for it affecting my life, i'd have to say listening to bring me the horizon's suicide season, helped me pluck up the courage to sing in front of my school...

Perhaps if I listened to music other than electronica or classic symphony I could relate to this thread.

There was one time I was listening to Offspring while driving and the line "You need to get over" seemed to take a new meaning for me. I was in the far left lane and went all the way to the far right on the impulse. A few seconds later a car driving what had to be 90-something and swerving between lanes passed right by where I was. It's the little miracles that make you wonder. Beyond that, I identify with music a lot. Any of the latest Amy McDonald and Paramore releases that deal with achieving dreams make me feel guilty for not pursuing mine more vehemently and always inspire me to practice harder. Gaga flat out inspires me. If I feel stuck, a few tracks chosen based on my mood and I'm creatively rejuvenated. Dream Theater is a bit harder to relate to sometimes but a few songs like The Answer Lies Within and The Spirit Carries On carry such deep meaning for me.

It was around Christmas/January time this time just gone by, and I was walking down the street near where I live with my iPod on shuffle and it was snowing pretty heavily. Pretty cool scene. Really surreally beautiful - you know those moments where everything's just in the right tint and you feel all warm inside? Yeah, one of those. I smudged up my eyes and because it was dark the whole street was just a blur of gold, green, and red, and it was a moment of karmic balance in the Universe, as far as I was concerned.

True by Spandau Ballet came on, and I smiled to myself. Just as he goes "This is the souuunnd of my soul/This is the sooouuunnnddd..." me and a girl (who would a week later be my girlfriend)'s eyes met for the first time. It was a special moment.

I told her and she doesn't believe me. Too cinematic, she says.

sA

The three Black Sabbath albums which particularly sum up a lot of my beliefs are 'Master of Reality', 'Vol.4' and 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'. The lyrics get me each time and have had a huge impact on my life. A lot of Dio's stuff with Rainbow too when you make it past the metaphors.

For me, NIN's Year Zero was actually pretty inspiring for the whole apocalyptic feeling of the album (listen to 'The Great Destroyer' if you don't believe that) and it kinda connected to the whole tense feeling of today.
As for my personal life, SP's Machina/Machines of God was utterly amazing. AFAIK the album is about a man who goes crazy and believes he hears the voice of god in the radio or something like that. Listen to this and try not to get into a trance.



Also SP's Adore because it's just plain sexy.
Greetsz,
Mr. Self Destruct