Music?

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm just wondering how people enjoy music?

To me, Music is music and all types of music should get to you.

What I want to know is, Why do you love/enjoy/listen to music?

I love music in all Its forms and as you all know I'm open to love all music.

[Prog Snob]

Great idea for a topic!

I always describe music as my biggest passion. I would love to work in music somehow.  It would truly make me content. There is so much to say when it comes to music though. How does someone who holds music in such high reverence describe it without getting lost in the words? It brings me every possible emotion at one point or another.  Listening to Beethoven's Symphonies gives me a host of emotions. The Spirit Carries On usually moves me to tears, especially seeing it in a live environment and how the audience responds to it. I feed off that. 

If nobody ever realized it, and I suppose it would be hard to online, I am an extreme empath so I feed off the emotions of others. I can put myself in the mind of the songwriter and understand the message they are trying to convey and it hits me full force. Being an empath and having such a strong passion for music really enable me to understand the beauty behind some music that others could miss. Listening to Eve is something I do when trying to write because it puts my mind in such a peaceful state that I am able to focus better.  When I'm feeling dreary, I will listen to a band like Type O Negative to enhance the mood. It's a beautiful thing.

I can never understand how there are some people don't like music, like they just flat out do not find the joy in listening to it. It's so foreign to me that part of me thinks there is something wrong with them. I know that's a bit caustic on my part probably but I guess since I take music so personally it's hard for me to understand their reasoning. I think music has helped me through so many terrible times because it a multi-purpose device.  It can inspire and guide, instill hope and fear, love and lust, and the wonderment behind discovering something new is beyond words at times.

Before I go on and on, which I could on this subject, I just want to say that I believe that I would be in a much worse place in my life if I didn't have music to uplift me and guide me. You can't always rely on people so sometimes it's up to you to take matters into your own hands and listening to inspiration lyrics is sometimes the best help you can get. 

[jammindude]

I am open to all things, and I'm pretty tough on myself about making sure that I give ANYTHING new an objective and fair "5 spin" rule before I pass judgment.

However, some things I've already heard a thousand times before I've heard it...those don't require 5 spins.  If an artist has absolutely NOTHING new to offer, I won't waste my time.    Thankfully, those are fairly rare. 

The other consideration is that sometimes, even if I like something, it may not "move" me.    And I've come to realize that that is an incredibly difficult thing to quantify....because even if you could, it would move around all the time.  Because different things move you at different times.   What "moved" me when I was 20 doesn't really do it for me any more beyond a pure nostalgia trip.     Other things...well, I guess that's part of "loving music".   Part of it is understanding that not EVERYTHING is going to floor you the same way your first Rush, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree or Haken album did.    It's ok that not every single song you hear leaves you blubbering or ecstatic in some way.     Every time I hear a King Crimson album, I really do love it.   But it doesn't ever reach that level of "OMG **CRYING**".      I like it, and I like it a lot.   But then I'll put in a Zappa album, and I'll love that too.   

I love all music for different reasons.  And I love music in general.   But I like the varience most of all.   The fact that I just enjoy it for what it is on its own merits, and I don't have to feel like if it doesn't hit me like The Mountain did, then I'm wasting my time.   Music is very rarely a waste of time.   It's the voice of an artist or group of artists....and that will always make me notice one more facet on the diamond of music.

[bl5150]

I have a hard time explaining why I love music so much.  I suppose it has something to do with the way I was brought up........Dad always had something playing - bands like Chicago, Doobie Bros, Dire Straits, James Taylor and so forth.   Now I think of it the fact that KISS were such a phenomenon in Australia when I was a little guy probably had a big influence on me and the path I took.

I was also then encouraged to play music and started guitar aged around 7yo and played continuously until around the age of 19 , at which point time constraints and the realisation that the music I love (melodic rock and metal) was not going to make me a decent dollar in the forseeable future led to priorities moving towards academic studies etc...  These decisions (around school finishing time) were made in the early 90's when the rock I liked was dying a quick, but painful death - aside from DT funnily enough.

These days I no longer play and I'm the sort of guy that would go mad trying to re-learn and get back to anywhere near the level I was at.    As my son gets older (currently 7yo) I expect that I might take the time to take some of that journey with him - I hope so anyway.

So for now at least it's all about listening.  As my formal music studies stopped , and the longer I've been around , the more my taste has narrowed toward guitar based rock and metal.   I rarely listen to anything else , which in some ways is a shame but it's the style I love and , seeing as I'm such a "completist" , there's nowhere near enough time to track down all of the stuff that satiates that hunger , let alone other genres.    The thought of brilliant rock and metal albums floating around out there that I don't know about bugs me greatly 

I quite often get a chill down the back of the neck if I hear something musically brilliant or I can feel the emotion in a guitar solo  etc...  , but you wouldn't need two hands to count the number of times I've felt emotional about lyrical content etc...........   it has happened a few times but it's rare.   One of those times was today funnily enough .    I really only notice lyrics at all if they're very good or bad - how the melodies and rhythms affect my ear is the real key for me to my enjoyment of music.  A great lyric can turn a 90% into 99% though for sure.

