Thursday, July 10, 2008

Frustration

You'll have to excuse me while I deviate from the usually Thursday format. At least, just for now.

This morning, as I was preparing to head out the door for work, I was inspired by a few bars of music. Something random that I had probably heard within the past couple of months, and which had managed to stick for whatever reason. But here I am, searching about the apartment for my keys, and this part of a song crops up.

The song, in a vain attempt to describe music with words, goes something like this:
It's a progression of fifths or sixths walking up a major scale, I think occasionally switching back and forth between the two to keep the major theme going. And as it progresses upwards, the music itself builds and increases in intensity/volume. So at the very end, just before it fades into some minor conclusion, there's the tremultuous peak of pure, solid tone. Of course, me being the nerd I am, this peak made me incredibly giddy when I heard it.

The song seemed to play itself over and over in my head this morning, as if an unknown figure had somehow invaded my brain and quietly placed a looping tape recorder there. Instead of doing what normal people do when this happens - namely try to remember where the song came from - I began to assemble lyrics to the music. The song, as I can now recall my first experience hearing it, has no words. It just has a tone, and from what I could gather from my sluggishly mobilized mind this morning, a feeling of profound emotion.

I can no longer recall those lyrics, although I do remember that the theme of the song was either being 25 or turning 25, reflecting on the previous years, and singing of disappointment to some long-gone girl. I had the powerful urge to somehow record this vague shape of a Billboard-Number-One-To-Be, but being on my way out the door, had no way to do it. And also I didnt have a piano. And also I cant sing.

Which left me plenty frustrated when I finally arrived at the office, unable to get the song out of my head and unable to record it lest I wanted to return to it later. Which is what happened precisely half an hour ago when I 1.) Remembered where the music had come from (a video I had watched three trillion times last semester. It was one of those SWEET HOLY JESUS THIS IS AMAZING videos), and 2.) Remembered I had created a full-on masterpiece of a song out of it this morning. But, of course, I could no longer remember how the song went or the lyrics.

So now I'm sitting here, flustered that I can't remember anything, and sure that whatever remains of my masterpiece that I'm attempting to piece together now is incorrect/doesn't sound the same.

For all you musicians out there, you know that musical frustration is the most mind-numbingly painful thing in the world. Something akin to having a limb removed, if I had to guess...

1 comment:

Dani Meier said...

if not having one removed, than having one hang uselessly at your side, unable to do anything but swing back and forth...


that was beautiful, by the way - what you wrote, not me. :p