Ideasthesia

The concept of ideasthesia (similar to synaesthesia) is infinitely fascinating; put simply, it's the link between one experience and another, the connection of one sense to another. For me, the connection between music and literature and music and art is particularly interesting.

I'm currently re-reading The Gadfly by E.L Voynich, which I initially read in Russian but in its original language - English- it is even more forceful. For some reason this incredibly powerful novel is decaying in obscurity; nobody I've asked appears to know of its existence. Anyway, after reading a good chunk of it, I came across Ideas as Opiates by Tears for Fears:

The music seemed almost to be inspired by The Gadfly, not only in its lyrics (which, incidentally, are quite simple)  but in its very mood. The soothing, yet piercing vocals, over the background of a droning, drilling and simulatenously calming beat... all of it elicits a painful but resilient nonchalance, the same emotion that permeates Voynich's novel.  As far as I know, the song was in fact influenced by the ideas of the American psychologist Arthur Janov, who developed the idea of primal therapy. But it was certainly interesting to see its connections to the book I'm reading. 

That's one of the things I love about music- when it unexpectedly melds with another experience, be it the experience of a book, or a film, or simply an event. Suddenly the emotion behind the music takes on a multitude of different dimensions, which results in something vivid and simultanouelsy indefinable.