A follow-up on DMB and BFF

I knew that my post on DMB and BFF would raise a few hackles, and thanks to Carrie and Katy for offering other points of view. I certainly know that many people love the music of Dave Matthews and Ben Folds, finding in it everything I can't. And it's great to have that voice represented here.

I would like to touch on something mentioned in Carrie's comment, since I think it could inspire further discussion.

Carries mentions feeling unsettled by my comment "life feels more manageable because for at least one track, someone else can feel your feelings for you," saying instead, "What I connect to so intensely in Ben's music is his provocation of intense feeling in me, not for me."

And I realize that my point was not as clear as it could be. What I meant was that a frequent joy of pop music is recognizing my own feelings in someone else's music. It's not that I stop feeling but that I feel a rush of connection as I hear a private emotion recreated in a song. Sometimes, the song articulates something I couldn't express yourself, and so does seem to be "feeling for me," but I never give my feeling over to the artist. As Carrie says, I just have my own emotions provoked.

So that's a bit of clarification. Please keep discussing if you feel so inclined!