on Gus Van Sant + Beethoven

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I am listening to Moonlight Sonata right now, for a couple of reasons

first off, I haven't heard it in ages
secondly, I've been thinking all night about how certain songs follow you around, regardless of what you're doing and where you're doing it.

more than any other art form, music has an almost haunting power of lingering.

and that got me thinking about Gus Van Sant's basic yet powerful film Elephant, and then I got to thinking about the only person who has ever played Moonlight Sonata for me, and how different she was from the character in the film who plays the song. if you've seen the film, you know what kind of person that guy is. if you haven't, let me just boil it down to this: he was no where in the same realm as my happy-go-lucky friend.

but, violent tendencies aside, he was the only other person I've ever seen play the song. (no, I don't care if the actual actor was not playing the song. I am referring to the character.)

how do we consume music? how does music consume us? why do some people marvel at the beauty of some pieces of music while others are left unaffected? will I ever find solace or bliss beyond the realms of my turntable?

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata [mp3]