Soundtrack To Our Lives - Devin Dean

    We all experience love, death, and growing up, but how every person goes through these are extremely different.  Life is full of twists and turns that we never see coming, and the highs are wonderful, but the lows can be detrimental.  But through my life at least, one thing has always been consistent: music.  From blasting Post Malone in the middle of a target, to sitting in the dark crying to Lil Peep, music can communicate on a different level.  It can make life infinitely better, no matter the situation.  There is a song for every situation.  Hearing those songs in person though, is possibly one of the best experiences in life.  Going to a concert and hearing your favorite artist perform your favorite song is life altering on so many levels.  There truly is no way to describe the feeling you get from it.  Music is life.  

    Music changes lives.  Hearing a certain song could turn your day around, and the feeling of discovering a new artist can change your month for the better.  Screaming out the lyrics to your favorite song can instantly provide serotonin, and once you hear the intro to your go to cry song, the breakdown you have been holding in for months can finally come out.  Music makes you feel better, either in the moment or after.  Playing artists like Khalid, Harry Styles, and Roddy Rich, and not only singing their songs, but listening to the lyrics provide a change in mood.  Playing a song for each situation you are in, whether it is Zac Brown Band on the beach or Green Day in the car, music enhances everything and can make your experience so much better.  Music can help fulfill a void in the endless day-to-day cycle.  

    Music preserves lives.  Music can keep you sane.  Say you have been having a rough time, and have not been doing great mentally, but you are too afraid to open up about it.  Music helps.  Artists like Frank Ocean and NF provide amazing and relatable music.  Bon Iver and Lewis Capaldi have just the right balance in their lyrics and sound that even though they are technically sad, they help to release all the pent up emotions and allow you to breathe again.  Music can help in a way that words, books, movies, and other people could never.  Through the pandemic, music was a way to release all the stress, worry, and boredom we were all facing.  It allowed us to escape our reality, and possibly release out mindsets.  Through upbeat songs, or throwbacks, it allowed me to find a positive outlook in a seemingly depressive situation.  

    Platforms, like TikTok, can help take music to a whole different extreme.  Creating and participating in viral dances can make you fall in love with a song or an artists.  Social media also brings attention to new artists and blow them up overnight.  For example, 347aidan had an extremely small following before a video including his song, "Dancing in My Room" went viral, and launched a trend on TikTok.  The song now has over 16 million streams on Spotify alone, he has gained over 3 million followers on Spotify.  New attention has also been brought to seemingly "old" artists.  The Neighbourhood, for example, who really only had one well known song ("Sweater Weather") has gained so much new traction over the past few months, after a trend occurred with one of their songs.  Social media can help you discover new songs and artists that you may not have even heard of, or even considered previously because they didn't fit your music taste.

    Music allows for you to communicate to your family, friends, and even complete strangers.  It is truly revolutionary.  Music is an addiction, once you start listening, you can't stop.  We all have our unique soundtracks, and every song on them is important to us in it's one individual way, and has the ability to change our lives.