I just want some noise.

It’s a journey into “feel” land for sure. I sometimes discover how I feel thx to new (to me) music.

Because it’s literally the only thing that keeps me sane.

That's interesting. Thanks :)

So do you listen to things that are expressing your own mind as sort of catharsis, or things that sort of make you feel better or avoid/change what your thinking?

Sound is good. I like noise, too. Do you like certain types of noise?

Mental escape, and it's one of the few things that brings me joy.

To escape and be taken to another world of just another place in general.

Is it music that makes you feel joy, or the act of listening to it? Or to put it another way, do you choose music that makes you feel good or does it just feel good to listen to music, whatever it is that you're liking at the time?

I can totally agree to both of your opinions. I also see it somehow as possibility of emotional control (I struggle with emotion instability...)

That's interesting way to put it. What sort of music would do that, for you?

Thanks, I think I understand what you mean. Are there certain types of music that help or is it just whatever you are currently enjoying listening to?

I think that both of the ideas you listed are true for most of us. I’d also add to your list: We listen to music because it expresses how we used to feel. (The nostalgia aspect of music can’t be overstated.) Additionally, I would say that I listen to music because - 1. it’s the most pleasurable way to escape the annoying aspects of life, and 2. it connects me to the rest of the world in ways that nothing else can.

It's both I guess.

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For me personally, I think it's a pretty good balance of both, maybe veering a little bit more towards meditating on the current mood. As an example, if I'm feeling depressed I'm likely to put on sad music just to soak it in, but not above switching over to James Brown to snap myself out of it.

Thanks for the addition there, that makes sense. I guess it depends what we want in that moment. Do you think you know why you're listening to music? Or is it not really something that crosses your mind until someone asks you about it?

I think that music is just another language and helps to get around in the world. It can be also used to program someone's mind. For example, I have to listen to music in a store I work at. It affects my thinking to the point where I wake up in the morning and a song starts playing in my head (from workplace playlist).

Thanks :) Would you go to music you know, when you feel like that, or would you listen to something new?

Something I'm familiar with, probably.

I know what you mean, I have had that before. I used to find it annoying, but also found tracks I liked that way.

Easy... can't afford a therapist

Because it clears my head when some other horrid claptrap is ringing in my ears.

Yeah I get that. It works for me that way (talking to someone just doesn't do it for me). Just wondering how it works for you, do you choose music that change your mood or music that reflects it?

I have different reasons:

It gives energy if i currently lack some.

It can take my thoughts off of things that I struggle with.

It can sooth me if my thoughts are to chaotic so that i cannot think straight.

It can help me get through tough mind states by somewhat accompanying me through what I feel and work through it.

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And last but not least: to enjoy the music and appreciate the musicianship :)

I think it is both of those things, as well as the nostalgia thing a previous comment mentioned. I tend to hyper focus on a band or artist I like and listen to them non-stop for a long period of time. But I also will listen to a curated playlist of a bunch of different genres. They could be a band I discovered in middle school, or one I discovered in the last month, but something hooks me and I'm there.

Music has this wonderful way to bridge all the divides of humanity. You don't have to speak a foreign language to appreciate a song in one. And whatever you are on the political spectrum, there is at least one song we can all agree is a banger lol. People of all different backgrounds will like the same artist. For me, music unifies us. Maybe that's why I listen to it.

Hah makes sense. So to escape? Does all music work for that or just certain types? Like, do you listen to things you personally like, or are you pretty open on the music style, just like having something to listen to?

Yes to all those questions. Sometimes I have a song stuck in my head that I like so then I don't actually need to listen to music- but when I have something stuck in my head that I hate then I try to put some good music on ASAP. I work in retail and they play the same 10 songs over the intercom daily. I am super fortunate to be able to listen to my own music in the back, thankfully.

Structured Noise

I listen to music to drown my thoughts out xD

Oftentimes it's just to keep a beat while working. It gives the brain something to engage with while also keeping pace.

Or it's to explore new arrangements or tones. I've been playing guitar long enough where anything fresh or interesting is something I can learn from at times.

