The magic of music

Why is it that music has such an effect on our mood? I've observed that my day seems to start off so much better if I listen to music while I'm getting dressed in the morning. I can be in the best mood and put on certain sad songs and within seconds be so down I feel like a manic-depressive. Vice versa, I can wake up on the wrong side of the bed and by listening to uppy music snap out of my pessimistic locus and realize life is too short or it could be so much worse. While my parents were in town this weekend we had drinks and listened to live music at their hotel bar. Listening to the raspy jazzy voices of the band in the dim oak bar made me want to run home that minute and finish filling out my application to study next semester in Paris. Not much later that same night my dad and I met up with some of my friends and their dads at a college bar. As we drank our beers, Journey playing in the background, my head was in a much less serious place. The next morning my mom picked me up and we drove as "American Pie" drummed from the radio. I thought how cool it would be to live in the late 50's/early 60's. It's interesting how much music affects our thought processes and the atmosphere. It ran through my head that maybe it's just me, maybe I'm especially moody, until today my roommate revealed to me how she can be running on the treadmill for 40 minutes at the gym and just when she thinks she can't go a second longer she can put on a certain song (the Veronica's, "Untouched," is what it is for her as of lately) and it gives her a jolt of energy (even if it is just for 3 minutes).