Sunday, July 23, 2006

You'll Think of Me

I don't like country music. When I'm working I usually listen to sappy love songs, instrumental music, 1980's new wave, or rock & roll. Or Linkin Park! -- one of only a handful of rappers I enjoy listening to. I turn up the volume real loud and scream along with Chester. (Crawling in my skiiiin/These wounds they will not hee-ol/Fear is how I faaaall/Confusing what is ree-ooo-ho-hol!!!)

I know next to nothing about Keith Urban (only that he's an Australian country musician who's shacking up with Nicole Kidman).

Then why the hell am I so enamoured with his song You'll Think of Me?



First time I heard it several months ago, I stopped dead in my tracks. It drew me in, captivated me, made me drop what I was doing (although truth be told, I was only too glad for an excuse to take a break from writing an article on satellite radio). Why are songs of loss, breaking up, unrequited love, impossible love, so damn popular?

Are people so masochistic deep down inside that they find some sort of perverse pleasure in this kind of music? It could be that breakup songs reinforce the notion that you only appreciate a good thing (or person) once you lose him/her -- in which case, you're a sad, pathetic nutcase. And maybe impossible love songs are a hit among people who want what they know they can't have -- which is sadder and even more pathetic. lol.

8 comments:

Photo Cache said...

Let me give my 2C here. Country music has changed tremendously since Shania Twain blazed the trail for every body else. The country music and musicians nowadays are not the same ones in the old days....in fact a lot of country songs are getting a lot of play time on pop stations....They said the country musicians did not cross over the pop music line, the pop fans crossed over the country music line...I did.
BTW, I like your blog. Really nice.

Lizza said...

Photo cache,

Yes, it seems more and more country musicians are being included in the top 40 pop charts. Some of them don't sound too "country" anymore -- if you compare them to the popular ones of yesteryears.

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad to discover your photoblog too!

Justin said...

It is definitely one of my favorite songs.

I think it is more of a voyeuristic tendency of people. We want to be part of other people's high-drama lives. It is probably why postsecret.blogspot.com has caught on, too.

Justin
More Cowbell

Lizza said...

Hi Justin,

Ahh, voyeurism and indulging in vicarious feelings. The guilty pleasures of many.

I'm glad I got to know about your blog -- it's a great read. (And thanks for the postsecret link, some of them postcards are funny!)

Anonymous said...

metalheads unite!!

i dunno. in the case of my parents, i believe it was just a matter of exposure: they grew up watching/listening to bonanza and johnny cash and all that western stuff, so country music makes them more nostalgic than anything. my dad is a HUGE country fan and he drives me crazy when he plays his old records in the car ><

(ps: is it a common thing for rockheads to hate country? seems like it to me...)

ooh you didn't know about postsecret yet?? it's absolutely brilliant! i think i'll save up for the book once i have the means to do so (nod)

Lizza said...

Hi b,

I'm lucky when it comes to parental music preferences. My mother likes the contemporary stuff; she even watches Linkin Park videos and hums to tunes like "Zombie" when she's watering her plants. lol

Anonymous said...

Some off-tangent thought: everyone wants love in their lives. Few have it, more people don't. Far more suffer from loneliness & depression. Perhaps thats the reason behind the success of songs of this genre.

I watched & listened to the music video you'd posted. Twas my first time to see it. Like you, it moved me also.

Not so much as I don't have love, or that I regret having lost past loves. We are all human, and that means we can be touched - in a deeper sense than mere tactile sensation. It all depends really, on whether we allow it to affect us or not.

To open our doors, or to slam them shut... and throw the keys away. Its a choice we make. Nothing more. :D

Keep this place alive. I like what I see here. :D

Lizza said...

Thank you very much, KS!

I agree with what you say. But it seems to me that certain people are more sensitive than others...more sentimental or more romantic maybe? I think we all have our dark places deep inside, shadowy areas of the soul that some individuals actually like going to.

To open doors, or to slam them shut...

You're right. The choice is ours to make. Exercise that darn thing called free will. Leave ourselves open to great love...or great pain.

Thank you for visiting my blog!