Emotion and Meaning in Music

Coldplay has been my favorite band for about as long as I can remember.  I have stayed up late waiting for the release of their newest albums, have snuck out a phone during school hours to get tickets to their concerts right when they go on sale, and have spent countless hours listening to and memorizing the words to their music.  Needless to say, I was beyond excited to see them two summers ago in Chicago for their Mylo Xyloto tour. 

I had seen them live twice before, so I did not expect the experience to be all that different from their previous concerts.  However, never a band to disappoint, Coldplay created their own way to enhance the audience experience, bringing with them “Xylobands.”  These bands were handed out to every concertgoer upon entry into Chicago’s United Center and, as demonstrated in the video, lit up to the beat of the music throughout the concert. 

One of the first songs to use these Xylobands was “Charlie Brown,” the song performed in this video.  I can't begin to explain how it felt to stand in an arena as large as the United Center, which holds over 20,000 people, singing and dancing to a song with thousands of other fans.  In that moment, I realized that I was standing next to thousands of people that I have never met before: strangers from all different backgrounds. We were all of different races, religions, cultures, social classes, and we may not even speak the same language. But the one thing we have in common is that we all love this song, this band, and could come together to form this amazing spectacle filling the arena.

In this instance, the Xylobands served as the sign.  Their ability to connect thousands of people together (by blinking at the same time) and let each and every individual become a participant in the performance led to a feeling of overall togetherness (object) among the audience members.  For me, the interpretant was the way I felt about music bringing people together, or my new understanding of just how powerful music can be. The icon is the way the wristbands all lit up at the same time.  The index was the fact that I saw the syncing of the lights and the singing as a co-occurrence with close relationships (which is why I ultimately felt a sense of togetherness).  The symbol was represented by the lyrics, which were being sung by just about every member of the audience.