by Caroline Dalzell

Created on: February 12, 2009

Music is amazing. It can lift the soul, sink the mind, plunge the imagination, shoot the blues, and boogie-make like no other. I enjoy music which matches my mood: I like to wallow in wails and downtrodden beats when I am a bit down, and upbeat, vibrant, shouty tunes when I feel that way too.

I like nothing better than to put on Radiohead or a fabulous ballad from the 80s like Eternal Flame by the Bangles, when I feel a little low. I find it therapeutic to indulge; and a real release to "sing" aka "shout" my way through my feelings.

Music can also be such a good pick-me-up. I am currently listening to Green Day's American Idiot album, merrily bopping and singing tunelessly along to it. My pretty mundane and at-times frustrating day is far behind me... All I have is music. It is on a par with a cracking book for escapism. I have fave songs for certain occasions, for example Shania Twain is great before a night out, Eninem's Stan for the end of the evening, and any Steps songs to dance to!

As humans, we have enjoyed music in some form or another for tens of thousands of years. Every society and group has its own music, dependent on situational factors such as technology and climate. I think it is innate in us, and not just in human beings. My dog, for example, enjoys making "music" aka "noise". She loves to run round the house, skidding on the carpet and making the screeching noise. She loves to go out in the snow with the crunching under paw. And she loves the laminate floor boards and the sound effects - I swear, she even tries to tap dance on the laminate floor!

I enjoy how eclectic people's tastes in music normally are. Very few people like 60s or Heavy Metal or Punk only. We all usually like a diverse range of tunes. This is another beautiful thing about music: it can bring people together. I connect with people who share a liking for the same band, solo artist or song as me. Plus, how often do you hear "this party is incomplete without music"? If ever there is a dull party moment, whack on a bit of 80s cheese (or whatever your personal preference is) and feel the vibes take over.

Green Day's Letterbomb song has just reminded me of one final thing I enjoy in a song: a slow start, slowly building up, creating the anticipation and then....WHAM! The song goes mad. Love it!

I also enjoy classical music, and in fact it is the only music I can study too. I am all for the research which show it increases brain power. If this is true, I had better stop listening to Green Day and plug in a bit of Mozart or Beethoven immediately forthwith.

Now, where did I put those CDs...

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