I’ve always maintained that a person isn’t alive if their heart doesn’t pound out of their chest when listening to The Island by Pendulum1.
It’s a gradual build-up, most of Pt. 1 Dawn being the development until Pt. 2 Dusk hits (at about the 5:20 mark in the video) and the beats really kick in. Then it’s just waves and waves washing over my body like small orgasms and every hair stands on end.
It’s mesmerizing to literally see how this music makes me feel, as the ripples of goosebumps crest and subside. I can trace the paths of shivers across my skin; some last longer, though they may not be as strong, while others come and go quickly, my body unable to sustain the climax.
This is the only song that has this kind of effect on me. There are plenty of other tracks that give me goosebumps, but none of them do it so many times or with such intensity. By far the strongest peak is during the bridge at 7:10, when everything subsides to the organ, and it’s like you’re being bathed in the warm light of a sunrise.
- To get the full effect, you definitely need headphones. Otherwise, it should be loud enough to warrant a noise-complaint by your neighbours down the street. [↩]
That’s pretty cool Jeff. However, I must not be alive as the song does nothing for me. What I find interesting is what thoughts or mental states you associate with the song (like what were you thinking while filming and listening). A few interesting experiments might be: 1) Try the same thing only hearing the music in your head but have the room silent 2) Think of a situation (a conversation, an emotion) when that song was playing and see what occurs. 3) See if you can invoke the same response in a piece of music you don’t like.
Lloyd
Headphones! Did you listen with headphones!? It’s a super important part!
Anyway, I’m not really sure what mental states I have when I hear this song. It’s kind of a zen moment; my head clears and all that’s left is a bunch of transitioning solid colours (I suspect that I have sound → color synesthesia).
I don’t think the same thing would work if I was only hearing the music in my head, cause this song has to be really loud to produce goosebumps in me. When the song is on but it’s at a moderate volume, it does nothing for me either.
I’m going to try thinking of a situation or emotion though to see if it triggers a different kind of reaction. As for responses from a piece of music I don’t like, I’ll put some Nickelback on my iPhone and get back to you on that. :)