Music, food of love

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent..." – Victor Hugo.

He talked a lot of sense, that man.

When I was young – maybe four or five – I recall pondering music and what its point was. "But what is it for?" I liked it, I knew that much. My dad is a keen fan of classical music – Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Mahler, Mozart – and gave me a very early appreciation of music. According to my parents, I used to cry at the age of one or so at the saddest refrains – especially Tchaikovsky – and then cheer up with the happier ones.

If I hear certain string pieces now, something happens within me – I can't explain it but I wish I knew where to find more of the same. My favourite (contemporary) song has soaring strings in it [Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy]. Without those strings, it would not be so utterly heartbreaking and beautiful.

I found my MP3 player last night and charged it up. So, despite having to get to a place near Trafalgar Square and The Mall for an early breakfast briefing (which is in fact tomorrow, not today, bloody hell...), I found myself somewhat mellow. God, yes, I was tired but it was OK.

So, I stuffed my earpieces into my strange ears on the way home (it has taken me 15 years to find earphones that stay in my ears – Sennheiser – very good, if pricey) and remembered that I'd forgotten how much I used to like U2 back in the day and all that. The Unforgettable Fire was better than I'd expected. How odd.

This nostalgia has made me dig out the soundtrack CDs to the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet, which houses some good tracks where you'd possibly expect nothing memorable. This is due to the influence of the deeply talented Nellee Hooper, Craig Armstrong and Marcus de Vries. The orchestral pieces are the best. Naturally. O Verona, Mercutio's Death, Juliet's Requiem and Liebestod (on the second CD) are roaring, soaring, beautiful tunes, albeit far too short.

This song (Gabriel by Lamb) has some great string-age and was one of those songs that, on first hearing, hooked me. There is something shimmery about that song. The same happened with Prince's When Doves Cry when I was 14. There was something dark in Doves that captured me.

And, this, Bombay Theme, is exquisite. A R Rahman is a genius. When the strings kick in at 2:19... Mmm... Close your eyes and listen, don't bother watching the computer.