TopicPosted on 01/28/2011 at 16:40:09January 29, 2011 editorial: comments
Dear Fellow Audiofanziners!
You know how it feels, that warm fuzzy, all around good feeling you get when you listen to music that you love, or even, just the anticipation of it, sends shivers down your spine. It's inexplicable, but real. Once you've been delivered your dose of music, you feel content and 'full' again, to face whatever it is the day holds. Well, as it turns out Music Really is Intoxicating, according to a recent study by McGill University: "Our experience of the music we love stimulates the pleasure chemical dopamine in our brain...The researchers followed the brain patterns of test subjects with MRI imaging, and identified dopamine streaming into the striatum region of their forebrains 'at peak emotional arousal during music listening'." So you see, you are not just crazy obsessed about music. It's only natural.
Us here at Audiofanzine have been overdosing on music making for over 10 years now. We kick off the new post-NAMM year (yes, our calendar year begins with the end of NAMM each year), with the software review that made all the news during AES a few months back: Pro Tools 9. Then we get all wired, and breakdown the most overlooked piece of gear in All About Wires.
And just for good measure, I attach a photo from NAMM (to the right) of a person I suspect has been intoxicated by music for many years now...
Have a good weekend,
Chater-La
gridsleep
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Member 13 years ago
2Posted on 01/29/2011 at 01:09:55
I have to totally agree with the trance-like state that music brings. Recently when I was noodling around with my Kaossilator, and about ten minutes in I could feel myself enter into a state of warm, smooth detachment. All that mattered was melding the sounds together, twiddling the conveniently close controls of the Kaossilator which is the perfect instrument for that sort of thing. I created (and thankfully was recording) a twenty-five minute piece that I entitled Concerto for Kaossilator and Mini Kaoss Pad. It was a state of sublime being, almost like a dream state but much better because I was fully aware, and there was no fear of losing memory of it after waking. Listening to Indian music such as Ravi Shankar's can elicit the same feeling. Dark Side of the Moon is also good for this. Music is the ultimate drug, because it makes the moment perfect and has no side effects.
You wouldn't happen to have a bigger picture of the girl with the dragon tail, would you? I'd like that very much.