I have low-key synesthesia. Certain sounds give me tactile feelings, while others induce colors. When I read, I don’t really see the words themselves. They induce fully formed pictures in my head. Those are the main ones, but I keep finding other synesthetic quirks as I live life and realize that other people don’t experience things the way I do.
So I thought it would be fun to theme my list this week with songs that give me brain buzz. Music, by its very nature of being made up of all kinds of different sounds, can give me massive brain buzz, which is what I call it when I get both tactile and color responses, sometimes at the same time, within the same song. I don’t always know what it is about a particular song that sets off my brain buzz, but I have noticed that the majority of them are very singable. No idea if that’s the basis for me or not!
And for the record, the brain buzz is a lovely, almost euphoric feeling. I also love my synesthesia. To be honest, I lived the better part of my life not realizing I had it. I just thought everyone experienced things the same way!
1. The Sound of Silence by Disturbed
It is specifically this version of the song that does it to me. The Simon & Garfunkel version does nothing for me, synesthesia-wise. There is something about David Draiman’s voice that really incites my brain buzz, but this song in particular. The whole song, but especially the parts that hit especially hard. I get the tingles, like anyone else might, but it also feels like someone is touching, at various points, my mid-back, shoulders, and arms. And my brain feels like it is literally vibrating. I see mostly deep blues and mid-grays when I listen to this song.
2. Nothing Else Matters by Metallica
Unlike The Sound of SIlence, I’ve yet to find a version that doesn’t set off my brain buzz, at least to some degree. The Metallica versions—this one, their symphonic versions, and an acoustic one—all do it, as does a purely cello version covered by Apocalyptca. The Lucie Silvas version does it far less, but the Miley Cyrus one… almost as good as the original! For me, the entire song is shaded in purples, from jewel tones to lavendary lilac. I feel it in my brain and like a hand pressing on my chest.
3. Son of the Dust by Black Casino and the Ghost
I heard this first on Luna Nera on Netflix. There’s something about the harmonies, the melodies, and some of the odd instrumental parts that speaks to my brain. Unlike most of my brain buzzy songs, this one is more tactile than visual, although I sometimes see shades of yellow, of orange. It feels like hands running through my hair, skimming my scalp.
4. Voodoo by Godsmack
This song… I think it’s the quality of Sully Erna’s voice, because I get at least a little brain buzzy with pretty much everything he sings. It’s a crimson song, flickering with deep gold, like a fire. It always feels like someone is pressing their thumbs against the base of my skull, sliding up and down.
5. Wolf Totem by The Hu
It’s the combination of Mongolian instruments and chanting that does it for me. It’s very red and gray for me, and it feels like my shoulders are being squeezed, like a finger is running down my spine.
6. Seven Bridges Road by the Eagles
I think it’s the harmonies that make my brain buzz here. It’s all the shades of green for me, It feels like someone’s playing with my hair for most of it, like a warm breeze is washing around me.
7. Falling Away from Me by KoRn
This song is one of the most brain buzzy on my list. I feel hands in my hair, on my back, my neck, my shoulders. It’s mostly black and grey, with sporadic bolts of purple and electric blue. My brain vibrates a LOT with this one.
8. At Last by Etta James
It’s her voice, the violin… the combination makes my brain buzz in a delicious way. It’s another one that’s more visual for me than tactile, although I get the feeling of fingers brushing my neck and face when I listen to it. But it pulses in shades of magenta for me.
9. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
All four seasons, although winter in particular. A lot of classical music brain buzzes for me, and I think it has to do with the quality of sound with stringed instruments. Maybe the vibrations of the bow on the strings speaks to the vibrations my brain feels? I don’t know. But I see this one in blues, purples, and yellows, and I always feel as if I’m standing outside in the midst of a blizzard, to the point that I feel snow hitting my skin and cold wind on my skin. Admittedly, those latter tactile connections probably have as much to do with the obvious winter theme as with synesthesia.
10. Wise Man’s Fire by Trevor English
In the interest of full disclosure, this guy’s a friend of mine, a former soldier who was stationed with my husband. He gave me a front-row seat to brain buzzy music when he stayed with us for several months and tried out his music on us. There’s something about his voice that always makes my brain buzz. It’s not so much tactile in other ways, nor visual, just extreme vibration in my brain.
11. The Crow & the Butterfly by Shinedown
Most of Shinedown’s music gives me some level of brain buzz. This one in particular runs the color gamut, virtually the entire rainbow making an appearance. I feel it on the backs of my hands and on my inner wrists. For most of the song, it’s as if someone is rubbing my skin there, other times it’s like it’s a much lighter touch.
12. Pulse by Otyken
Otyken is a Russian Siberian indigenous group that sings indigenous folk pop. The combination of modern instruments and culturally traditional ones is so interesting, as is the variety of vocals. All of their music leaves me fully vibrating from head to toe, especially this one. Pulse is very red, brown, and green for me, changing with the music.
13. Rose Tattoo by the Dropkick Murphys
I think it’s the gravelly tone of the lead singer’s voice that incites the brain buzz. I feel it like chills, especially in the mandolin parts. It’s a very gold song for me, with moments of gray and red.
I learned about synesthesia in college. A really interesting phenomenon that not many people have – or maybe they have it, and like you, don’t realize that it’s special and a different way of seeing the world.
I read somewhere that known cases give it about 2-4% of the population in prevalence. But so many people, like me, have no idea they’re seeing things differently from most people, so it’s believed it could be much higher.
How very interesting how you experience music. I wonder what causes that. You get an extra oomph with your music.
That’s how I look at it!
That’s quite a variety. I love the version here of Sounds of Silence. I used to see colors when I hugged people but not anymore.
That’s interesting! I haven’t experienced that one, nor heard of that.
I’ve never heard of synesthesia. This may seem like a weird question but I’m going to ask it anyway – Have algorithms figured this out? When Alexa or Pandora play songs based on what you’ve previously requested, do they find new songs for you that trigger the synesthesia?
Actually, that’s an interesting question. I don’t use Alexa or Pandora, the latter of which has always had a screwy algorithm for me. I mean, I’ll ask for British punk, and the playlist will be liberally sprinkled with Sinatra!! I use Amazon Music a lot. I do get a lot of brain buzzy music, but I don’t know if that’s the algorithm at work, or just that I usually listen to playlists that tend to hold a lot of the music that triggers me. Like the Hard Rock & Metal list, those genres tend to be the most triggering synesthetically.