Tuesday 1 January 2013

Thank you for the music

As I’ve mentioned before (stop yawning at the back there…) I suddenly have a lot of work on.  I’m tackling three projects simultaneously but I must be the world’s worst multi-tasker - even drinking a cup of tea at the same time as remembering to breathe properly is a challenge and frequently results in messy snorting episodes and my pallor turning a frightening shade of blue.  So I’ve got myself into a right pickle about how I’m going to complete it all on time and to several clients’ satisfaction.  I think (worry) about it and I dream about it and that’s when I’m not actually doing it.  I worked on Christmas Day and I worked all day today, it’s relentless.  I do love what I do, I know I’m lucky and it’s “not a day down the mines” as Mr SDS relishes in reminding me  -  but as it’s  all I do and I have to rely completely on myself and whatever small degree of creativity I can muster, it makes me very anxious at the same time.

However, there’s one thing that really helps.  I have a little CD player under the desk in my shedio, safe from stray paint and spilt water, and the difference it makes having music playing while I work is incredible.  I wonder why that is?  What is it about music that is so therapeutic yet so motivational?  It keeps me calm (it doesn’t have to be calming music – none of that new age windchime whalesong ’n’ waterfalls stuff; upbeat and noisy works fine for me).  It lifts my spirits (although admittedly I don’t listen to Radiohead…) and it distracts me from everything else so I just feel in the here and now, as if I’ve gone into a special room, not just physically but also inside my mind, sealed off from every other aspect of daily life. 

It's while I'm painting in my shedio that I listen to music the most, so right now that’s a lot.   The CD player may be humble but with my PC about to draw its pension – so old it’s a wonder that its Windows aren’t mullioned – I sometimes have difficulty with web-based listening.  Youtube frustrates me with its streaming (it would take ten minutes to play through a Napalm Death number, you know what I’m saying)  and I daren’t load anything big for fear of my hard drive melting like a cheesy toast topper.  It’s always great to hear something via a blog - especially on recommendation by cultured aficionados with good taste (yes, you!) - but it’s still transitory…   It's no wonder I always come back to good ol’ physical CDs. 

So it was with delight that I opened my post the other day and found a compilation (I can’t get used to calling it a mix) that a friend had put together.  This friend (a cultured aficionado with good taste, of course) and I used to swap tapes, going back at least a couple of decades now, and I think we know each other’s musical background, preferences and fixations quite well.  It’s been a while since a fresh new selection came my way and the timing was perfect.  I slipped it into my modest machine in the shedio and from the moment the first track kicked in I was off, painting happily away, soothed and at the same time stimulated by more music.  Unfamiliar songs lifted my spirits, a few familiar voices kept me calm.  Long live the compilation CD, especially when it’s both a surprise and full of surprises - and your friend understands you!  I may get my work completed on time yet.

Crayon Fields: All The Pleasures Of The World
(one of many cool choices)

9 comments:

  1. Whilst I don't envy you working Christmas day it's back to the wage slave office for me in the morning and I don't get the longed fpr release of playing music sadly (why they don't like it I have no idea - its a class thing I suspect, there was never any problem blasting out music when I worked in a factory, but no, we have to pretend to be serious when we're in a building with suits...) - So I have to rely on music in the car on the way in and there really is nothing like a good hand picked selection that you didn't select yourself. I'm rather hoping for something unexpected in the post just to take that edge off - you never know ! keep on creating though, don't let us lot distract you !

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    1. I hope it wasn't too bad going back today...
      I like your point about music in offices - I would've loved that but I do have a tendency to subconsciously absorb words I hear and then automatically say/type them by mistake - could just imagine sending that important email to the boss without realising it included half a Ramones song...
      Hope you receive a hand-picked selection very soon and can take the long route round to work in the morning!
      ~ And distractions from "you lot" are always welcome :-)

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  2. Ah, the glory and the wonder of music - so indefinable. I know exactly what you're saying and cannot fathom the souls of folk who can happily live without a constant supply of tunes. As for a great compilation - a sheer delight. I do yearn for the days of the old trusty compilation TAPE, mind you - those were the things. Keep on listening, creating and grooving. I'm also with you totally on Radiohead.

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    1. Ah I'm glad you know what I mean (well of course you do!) I still have a soft spot for those compilation tapes too and wish I'd kept some that I've been given over the years. I'm hanging on to the CDs now, anyway - there's a lesson in there!

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  3. Two recommendations from me... I seem to becoming an old Folky (yes I've spelt that correctly!)...

    Lau - Race the Loser
    Sam Carter - The No Testament

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    1. Thank you, you 'old Folky'! Well I'm not a very folky girl but a really good song can transcend a genre, can't it? - and I know there is some great stuff out there. I shall check those out; I did hear something by Sam Carter a while back and I was impressed.

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  4. You've hit the nail on the head there: tastes that were similar but not (completely) the same, yes that's what makes them even more appealing and exciting. When it's from a friend whose tastes you really appreciate and respect, you're always more open-minded too and ready to lap up something new, I find.

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  5. It's not often that you'll find me quoting a politician, but when I read the following, it amused me and brought me scurrying back to this post to share it with you.

    'I couldn't imagine a day without music. It relaxes and stimulates me in equal measure and I hate the sound of silence - the concept, I mean, not the track by Simon and Garfunkel.' Charles Kennedy.

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    1. Thanks for that - who'd have thought it? I wonder what he listens to (whaddya reckon: Cradle of Filth?)
      I must admit, though, that I DO love the sound of silence (as well as of music) and not the S & G track either... Sometimes I just need complete nothingness!

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