I go through phases with these, but the one I always think of first is '31 Songs' by Nick Hornby (or Songbook as it is known in the US.) It does exactly what it says on the tin as Hornby talks about 31 songs and their particular place and influence in his life. It covers the entire spectrum of popular music, and is filled with wonderful quotes and pop culture nuggets - and with Nick Hornby, who'd expect anything less? He is, after all responsible, for High Fidelity. I think anyone who loves music, who has had it entrenched in their lives since before they can remember so that they don't know where some song begin and their memories end, would easily relate to this insight into a personal relationship with music.
I've mentioned this book in various posts over the years, and I think it has one of the best quotes to sum up the creator/responder relationship perfectly -
But sometimes songs and books and films and pictures express who you are, perfectly. And they don’t do this in words or images, necessarily; the connection is a lot less direct and more complicated than that…It’s a process something like falling in love. You don’t necessarily chose the best person, or the wisest, or the most beautiful; there’s something else going on…I’m talking about understanding – or at least feeling like I understand – every artistic decision, every impulse, the soul of both the work and its creator. ‘This is me…this is what I feel like, inside. This is what I would sound like, if ever I were to find a voice.’
Mood: Sleepy
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