How are you influenced by the music you listen to?
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Badly influenced I am lisening to Opeth right now and do you know what he just said:
"The silence of your seclusion
Brings night into all you say"
yeah I don't know what it means either, music is just good to listen to for kicks . I listen to the most depressing stuff and can feel totally happy and when I am depressed I listen to Amy Winehouse because I like her cool jazzy lyrics and soulful voice. Non of my friends listen to the same stuff I do and thats ok I don't think it has changed me at all.
Definitely, I think most popular music sometimes wont be as meaningful and profound as other ones...
But yeah, i think every genre of music has an effect of your life...
IF you let it.
My music serves three purposes; letting me know that I am not alone, enhancing my mood (whatever it may be), and making me think. When I feel like no one else in the world knows what I'm going through, along comes a song that expresses it more beautifully than anything I could say. When I'm thrillingly happy, the right song makes it even better, and when I'm completely depressed, the right song (or wrong song, if you choose to look at it that way) makes it worse. Most importantly, a song can change my entire outlook on something. The line that speaks to me more than most others is "Nothing's gonna change my world", from the wonderful Beatles song Across the Universe.
Take a minute and think about that. Think about the certainty and security of the statement: nothing, no person or thing or event, is going to change my world.
Music speaks to you, and I think, though it may make you think about things, it reflects who you are as a person more than changing you.
I see music as a passage, the past inspires- the present- inspires the future, a connection between beings through auditory channels, yes, and thats all it takes. musicians inspire others the way they, themselves have also been inspired, an endless and beautiful cycle.
personally, music is more dear to me than life itself, being that it presents me with the spiritual guidance to explore all that life has to offer, otherwise, it's just not worth the struggle. I indulge in a vast spectrum of genres from Classical to Metal to Indie Pop. there is not one sound that would refuse to hear, not ONE artist that i would refuse to admire for taking steps towards expressing themselves as well as influencing others in the process.
Music COMPLETELY affects who we are, and how we percieve the world around us. But I would argue that it is only within the moment that this happens. I see it in myself, when I'm listening to my iPod and something really happy and upbeat comes on, i'm INSTANTLY happy. But if i'm rocking out to some sad indie music, i'm totally wallowing in my sorrow. I think that there's nothing wrong with either of these, but it's important to realize that it's just in the moment. It's when they linger that it can be detrimental.
My music choices have influence on my mood, which in turn influences my music choices and this begins the cycle. I know that music and soul are connected, at least for me. I know that I listen to most bands/artists with my ears, yet there are some...well, I always tell friends and family, this band/artist sings to my soul. I don't just listen, I feel it. I know that music can lift me up, make me hyper, drive faster or it can bring me down, make me mellow and leave me crying...I just know that I couldn't live without it.
I would say I'm minimally influenced; my favorite bands all consist of very politically - liberal lyrics, yet I'm a conservative republican and I'm very solid with my beliefs. Although you would think the type of rock I listen to would also affect the way I dress, it doesn't. If it did, I'd more than likely have multi-colored hair along with a few piercings. Yet I dress in soccer shorts and non-fitted t-shirts because it's what I'm comfortable in. I listen to what I want at whatever time it is.
Personally, I am not extremely affected by the music I listen to, other than the fact that my music choice is a small part of my identity, just like it is with everyone else. But sometimes it can affect my mood. It will get me pumped up to exercise or play sports, or sometimes it will make me a little bit sad, but not for long. But unfortunately there is no alternate-me that listen's to different music, so I have nothing to compare myself to. But I think for some people, maybe me also, who knows, it affects how they speak and interact with other people. It would be interesting to see a study on this.