Well, I am innately mood driven so the mood drives the music selection. However I have a set list of genres that I have identified which I know will suit as per my state of mind

Music has always been my inspiration when it comes to writing the stories that I have written throughout the years. It's also my getaway when I'm having a rough day or when I just want to add some enjoyment to an already fulfilled day. There are many reasons why I listen to music but the general reason is that I love music!

Thanks for explaining, I agree with all your points. I like the idea of unification. There are so many benefits to music as a form of communication/connection.

I work from home. I am alone 10 hours a day. Music is comforting. During work hours I listen to instrumental music to avoid distractions. Everything - Latin Jazz, Hawaiian guitar, Classical, 1950's American Jazz. I find it uplifting. After office hours I listen to Grateful Dead, JGB, Wide Spread Panic - some of these tunes transport me back to the show or a happy time. Some of Grateful Dead tunes make me remember those that have died. 1950-1960 Vocalists bring back fond memories of my Dad, he passed.

Music to me is audio emotion. It's like when someone describes something they feel and you realize you connect to it because you feel that way but could never have put words to it. To me, music is the same, and really I find it even more powerful because I can feel connected to music that has a message I do not connect with or subscribe to. To me, music is the ultimate expression of emotion, or more simply, the getting what is inward out. I imagine a ballerina feels the same way about dance, and an artist feels this about painting or sculpting. I'm a musician, and music does the things that speak to the deepest parts of me.

Well…growing up in the 1960’s, my childhood wasn’t…ideal. So I listened to music as a means of escape. I listened mainly to the music and paid little attention to the lyrics. As I got older and things got better, I’d listen to both the music and the lyrics. That’s when I realized that others were experiencing some of the same things I was feeling, which is how I started to become more a part of the world, rather than just a silent observer/listener. Music is never just background noise to me. I’m an active listener rather than a passive one. If a song grabs me, I want to learn all I can about the artist, the writer(s), the inspiration behind it, the recording process, etc. Yeah, I’m kind of OCD when it comes to music. With just a few exceptions, I appreciate all genres. I believe it was Duke Ellington who said “there are only two kinds of music…good music and bad music.” ✌🏻

I think it's both. I go through weird moods where I only want to listen to loud angry music, but it's not necessarily because I'm angry, it's a sort of stress relief and an outlet. Then sometimes I feel like getting weird so I listen to something like Primus.

Thanks, For the situations you've described, do you tend to listen to music you know, or explore new music?

It’s mainly a way to ease my mind , although I wouldn’t necessarily call it escapism or a means to avoid things.

E.g. When I have an anxiety attack, listening to music feels like aspirin kicking in when you have a bad headache. It kinda just entangles my brain.It “just works”, just like aspirin “just works”. I don’t know if that makes sense but that’s the first analogy that came to my mind.

It also isn’t kinda linked to specific styles of music. If I feel like crap for whatever reason, calming ambient music might work as well as technical deathmetal, depending on the day.

Because… oh oh ooohhh…. Listen to the music

I would say pink floyd

Very interesting question, that i just wrote an exam about. Of course most of the information left my brain as soon as i handed in the exam, but i do remember some stuff. The question of meaning in music has split musicologists for a while, and the ideas, iirc, are split largely into the people who think music has meaning in itself, eg. music has meaning because of the mathematical proportions in it, or just because it "sounds good", and the people who think its something outside the music that gives it meaning, eg. It expresses an experience or an emotion, or because of its social and cultural context. I myself fall on the latter, cause i believe music doesnt exist in a vacuum, and i see music as almost a ritual, where humans come together and share the experience of music. I reccommend checking out "Musicking" by i think Christopher Small, and i think Phillip Tagg had some interesting ideas about this topic aswell, just dont go to his website tagg.org, lol.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

To help feel something or make me feel better. Also listening to music makes mopping floors more fun.

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Thanks for that. When you listen to loud angry music, does it still need to express good 'musicianship' (someone else used that term and I liked it)

Not necessarily, Nirvana isn't technically "skilled musicianship", at least I don't think most would consider it theory-heavy. Especially their louder and angrier stuff haha (Endless, Nameless off the Nevermind album (the first breakdown right at the 2 minute mark)).

