Color me happy….
So I was having a discussion with a friend and somehow the conversation turned to music. Surprise surprise 
Anyway, (and this might seem a little silly at first) he mentioned that some of Coldplay’s older songs, such as Clocks and Speed of Sound make him think of the color blue–or better stated, the color blue comes to mind. Then he went on to say that Coldplay’s newer music, such as Viva La Vida, brought to mind warmer colors, such as reds and oranges. I could agree with that–Speed of Sound was a much more mellow song, while Viva La Vida was a faster paced song, so it sort of made sense that a faster song would bring to mind warmer colors, while a more mellow, subdued song brings to mind cooler colors. When I think of cool colors, I associate that with tranquility and mellowness, whereas when I think of warm colors, I associate that with things that are fast-paced and bold. Maybe this could be equated to someone thinking of water when he thinks of blue, and fire when he thinks of red or orange? I’m not so sure if this makes sense to everyone, and it very well might not, but it made sense in my head. I’m not crazy, I swear. In addition to just how fast/slow a song was, the more technical characteristics of a song, such as chords, structure, arrangement, melody, harmony, rhythm, key, etc. also contribute to the way I associate a certain song with a certain color (This ties into my final project as well). There are different elements that make one think of a certain color–for example, Fantasie Impromptu made my friend think of a deeper red–the red because of the faster pace with the darker, richer tone of the song. This ties into my project because the way Pandora “song analyzers” (if you will) categorize a song is based on so many different elements, including the structure, composition, and arrangement. These people who listen to and analyze the songs are experts on music theory and spend about 40 minutes analyzing each song. This sort of analysis and categorization of songs explains why songs by artists such as Owl City or Cute Is What We Aim For come out on my Jason Derulo radio. So, as I keep plodding away towards finishing my final project, keep thoughts like this in mind. What songs bring to to mind warm colors or cool colors? Or maybe not colors at all–maybe certain songs bring to mind other things, like patterns or places or…smells? Everybody’s different, and you never know.
Cheers,
Ari xx