So yesterday I was attempting to reorganize my music collection by making and modifying various playlists, when it occurred to me that I organize all of my playlists by how I want to feel when I listen to a particular set of songs. This, I don’t think, is unusual, but I was dissatisfied with my ability to come up with a good playlist name for every feeling I want to invoke.
As such, for the good residents of Cafe Society, I submit two questions:
First, do you have a certain kind of music you like to listen to for a particular feeling, but you are unsure of how to articulate how the music makes you feel? Something “extra” about the music that seems like it should be a necessary part of how it is categorized/described, but usually isn’t?
And second, can any of you think of a brief way to describe music that makes you feel a little bit nostalgic, a little like you’re flying, a little bit like your heart is going to leap out of your chest (in a good way), a little bit like anything is possible, and a whole lot of warmth – all at once?
I most often get that feeling from instrumental pieces, really. Some googling has told me that this is a fairly universal feeling that music can give you. Some people describe it as music that makes you feel like you’re flying, some as inspirational music, etc. But I feel like descriptors like “inspirational” are too general for this sort of a feeling, and searching for “inspirational” music will net you all sorts of varied results (tastes, I suppose). I would suspect that the artists who create this kind of music are aware of the feelings they want to invoke, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an actual phrase or word out there to describe it. It definitely seems like something that there’s probably a fancy-sounding French word for.
Sorry if my second question seems vague, but – like I said – I’m frustrated with my own ability to articulate such a positive feeling and the music that provides it. It seems like a rather romantic and amorphous notion for me to be so concerned about, but shouldn’t something that makes you feel so good have a name?