But I also like to listen to some "ignorant rap", I've heard it called before, a lot of it also has a heavy Grunge influence and pays homage to Nirvana interestingly enough. Kxllswxtch is one of my favorites from this genre, he has some objectively "unsophisticated" music, such as 'THIS IS NOT A SONG THIS IS A MENTAL BREAKDOWN' but then on the same album he has a song called 'SCATTERBRAIN' where the guitar riff, lyrics, and probably title are all very grunge influenced.

A lot of people would say this kind of music is not "good" if they're not into that sort of thing, but I think it's very subjective terminology. To me, especially when I'm in that headspace, I would consider it good music.

Thanks, I'm sure artists across different mediums feel the same. I'm intruiged you say you could connect to music even if the message of the music isn't something you can connect with. That's interesting.

That's good you use music to make those connections.

That's a good reason :)

That's a different view, thanks.

Hah, if it works, it works!

Thanks for the insight and suggestions. I've come across this, too. I think there's a lot to be learned about why/how we connect to music.

Do you listen to music you know you like, or do you just like the sounds?

Obscured by the Clouds

For me it can be either or neither. Music is transportive though, mental, physical and emotional.

Maybe a psilly analogy but it can be somewhat like a mini psychedelic trip. Music can take you places and sometimes it’s good to along for the ride and you might come out the other side with a new perspective…mental, physical or emotional.

Nostalgia.

I can hear certain songs that will take me right back to specific moments, even if some of them are totally mundane.

I hear Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World and suddenly I’m transported back to riding in the back seat of my mom’s station wagon with my legs sticking to the red vinyl seats on the way to the swimming pool on summer break.

Yeah, I like Three Six Mafia, but I don't call women bitches nor do I condone it. I also have never used or even held a glock, tech, or any other firearm for that matter. Another band I like is Rage Against the Machine. I don't agree at all with them politically and a lot of the messages that are in their music. They are a kick-ass band, and I love listening to their music.

Let's say there's different genres I'm into, and what genre I prefer depends a lot on my mod. So I like metal/punk/alternative, but also electronical music like dnb, dub, hi-tech, hardtekk and also reggae and hip hop. So yeah it varies quiete a bit...

Is it cheating to say both? At work or on the road it’s just for the sounds, at home or walking in the park I listen because it’s music that I like.

Gotta drown out the existential dread somehow.

Its a mood

That makes sense. I guess it depends on the relationship to sound itself.

Yeah I've read a lot about associating music with memories.

I never thought of it like that I suppose.

I just like how it makes me feel.

Hah, what classed as good for you?

So sort of the 'want' rather than the current feeling?

Both sounds like a lot opinions, so yeah! Are there genres you wouldn't listen to?

Why can't it be both???

I listen to music because it affects how I feel AND I listen to music because it ~reflects~ how I feel -- and I use it as a comfort tool. Because without Music I would go crazy.

It can be, I just sort of narrowed it down (after reading lots about it) to two sort of ways people listen to music (not that someone is one or the other more that we experience some element of both and wanted people's opinions). Someone further down also suggested for nostalgic reasons, too.

Like industrial noise?

Music seems to have helped you then thats good.

Makes sense, I think that's sort of what I meant by catharsis. I'm the same with the genres. Although technical death metal is a new phrase, I think most metal I listen to at the moment is random bands I get linked to on Bandcamp, don't necessarily save names anywhere, not sure if any of them come under that bracket. Can you give an example?

That makes sense. What sort of mood do you listen to metal in? A bad one or a good one? (mood) curious, I like a lot of metal but other people I know who don't find it quite aggressive, which I don't.

What sort of genres do you go for?

Pop, country, bop

What sort of country? I've found that label meaning different things to different people

Taylor Swift, Katy Perry kinda country

There are many more reasons; they are all valid and inclusive

The noise calm down on me.

They express things I Couldn't.

