Me and Music...A Bold Confession

I think...those who know me well will agree if I say, I'm really fond of music. It's true, I love music , easy-listening slow music or orchestra music and songs that can unwind me from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I listen to music or songs that have good lyrics and soothing melody. What I mean by "good" lyrics are those inspiring and motivational words or the meaning of the songs. For instance, I like to listen to Mariah Carey's 'thru the rain', 'hero', 'when u believe' (sorry, I don't really adore her, just some of her songs), Christina Aguilera's 'beautiful', 'hurt', beyonce's 'listen', Avril Lavigne's 'keep holding on', Elton John's 'sacrifice', etc. I also like these songs: 'u raise me up', i believe i can fly'. And recently, i think I'm starting to like fergie's 'big girls dont cry' and rihannah's 'umbrella'.

Malays songs? Well, I don't really listen to Malay songs and music as much as I listen to English songs. But, I do listen to Siti Nurhaliza's songs and several top singers. However, Indonesian songs and music really fancy me ever since the era of Hetty Koes Endang and Nicky Ardilla! I listen to all Ungu's, Rossa, Kris Dayanti's, Samsons', Kerispatih's, Letto's, and many others. Sometimes I wonder, how can the Indonesian musicians and artists create such nice melodies and combine it with lyrics and words that are can really reach the hearts and trigger the emotions of the listeners?

Speaking of music, I deem that even though music is one of God's gift to human beings, we should always bear in mind that music must not distract us from remembrance of Allah. We must not let ourselves being possessed by music, or indulge ourselves with music. We should wisely choose songs to listen to. Most importantly, music should also be used as a mean to bring us nearer to God. Or at least, music can make us motivated and inspired to live our lives and make move.

That's the reason why we should listen to nasyeed too. My latest fave nasheed includes those by Sami Yusuf, Yusuf Islam and Ungu. Sorry to say, but I don't like Malay nasheed except Raihan's songs. ( I don't like the typical Malaysian Malays nasheed , the music is so typical!) In addition, I also love hikmah's sountrack, marshanda's 'Astaghfirullah' and latest single by Acha Septriasa & Irwanshah entitled 'aku bersujud'. (Mind you, all are Indonesians).

So, that's the the bold confession of my music and me.

An extract from Hikmah song:

"di tebing kerinduan
ku memandang hampa pada dunia
ku hanya orang biasa
tak lepas dari rasa kecewa
hanya padaMu tempat ku mengadu
pahit yang kini menyeksaku
aku percaya tiada yg sia-sia
semua kan ada hikmahnya..."