Sonic Thrills

I have aways been affected by sounds.  There are some people's voices that affect me physically, giving me goosebumps or earaches.  There have been many public radio programs that I have listened to, not because I found the content interesting, but because the speaker's voice was so physically pleasurable to me.  There are also people whose voices are so irritating to me that I can't stand to hear them talk. 

Music has always played a very big role in my life because my parents were huge music fans.  They had a record collection that filled a fairly large closet.  My mom once told me that, during the first years of their marriage, they would each buy a record a week.  My mom preferred Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Herb Alpert, and movie musicals.  My dad liked jazz - Dave Brubeck, Thelonius Monk, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald.  They also had a good selection of classical music, although no opera.  My sisters and I all took music lessons on various instruments and we played records or the radio nearly all the time.  My mom sang everywhere we went, which was often embarrassing for me.  She also danced almost everywhere.

Throughout my life, I have suffered from ear infections.  As a child, I would have 2-3 ear infections each year.  This gradually became fewer, and, for about the last 20 years, I get an ear infection only once every 3-5 years.  I believe this has contributed to my sensitivity to sounds, although I'm sure there's an element of autism in there, too.  I am more likely to be bothered by loud noises that other people don't mind and there are some types of music that I can't listen to on a car radio without experiencing discomfort bordering on pain.  I love cities, but I have a hard time tolerating the noise levels, especially while walking on a busy city sidewalk.  The combination of the noises of trucks, cars, construction equipment, and people all mixing together makes me very uncomfortable. 

There are other sounds, though, that make me feel very, very good.  Rain, when I'm hearing it through a window screen.  People whispering, when I hear it through a window screen.  A baseball game on the radio, at low volume.  A soda can when it's opened.  Shoes on certain floors and sidewalks (especially in movies).  And, of course, music.  Certain singers or specific vocal performances can send me into bliss. 

Rhett Miller's voice affects me almost every time I hear it.  I'm particularly moved by his voice on "Jagged."  I have no idea why.  I get a thrill every time I hear it.  I love the songs of the Old 97s and of Rhett Miller.  But even when Rhett sings other people's songs, I'm affected by his voice.  Once, when I saw him performing solo in Madison, he did "Can't Help Falling In Love."  It was gorgeous.  I love his voice.  I'd marry it.  I love Colin Blunstone's voice, too.  It sends me every time.  I'm especially fond of "Care of Cell 44" and "This Will Be Our Year."  Beautiful.  Roddy Woomble's voice on "Every Line of a Long Moment" is beautiful.  I don't normally feel anything when listening to him sing, but on that song, I do.  The song, itself, is lovely, but it's his voice on it that I love.  And Jeff Buckley's performance of "I Know It's Over" -- well, you just have to hear it.  It makes me feel very, very, very good.

There are lots of songs that I find especially beautiful, too.  "You Keep Me Hangin' On," by The Supremes, especially the line, "Why don't you be a man about it," and the notes that Diana Ross hits on the word, "man," are great.  How did they do that, anyway?  They must have recorded 2 tracks of her singing the whole thing.  It's a great sound.  I'm always really touched by many Steely Dan songs, like "Doctor Wu" and "Dirty Work."  I'm a sucker for a wistful song, so it's no surprise that I like Steely Dan.

Here is an utterly incomplete list of other songs I find particularly beautiful:
"The Long Way Round," by Badly Drawn Boy
"Since K Got Over Me," by The Clientele
"Baltimore," by Randy Newman
"Unsatisfied," by The Replacements
"Mistaken For Strangers," by The National
"Romeo & Juliet," by Dire Straits
"Un bel di vedremo," from Madame Butterfly
"Mr. November," by The National (although I have reservations about the chorus)
"I Believe She's Lying," by Rhett Miller
"Why I Love Country Music," by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
"Walk Away Renee," by The Left Banke
"Baby You're Blind," by God Help The Girl (although I'd love to hear Stuart Murdoch sing it!)
"The Loneliness Of A Middle Distance Runner," "Like Dylan in the Movies," and "The Model," by Belle & Sebastian

What sounds/songs/voices do you find beautiful?