The Question
"What kind of music do you listen to?"
"Everything," most people would say.
I have recently contended that on The List of Top Ten Most Difficult Questions One Could Ask Another, The Music Question is somewhere among the top five. This question commonly yields some of the vaguest responses and I, quite frankly, find it hard to believe that one truly listens to Everything. In fact, if you are anything like me and strictly abide by The Concept of Multiplicity of Identity—the belief that all people possess multiple and varying identities and interests that do not fit into the one vacuum that is often presented to others—then you would believe this answer to be wholly false. However, even as a self-proclaimed Higher Thinker, I personally struggle with The Music Question just as any other person would.
I have become aware of the fact, upon some recent shower thoughts, however, that there is a precise answer to The Music Question. I have recently realized that it is not quite Everything that I listen to. I listen to music that makes me feel like pinks and purples do. I often listen to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s self titled album, and find myself feeling like visuals of deep purples, and U2’s Songs of Innocence, which makes me feel like I’m effortlessly floating on lakes of pink water. In fact, as I am writing this right now, I’m listening to Tame Impala tunes that make me feel like oscillating salmon colored clouds, and Outkast followed by Solange and Noname, which feel like bold lavenders juxtaposed by easygoing roses with gentle thorns. This “feeling” ideology could potentially be applied to various art forms as well. When one reads poetry books, they can feel suns and moons and otherworldly celestial emotions, whereas books of fiction feel like forward-pulling strings of adventure and curiosity.
The next time you listen to your favorite songs and consume your favorite arts, try to pinpoint what colors you are immersed in. Perhaps you will discover what colors you are drawn to the most, and even those that make you feel liberated. Ultimately, I wish you well in finding the colors that make your soul feel the way that pinks and purples do mine.
AJ Addae is a 17 year-old writer based in Texas. She has recently released her first book, a reflection on her experiences as a woman of Color.