Reflexive Essay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2JjJPDz3EE

I chose to write about Nick Drake's song "From The Morning" because it's one of the first songs I can remember hearing as a kid. My dad was always playing music around the house when I was younger, and his two favorite artists that I can remember listening to most often are Nick Drake and Elliot Smith. My dad loves recounting of when we were once listening to Drake's album Pink Moon together, and I asked, "Daddy, why is he so sad?".  He thought this was an impressive observation from a three year old, but listening to the album now, I would have to disagree. Almost every track on Pink Moon, except for maybe From the Morning, is hauntingly dark and ominous. Every song is beautifully simple... he uses only his acoustic guitar and his voice, with the exception of track one, Pink Moon, in which he breaks with piano between the harmonic guitar melody. Even three year old me could detect the melancholy tone that practically drips from his voice, and though I doubt I could actually make sense of his lyrics at that age, I wonder if I was able to perceive the poetic, emotional (and depressing) feeling of them.

While I can distinctly remember hearing most of the songs off of Pink Moon since I was young, I felt compelled to write about From The Morning because, when listening to the entire album over again, this one stood out most to me... it's the one that I remember most distinctively, and I think this is because while the rest of the album is so dark and sorrowful, From The Morning comes along at the end and sort of lifts the listener up. The guitar is much more colorful and cheerful than in the previous songs, and his lyrics are as well. I think that maybe as a child, I could relate to this song more than his others because I had never felt the feelings of intense sadness that are expressed in a lot of his music. I think that this song ends the album on a beautifully hopeful note.

When trying to think of just one song that would sort of summarize my musical background, this one came to mind because of the memories and nostalgic feelings that I have attached to it (fun fact from our textbook, this is called "situating"). My dad has definitely been the number one influence on my musical taste... some of my very favorite artists are ones that I was exposed to when I was really young. I have a strong disposition towards folk-rock music, music that could be said to be similar to Nick Drake's... that relies heavily on intricate guitar melodies, warm vocals, harmonies and poetic lyrics- like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Simon and Garfunkel. I love a lot of the music that came out of the late 60s and early 70s.

I think that because of my musical background, I am naturally drawn to music that is carried on guitar, or similar stringed instruments. I'm probably more likely to consider a piece pleasing if it has a clear structure, a distinct melody that repeats itself... and more likely to appreciate a piece that has lyrics and vocal harmonies. I'm not really sure about what else to say about this, only that I'm very interested to discover how I internalize different aspects of the music I'm used to listening to as an American, how this shapes my perception of what "music" is (and isn't), and how that will influence my thoughts and feelings about music from other regions around the world.