Ow yeah! Life's so much better with a soundtrack. Music can take control of my emotions, and I have used it for that purpose many many times. Nowadays I think I use it more to suit my emotional state though, not as much to alter it. It can be a very powerful fuel to stir up emotions. Like putting kerosene in a moped. It'll go like crazy for a short while, but expect to spend a lot of time on maintenance afterwards, that is if it doesn't disintegrate completely 5 seconds after ignition. But not to worry, there's a song for that type of situation too, when the emotional void arrives, that realization of profound emptiness?what was I feeling? Who am I?
And then there's the soothing part. Sometimes I'd sit in front of my speakers as if I was entranced, like it's charging up some kind of inner battery that was running low. The best is when it feels like my entire body is resonating with the music in a way, a sense of floating in some kind of fuzzy electricity.
I think I also use it for guidance, like a religion almost. I mean, I really take a lot from it in terms of how to look at life, how to deal with certain emotions or situations, to find peace with what is, and motivation to do what isn't. Although that's based more on things like lyrics and background stories than sound itself.
Also, there's this feeling about certain songs, they bring with them a distinct state of mind/state of being, and if I can't bring myself to fit that state of mind I can't enjoy the music, even though I might like the music itself very much. In some situations it even hurts. I have had meltdowns because of this. Unwanted ones.