I think music has a great influence on our life, especially in the now. Sometimes when I am just in my room listen to music off of iTunes of something, rather its heavy techno or rap; I feel the song on every level of myself. I hum the tune and sometimes sing to it, even when I don’t know the words. In that moment the song almost has control of me, causing me to dance or sing or laugh, or even feel depressed. Music is powerful; it can move a person, a crowd or even country! Star Strangled Banner. And that’s why we should probably be careful. When I find myself in a bad mood I got to put something edifying to my soul, and then I find happiness. For me, that good, edifying music is Christian music. It’s always in a good mood and makes me think about life and others, getting me focus off of me! But if we are in that bad mood and do otherwise by putting depressing music on, or mad, angry music; it will build up our own angry and make us more depressed. Music has power!
the music depends on how you feel like if i'm really sad about something i listen to evanescence if mad three days grace if normal anything tegan and sara , rihanna ,snoop dog stuff like that !!!!
i think the music i listen to helps me get through day to day life. i use it as an assurance that i am not alone and others speak the similar thoughts that go through my mind. there seems to be a song that can relate to almost any situation. To me it is finding that song and listening to it and most of all enjoying it.
it also helps in my life as a connection tool. it aids me open up to others through a song. many times we will say something that suddenly links to lyrics of a song and end up singing it together.
to an extent it can show our identity but only slightly. our we appear and feel are often two different ends of the spectrum. i use music to express that inner me without having to say it in my own words.
Music is the art of the muses: It is inspiring and thought-provoking to those who bother to actively listen to it and revel in it.
I think the intensity of musical form in a person's favorite music has the greatest effect on how a person thinks. Why do you think metalheads and classical fans aren't too far off? They're often very level-headed and ready for unexpected situations. Their music presents them with unsurprising, yet unexpected parts around every bend. At their best, both classical and metal often tend to feature very organized and sophisticated compositional structures -- A far cry from the plastic molding of verse-chorus rock and pop, and the rhythm based chants of hip-hop -- which are both, arguably, lyric-guided songs, and the lyrics tend not to give the music itself a chance to flourish.
But that's a given with art where money seems to be the sole motivation for the artist.
(There's also plenty of ambient and electronica artists whose music is as well off, if not better than music from metal and classical artists, but that's a story for another time)
honestly, i think music plays a huge part in the development of who we are. for me at least, the music i listen tends to define what type of person i am the best. lets just test this, i am going to list the types of music that speak to me, and try to see if you can imagine what i look like. shoot me a response if you would like :)
i PRIMARILY listen to indie rock, with a mix of chill infusion, and never miss a good opportunity to listen to the dead or jimi. but that never means i dont like to rock out to some metal once in awhile. i have a side to me that loves gangster rap like notorious big and swollen members. and i have a secret guilty pleasure of your emo rock like mayday parade. all of this music defines who i am and the sides to my personality.
my guess is that you have a clear perseption of who i am right now. am i wrong?
Music flips my happy switch... I can be in the worst of moods and flip on some Michael Buble, Rent, Journey, Deftones, Mozart, Jay-Z, whatever and instantly be brighter.
Of course, if I am a bit depressed, the emo music helps me work some issues out; when I am happy, singing along with musicals keeps me going; and crooning along with some jazzy oldies gets me going whenever. The type of music can definitely pertain to the mood.
Usually music has a following functions to people:
1. It tells you what to do, and how to act
2. It tells you to take the lesson by listening to story based music.
For example today my girlfriend came to my home and after a long relationship everything became boring and there hasn't left something new. And turned on my computer and listened to music of Lionel Richie - Hello, All of a sudden i turned into a romantic mood and told sweet things to my girlfriend and she is so happy now. Generally speaking music can influence me at the moment when i am listening to it or it can keep its influence for couple of minutes but after a while music loses its influence and i come down from the space to the ground.
I think it can influence me but whenever I want it. it just can fill the silences that I hate( silences which kept my energies).
music even can transform me but when it is adopted to my characteristics & ways.
it is tones which influence me not the words.
I'm not influenced by the music I listen to so much as the music I listen to is influenced by me. I detest artists that I used to love. A genre I wouldn't touch one day could be my favourite the next. I am a person in constant flux, and my taste in music changes to match.
It might change me in some small ways, or maybe even some large ways, but it is my understanding that I change it more than it changes me.
Music is such and important part of my life. I am certainly affected by all types of music in different ways, but I dont think I am really influenced by it.
