Music is ubiquitous: it surrounds us everywhere. How and when it enters the ears is not always in our control. You may be at home relaxing to jazz heard from your media player on your computer or you might be at a dance club doing the boogaloo to the latest Lady Gaga song the DJ is playing. I like to think of these contrasting scenarios as Preplanned Music and Unexpected Music.
Preplanned Music is music that you have complete control over. It's the songs that you program onto your iPod, play from your Windows Media Player, and request from your local radio station. The outcome is predictable in these situations and you know exactly what you'll be hearing. Boring!
Unexpected Music on the other hand is music that you didn't plan on encountering. Who knows what types of songs you'll hear with Unexpected Music! It could be Sting, Akon, Deamau5, Squeeze, Keith Sweat, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Ashley Simpson, Bill Withers, The Notorious BIG, or Heidi Montag. Wow, what a lottery! I love Unexpected music, especially when they are songs that sound tolerable. These types of songs aid as catalysts in providing the most memorable memories. Remember that time you got pantsed in 7th grade gym class in front of everyone during country line dancing? Brooks & Dunn - Boot Scootin' Boogie will always remind of you that once glorifying instance when everyone found out you still wore tighty whitees and weren't in with the boxer crowd yet. Brooks & Dunn provided the soundtrack for this character building moment in your life and you'll be reminded of it every time you hear Boot Scootin' Boogie. The same goes for prom dances, first kisses, proud victories, tremendous losses, dark struggles, and successful recoveries.
On a related note, I'm pretty sure that a lot of groups of friends have their own theme songs. Britney Spears - Womanizer and Ke$ha - Tik Tok are pretty popular among groups of guys right now. They most likely heard their anthem from an unexpected source. Perhaps it was at a regional chess tournament. Who knows. But can you imagine trying to force a theme song onto your possy? It wouldn't fly. Possy theme songs, along with nicknames, should never be preplanned.
Unexpected Music comes in other forms as well. The most common medium is the radio. If I hear a song on the radio that I especially like I make sure not to download it at home. The reason why I do this is because I want to preserve the special feelings associated with the song. The Black Eyed Peas - Meet me Halfway was a song I fell in love with the moment I heard it. Most songs that I hear and like usually compel me to want to go home and download them. This results in the song being immediately added to my current playlist on my computer. The consequence of this compulsive "I have to have it now!" attitude results in a high frequency repetition of the song and it will slowly start to lose its appeal. Meet Me Halfway was so dear to me that I did not put it on my playlist at home. Because of this, every time I hear it on the radio now, it's still special. The same goes for Ya Boy - We Run LA, Bob feat. Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You, and New Boys - Tie Me Down. If you haven't heard these songs yet, don't go looking for them. Just turn on the radio and wait to hear them. You'll appreciate it more. I always do. Sometimes good Unexpected Music comes your way.
~Anthans
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