I actually find it absolutely not aggressiv, but I understand why people say so. I just texted a friend yesterday: it's incredible how calming such aggressive music is. For me with metal comes a lot of power, strength and it actually lifts me up. I can totally understand this sounds wierd for people tough

What the hell does that mean?

Do you listen to music?

Well, sometimes a song on the radio comes on and I'm like...didnt know I wanted this, or...thats a nice surprise.

When it comes to records I'm not really sure if I put something on because I want to hear it, or because I'm alreay in the mood for listening to it. Maybe a bit of both.

Yes. Although, I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who answered that question with "no". I know not everyone listens as much as I do or in the same way but I am intruiged by why.

Some people I know refer to industrial as noise. Wondered if that's what you meant.

Also not all music is structured. I wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic with that part.

Uplifting and powerful are words I'd use to describe metal.

That makes sense, thanks :)

Absolutely! In some ways, I feel like music saved my life.

For the first two it can be something i just found or when i'm under the impression that i need something else then what i usually listen to, I'll try something else.

For the last two it normally are songs that i know, because it gives me a familiar feel and there is safety in that familiarity when my mind is to chaotic.

Because I like art from all mediums. Music is a way for me to enjoy art conveniently, and satisfy my desire to be entertained.

Oh no I just meant music is noise. It has a beat and rhythm. Often called structure. Just making a joke

Ahh. Sorry. I struggle with some jokes.

That makes sense 😊

I'm sure, someone else mentioned nostalgia. So current, want and past.

Feel free to suggest some.

Totally agree. Powerful, definitely. I think there's few people that understand the freedom and power that comes with this music. Also even if that's the last thing people will think about when thinking about metal, there's quiete a few songs that are almost like classical music. Thinking for example of sound of silence from disturbed or Eva from nightwish. For the uplifting strength giving ones Id consider for example arch enemy, the world is yours

I just used tech death as polar opposite to ambient haha. But examples would be stuff like Archspire or An Abstract Illusion (although they’re more prog metal than tech death)

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Look up "Specific Musical Anhedonia."

My ex has this and it still baffles me that this is a thing. Music is as important to me as Air, Water, Food or Sleep.....

I listen to music more for the sound and how it can surprise me, things such as unique chord progressions, and melodies that do stuff they shouldn't. for instance i can jive to a 'sad' song just as easily as a happy bop

its probably because I'm not great on listening to lyrics, like I can listen to a song hundreds of times and know the intricacies of the snare ghost hits and the exact amount of vibrato used in the second bar of the guitar solo well before I know even half of what the singer is singing, it generally takes me looking up the lyrics to actually figure out the meaning of the song etc.

This was the most enjoyable thread tonight

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Yeah, nostalgia is a big one - it's so bittersweet. I listen to music for a lot of reasons. E.g. listen to songs I already like due to personal associations of all kinds, particular feelings they evoke, nostalgia, contexts or just because I like the sound; but I like to listen to new music, for instance, out of curiosity for new authors, genres, knowing more by one author I admire, as a challenge or desire to understand why something is good or considered good, or merely searching for songs that I may evoke strong emotions or reactions in me...

Thanks for this, have never come across it!

I like all of those examples and would agree, yes, powerful.

thanks for explaining. Personal musical interest is a huge part and would certainly explain why we search for new music through artists we already know. I had imagined plenty of people on a music thread on reddit, would have an general interest in music. I think I was focusing more on the why we listen. So in that instance, once you've found something, why would you continue to listen to it/what would motivate that. That's sort of where I got my ideas of 1.matching how we currently feel 2. matching how we want to feel and the third suggestion from this thread of how we used to feel.

I'm not sure if that's sarcasm. I've noticed it's been down-voted a bit so I don't think it was a lot of people's ideas of enjoyable :(.

I liked reading the comments a lot and the discussion. I am sorry about the downvotes. I sort everything by “new,” so I rarely notice downvotes. It was an enjoyable read for me.

makes my life feel like a movie.

Thank you for letting me know :)

You are welcome. I read comments frequently here. It’s great to get any discussion going!