A little more than a week ago was the fifty-third year anniversary of my time in this particular physical incarnation. 

I was reflecting on all of the music that I’ve listened to and appreciated up to this point. This led me to start thinking about preferences and how people arrive at particular musical preferences. 

For some people, music can be an extension of their lifestyle. For others, music can serve as more of an alternative or respite from their lives or thoughts. I think for most of us it’s a little bit of both. 

I was thinking about a quote that I have found useful from a Buddhist text called the Dhammapada. It’s actually the very first line of the book:

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and what our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.”

Basically, our present is based on our thoughts of the past. And our future is a combination of our past and our present reactions to it. Seems kind of obvious. 

When I think about all of the music that I’ve appreciated in my life and how it’s all connected to whatever I’ve listened to before, I see this amazing musical journey that ties my present tastes to all of my experiences of the past. None of it is inherently good, bad, right, or wrong. It is just the next sound. How I react to all that I listen to will have a great deal to do with what I have listened to before and how I use that information in the present. This idea offers a sense of self-empowerment and order to my preferences that I find comforting.

We all have our own paths to the music that we love (or dislike). When those paths intersect we literally become part of each other’s future. And even if we have different musical preferences, how they develop is similar for everyone.

– Below are some songs that have resonated with me in the past month. I hope they bring more joy to your life. Thanks for listening, MMM

This month’s artists are: The Pop Group, Love and Rockets, JPEGMAFIA, Danny Brown, Buffalo Daughter, Hailu Mergia, Dahlak Band, Post-dreifing, Isadora, Live Skull, Ovlov, Nick Hakim, A Certain Ration, Fever Ray, The Isley Brothers, Gilla Band, Oracle Sisters, Harry Belafonte, Brian Eno

(Subscribe to get a new playlist every 1st Monday of the month. Click on my user link or search: Major Matt’s 1st Monday on Spotify to cruise past playlists and discover more music.)