Everyone has a favorite song, or band. One that they go to whether to amp up for their day, to relax from that day, or to just sing along with all your heart.
Traveling Music
Everyone you ask would give you music that touched them or that resonated with them on some level. One of the fun things about music is that it is so diverse and interacts with each person differently.
One answer would differ from another and could be on polar opposites of the sound spectrum, and this just adds to the narrative.
Music itself is such a broad category that when asked about a favorite band it should have stalled me, even with it being in the gothic category.
Evanescence for example comes to my mind as do bands like My Chemical Romance, Panic at the Disco, Linkin Park.
Electrifying Sense
But these are not the only places I have love for music in, the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd for example is one that has several songs I love and it would most definitely fall into the gothic family.
All that said, if I were to talk about a band that electrifies my senses and is a constant source of comfort for a multitude of situations, I would have to say that the music of the Kronos Quartet would be that.
Their music is wordless and yet says mouthfuls. I love songs like Purple Haze and Runaway Horses (“poetry with a splash of blood.”)
Requiem For A Dream
But if I were to talk of a haunting song that is certain to give chills, I would be remiss if I did not mention the epic and awe inspiring song that is Requiem For A Dream.
This is a song that was introduced to me by a good friend and it is the title of the movie based on a novel that it is featured in. The song was composed by Clint Mansell and performed exquisitely to perfection by the Kronos Quartet.
The song is incredibly powerful and was my introduction to what a song could do to the human body.
I was tingling and emotional, my blood felt on fire as the notes crescendoed along and built into this fierce and intimidating melody. I was hooked from that point and it became a go to song for me. It became a standard.
Reflection Of A Soul
Kronos Quartet has been making music since 1973 and has had a few members change throughout the years. Current members are David Harrington, John Sherba, Hank Dutt, and Sunny Yang. The band has had quite a run in the music world having over 600 songs in their repertoire, over 3,000 performances, and selling over 1.5 million records.
They have contributed back to the community with projects like the Under 30 project which, hand in hand with Carnegie Hall, helps to bring young talented composers into the spotlight.
Kronos Quartet even has a song on the Star Trek Into Darkness soundtrack that was named for them. Michael Giacchino, a composer who sometimes names his pieces with puns, created The Kronos Wartet, for a scene that took place on a planet named Kronos.
It is said that songs reflect the soul, and I believe this to be wholly true. There are many musicians out there who bare their all and put so much passion into their music. This is most certainly a group who does that and you can hear it in every note they play.
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