We all like music, one genre or the other. I don't believe there's a single person that actually dislikes all types of music. And if you ever claimed you did, I would just walk away because I honestly don't know if I would want anything to do with you. As a music enthusiast, I genuinely cannot fathom the idea and will assume there is something wrong with you. And I would even go as far to say I would take it as an insult. If you're a dedicated music-lover like me, you will certainly agree that the idea of someone not only not loving music, but not even liking it, is absolutely ridiculous.
A hardcore music fanatic is someone who has simply allowed music to take over his or her life, and surrendered without any resistance. We love music to a concerning degree. It's the only thing we think about and want so constantly that it feels like an addiction. It's far more than a want, it's a need. And because it's essentially the only thing we need to get us through the day, it's difficult for us to have a horrible one. So if we are having a bad day, the minute we realize it is the same time we realize that it's because we haven't listened to music yet. Music is the answer to every question and solution to every problem. At the end of the day, music makes everything better and no day is complete without it. We aren't complete without it, either.
A music lover is a concert lover. We were born to dance a little on the wild side. But there, we are perfectly placed. We belong nowhere else. We are people that need a constant reminder that we are alive. We'll go to just about any music-related event and we don't care who's performing. We just want to embrace every moment with the sound of music and build the soundtrack to our lives. Concerts are undoubtedly the place where we feel most alive. We love to feel the bass bumping through our skull and beating in our chest while the singer's voice rattles our bones and we watch every musician on stage slowly lose control. And as they do, we do too. Standing united in a crowd of strangers, all moving to the same rhythm, shouting out the same lyrics, connecting to the same song, and throwing up their hands in imperfect harmony is exactly the kind of scene we live for. We want it to completely take over every single part of us. The soul, the mind, and the body: everything. And so we let it take its course. We breathe it in until it consumes us.
A music-lover is someone who always has his or her headphones in, and the only times we don't are when we're already playing music from our speakers. There's almost never a time music is not playing in our presence. And when we play it, we play it loud. There's really no true reason for why: We just do. And anyone that doesn't understand that and tells us to turn it down during the climax of our jam session is automatically on the shit-list for the rest of the day. Volume on blast is just the way we like it and we couldn't care less if we end up partially deaf when we're older because of it. We have that "It's my life, I'll live it how I want" mentality. So, if we want to risk blowing our ears out for this song in this moment, dammit, we will.
We are also very sleep deprived. All the time. We stay up all night either looking for a new album or artist to listen to, listening to a new album or artist we just discovered, creating music of our own, or just listening to music regardless of it's release date. We put it at the top of our priority list, which can be problematic for many reasons (especially if you're a college student). It's hard for us to sleep knowing there's so much undiscovered music out there. It just doesn't feel right. It's also required that we know every word to every song on every album of our favorite artists, so we listen until we fall asleep. We promote their music as if we were professionally and personally hired and responsible to do so, too. And of course, without question, if anyone is ever looking for new music, we have a list ready to go. Actually, lists, because we listen to every genre of music and our taste has the capacity to satisfy almost everyone we know.
The people who are friends with music lovers are also affected by this incurable disease. They hate going out with us (but secretly love it) because we won't hold back putting on a concert with our lip-sync skills in every store, restaurant, etc. We stop to listen to a song outside of a store even if we have no intention of going in and groove in our seat when we're out to eat. It's just how we do. If we're feelin' it, we're feelin' it. And if there's music on, we're feelin' it. That's just how it works. We try to keep it on the "DL" though, using props to hide our facial expressions and dance moves from judgmental strangers. And our family members certainly get annoyed with us, but we can't help it. In the end, we just can't control ourselves. We try, but we just can't.
But you must know, we are not only sleep-deprived, crazy people that walk around with blaring headphones and friends that roll their eyes and laugh every time we make the stank face. We're much more than that. We're unique human beings with the amazing ability to connect to music. Our passions run deep and because of that, it can lead to us being highly emotional at times, and possibly unstable if you approach us at the wrong point in a playlist. But I swear it's a beautiful way to live. We have the tendency to feel more intensely than most do because we are dedicated enthusiasts with a strong desire to share with the world how great and powerful music is.
Ultimately, music has changed our lives, and still changes us every day. Therefore, it's much more than just a thing. It's taught us lessons, helped define and shape who we are, and given us strength when we felt weak. It gives us hope when we want to give up and lets us know we are not alone and misunderstood when we feel like we are. Music is there for us when nobody else is, so we remain loyal and loving. Music helps us breathe when we have no air. It's a healer. Music is the only real magic on earth, and it's something we can't live without. Music is not a thing, it is a lifestyle. We live by our music and we love by our music. Music is our life.