DTF is a big part of my daily music fix too - just chatting about good music I find very enjoyable.  Good taste isn't common 

[Lucien]

I listen to music for pure enjoyment, and I'm one of the few people I know that can sit down and listen to a symphony WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING ELSE. There's just so much to love. I can't listen to music while studying because the music will distract me.

Why do I love music? Probably because I've been playing music since I was 11, on the contrabass in an orchestra. Slowly, you gain more and more musical prowess, you begin to understand things... Then you get into college and take music theory and your mind EXPLODES and you start to understand and predict music and it becomes much more satisfying. I would all encourage you to obtain a basic understanding of how music works at some music theory website.

I like some music more than others, but in my opinion, if someone has the opinion that some random thrash metal song is greater than Beethoven's 9th Symphony, they are RIGHT. To them. Not to me, but I don't matter. Hey, I like some Radiohead songs more than some Dream Theater songs (A Wolf at the Door, Optimistic), and I'm right. Not to you guys, of course, but I'm right.
Music is also basically the only thing I'm good at

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

i like it

[RoeDent]

Music is essential. If I may quote from a speech given by Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo at the Proms classical music festival in 2013 (one of the best descriptions and defenses of music I have ever heard):

"Music is mathematics, science, a universal language. Music is history, culture, physical education, geography. Music develops insight. Music is therapy for those who need it."

And as composer Carl Nielsen said, "Music is life."

[King Postwhore]

I've always said my two mistresses in life is music and sports.

There's pictures of me listening to my dads albums as a 3 year old with these grown up pair of headphones on.  It's obvious I got my passion for music from him.  Then my cousin who is around my same age was into music as well and we both stoked the flames for music.  I ended up learning guitar, being in bands and going to 150 concerts in my life.

It borders an obsession that I've even sucked my wife into though, she loved music as well.  It was her getaway from her crazy mother.  Locking herself in her room, listening to Iron Maiden to block out the world.

So even in my marriage, music is involved.

[ytserush]

I have a T-shirt that reads "Music is life the rest is just details."  Not very profound, but it gets the point across.

[sneakyblueberry]

I'm totally with you on this one, Ben_Jamin.

I personally believe that there is usually something redeemable in all forms of music.  Usually I can find something in any given song that I can take away as a positive - even something as simple as a strong vocal performance in some asinine pop song can be enough.  Music is music, some forms of it will speak to you louder than others, but I wholeheartedly believe that to be a fan of music, you need to be able to appreciate the artistry in all types of music, or at least be able to recognise it for what it is, and not blatantly disregard a particular form because of your own bias or preconceived notions.  I think once that realisation hit me, my appreciation and love for music grew substantially. 

Like, my favourite colour is green, but if I only ever looked at paintings with green in them, and disregarded the rest, then I would be depriving myself of a shit load of beautiful art.  Music is art, and I appreciate the art. 

#lovemusic #art #OMGlovepop

[Lucien]

Speaking of colors, having synesthesia really makes listening to music more enjoyable, subconsciously.

[Anguyen92]

For me, why I enjoy music so much is that it gives me an opportunity to understand a band/person through their lyrics or style of music and see why they approach their sound the way they do and how compelling could that be and if I can relate to that on a personal level, then I keep coming back for more from that musician/band/artist/etc.

I'm pretty much willing to listen to anything as long as someone can give me the good sell on it in a manner that intrigues me to give it a listen (mainly from a lyrical standpoint of view though I wouldn't mind some good noticeable riffs/solos/chorus/etc).  Honestly, I'm more into finding something that's more heartfelt and, I guess, raw emotion rather than something fabricated and pretentious BS sounds that doesn't mean anything to me because I can't relate to that.

[dparrott]

Music is the soundtrack of my life.  In the car I get to play it loud.  At work it kills the silence.

The music I choose to listen to depends on the time of day or night and the weather.  I feel that music enhances what I see out of the window, it helps me enjoy it more. 

[Sacul]

People often get impressed with my tastes and how seriously I take my music. I guess I'm just very passionate about listening to new music and genres - I know I'll find something I'll love in almost every genre. I'd really like to work in the music industry, be it as a music engineer or writing for a magazine. I think I'd prefer the last one since I'm working on some kind of music blog project.

[Ben_Jamin]

I wish people I knew enjoyed the music I listen to...they always say "Why you listening to this weird stuff"

[Sacul]

[Counselor of Prog]

Typically on my smart phone...but when I go on long walks, I bring along my Walkman (yeah, one of those! :O ) and either bust out a cassette or listen to the radio.