"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart..."

Music is awesome. That's all there is to it. It's a beautiful form of art, that allows us to express ourselves in ways we otherwise couldn't. The Lord has even declared that the song of the righteous is a prayer unto Him (see D&C 25:12).

In short, music is a beautiful thing that brightens up the world we live in, and can have such a powerful effect on our minds, moods, opinions, and perhaps even our physical health. It has played a large part the events of history (including the civil rights era), and such pieces, even those dating prior to Mozart, continue to touch our hearts this day. It has a tremendous power to sway us to do that which is good, or that which is evil.

So guess what this post is about?

MUSIC!!!! 8D 8D 8D 8D

Given the brief explanation above, I believe in earnestly seeking out good and clean music, to enlarge one's mind and soul. As for what I mean by "clean", I'm basically referring to music that is wholesome, uplifting, and void of degrading themes like rapping for 5 minutes about how women are but sexual objects, or applauding drugs, senseless violence, and coloring one's vocabulary with highly profane language. Such music, in my opinion, is offensive, poisonous, and an affront to the art form itself. I say this because if music has the power to influence us to do either great good or great evil, and we fill our lives with music that is filled with that kind of filth, then it can only follow that our minds will be negatively effected, even if the tunes are a bit catchy (but that's just my opinion of course).

Now that that's cleared up, the definition of "good" music is subjective to the individual's taste. You may like country, you may like hip hop, you may like classical, and you wouldn't necessarily go wrong with any of those.

As for me, I like variety. I like a lot of the mainstream songs played on the radio that everybody crazes about, like Viva La Vida by Coldplay; More by Usher; Human by the Killers; We All Bleed Red (I forgot who that is by); Love Story, by Taylor Swift; Break Your Heart by Taio Cruz, and so on.

But then I've also got a lot of other things on the iPod mix. I'd get too bored just listening to the same old stuff over and over again, and sometimes today's popular music all starts to sound the same. "I like to dance!" "I love you! Please don't leave me!" "You broke my heart!" "I wanna be a rock star!" blah blah blah blah.......

I like hymns instrumental stuff too. It's a good contrast to the every day noise we hear. Sometimes you just need time to relax, and look at the simpler, or spiritual side of things. Examples include The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Final Fantasy Soundtracks, Enya, Yanni, John Tesh, Narada collections, Christmas carols, etc. I also have a good handful of Japanese songs from various anime soundtracks I'm familiar with, just because I'm a sucker for some of those things.

But the variety doesn't end here. I'm always on the hunt for more good and clean music, where ever it may be found, and it doesn't have to be strictly instrumental or MoTab. Pandora.com is my savior in this! It's also a great thing if clean music is what you desire, because it has the lyrics for every song it plays, and you like or dislike what you wish, and it will edit your radio stations according to your own tastes.

What comes to my mind first when mentioning my tendency to like different music sounds is of course Nightwish, a Finnish, symphonic power metal band. Mind you, I don't like all of their songs, because some of them can be a bit weird. But I like them in general because the band can't be described by just one sound. On the one hand, it writes loud, heavy metal songs, and then on the other hand it can also come out with beautiful, soft ballads, or instrumental pieces, and then many things in between. And in the midst of this variety, each song of theirs has its own signature, so that you know that it's by uniquely by Nightwish, and not someone else, which takes some true creativity in my opinion. Even with their heavy songs, they add spice and flavor that maintain a true musical integrity instead of just blasting an electric guitar. I tend to favor their softer and moderate songs obviously, although I will admit that there are a couple of their heavy songs that are guilty pleasures of mine. Their lyrics are also very poetic, with each song telling a specific story or conveying a certain message beyond the normal scope of what most popular music talks about.

A few of my favorites include Last of the Wilds, Nemo, For the Heart I Once Had, Meadows of Heaven, Ghost Love Score, and Sleeping Sun (there's more, but too many to list here).

Then the magic of Pandora added to this, and presented me with similar sounds like:

Sleepwalker's Dream, Come Closer, April Rain, and On the Other Side by Delain

Eden Echo, Season's End, Wander, and Temples of Gold by Kamelot

Hand of Sorrow, Memories, Somewhere, Forgiven, All I Need, Angels, Pale, and Jillian by Within Temptation

Peasant's Promise, Under a Violet Moon, The Circle, and 25 Years by Blackmore's Night (this one is a folk Celtic band that is just plain awesome!)

And then I recently stumbled across some group or singer called Sleepthief. I only have three songs of theirs (Just Say It, Labrynthine Heart, and Eurydice), and in searching for others on Youtube, it appears they don't have very many. Not exactly a notable favorite of mine of this genre, but the songs I have are amazing.

ESPECIALLY Eurydice! I am currently in love with this song, and it's what prompted this post in the first place. It's a beautiful, unique piece about the Greek story of Eurydice and Orpheus, which makes it ten times more awesome in my opinion. The full lyrics are available online.

And so there is my big dissertation about music, and a description of my tastes.