opening your mind…

After watching the Gladiator movie (years ago), I realized that I liked the movie, but I really liked its soundtrack. Especially tracks like Earth, Sorrow, The Might of Rome, Elysium and Now We Are Free. Now, Hans Zimmer is a superior composer, this is a fact. However, some of the songs had a bit more… as it turns out it was the voice of Lisa Gerrard – also superior.

Anyway, with some schooling on the genre by some guy (Douglas), I started listening to music she had anything to do with, or just in the same vein: Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, etc. I’ve always thought I had eclectic tastes in music, but in all honesty, this is out there. Not the music itself, but my interest in it. Dead Can Dance is so far from quality Hip-hop cats, such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, lil’ Wayne, Common, Mos Def, and the list goes on. Maybe I shouldn’t care. Maybe I should just sit back and enjoy the sounds.

So in my car, I primarily blast a mix CD of I’m So Hood, Pop bottles, You Can’t Tell Me Nothin’, etc. Sometimes I switch it up and rock that previous White Stripes album: track #1 Seven Nation Army – “Going to Wichita, far from this Opera”. You know what I’d talking about! In the morning, I blast either Jazz from 88.5 FM, or Classical (chamber) from 99.5 FM. Man, I love music…

I can’t say knowing and enjoying different genres of music will make you wiser; but from a few studies you can infer that it will make you smarter. Look it up. In basic terms, more music ya pump into your brain, the more brain matter you’ll need to analyze these new sound patterns. Also, if you spend time listening to a few tracks, over time you’ll start to here various sounds you didn’t hear before. Similar to watching a very layered drama or comedy. Try for yourself, if you don’t already own a copy of Arrested Development, get one. Watch that instant classic once. Wait a week and watch it again. This time make a conscience effort to note things happening in the background. Something small like the facial expression of someone just out of focus. You’ll get just a bit more out of that same experience. The short of it is by opening your mind, you’ll increase it.