Music affects me so strongly that I have had to "ban" certain well loved pieces and artists from myself because they have made me feel so sad inside that I have actually cut myself or contemplated hurting myself in other ways because after listening so much, my emotions have been so stirred that a physiological response has been evoked.
this is how it usually works for me. a song with positive lyrics motivates me. a song with negative lyrics energizes me. a song with sad lyrics affects me. and a song about nonsense just makes me laugh, therefore i feel happier. when it comes to the music itself, that just enables the mood i'm in.
so is it the music or lyrics that affect people?
Nina Simone's, "Do I Move You?" says it all. Also Esperanza Spalding's, "Ponte de Areia" is mesmerizing. Anything and everything I have heard from Andrew Bird makes me reassess what i value in life.
Incredibly! I cry if I'm listening to sad music or I rejoice if I'm listening to empowering stuff... it really impacts me. I think that if my soul were to be physically manifested, mine would pulse along to whatever I was listening to.
I'm influenced by the music i listen to, but also the music i listen to is influenced by my moods! Sometimes the music i'm listening to can change my mood, but if i'm feeling good, i'll put happy music, and carry on feeling good! If i listen to aggressive music, it does make you feel a little more aggressive, gets the adrenaline going, i reckon it can lead to violence too, think of lots of people feeling the same, it probably gonna cause some kind of clash! I'd like to think most of us can control these kind of feelings avoiding trouble though. Very powerful stuff music is!!
I firmly believe that each individual is influenced by the music they listen to, whether they know it or not. Peoples' appearances seem to reflect the genre of music that they typically listen to. The music helps them to cope with problems they have, so it also influences them emotionally. I know I find sanctuary within lyrics of my favorite songs. The words and music have more power over us than we know.
I think that music has a powerful capability to influence those who listen to it, especially those who are more inclined towards the arts in general. Aside from the basic enjoyment of listening to and creating music, it has the potential to become a deeply personal and valuable part of a person's self-identity. When we allow music to hold such a deeply rooted connection to ourselves personally, it's hard for it not to be able to influence us. If you're like me, it's very likely that your day will be somewhat connected to the rhythm, key, and tempo of the playlist you've selected from your iPod during the commute... Beware of minor key signatures...
this is a blog that i shared with some of my friends as a joke
but one day i was really in a musing mood so i wrote this:
http://thongblong.blogspot.com/
Absolutly! For me music is such a huge part of my life that it couldn't not influence me. It can make me sad or happy or it can even make we want to change something. Music is such a huge inspiration in so many people life I think it wouldn't make sense if someone said that it didn't change or influnence them. Even if it is just a little bit.
Well, I'm going to preface my response by saying that I am not influenced by anyone or anything that I don't ALLOW myself to be influenced by. That said, I usually listen to music for influence. There are a handful of songs that influenced me to the point of completely changing my life for the better. I would never allow music to inspire me to do anything harmful to others or myself. But I can sure see how some folks would use songs as permission givers to aid them in their misdeeds.
be it something i do, somewhere i go, an event that takes place or somebody i know, there's always a piece of music that will be associated to it..and it brings back all the emotions and memories that comes with it, i call it my traveling back in time tool!
music makes me feel connected to the world, and to me its a universal language where it doesn't matter if you understand the words or not, its the spirit of the music that we all feel connected to...
music is special to every one in their own personal way... but i guess everybody might agree with me that it lifts our soul to heights we never thought possible!
I agree with everyone that music is a powerful way of expression. But instead of thinking of how we are influenced by the music. We are also influencing the type of music that is being aired on the radios. Music has slowly evolved into a mega industry. And I think beyond reflecting our personal days or childhood moments, music also has the capacity to reflect historical events and societal progression. Music is the history, the present, and possibly and indicator for the future...
Music, to me is a way of life. I ALWAYS have a song in my head. And I have a song or artist/band associated with everyone I know.
Music has the power to make us feel. To express things that may be beyond words. To help us cope with life. To bring us back to times past. Make us cry, laugh, love more intensely, or just feel something.
Music is just such a powerful force in my life, I'd rather go blind than go deaf.
Music is, in the most simplistic of terms, something I can't live without. Literally, I could probably go about my day-to-day routine without hearing one physical note, but that never works, because there is a constant turntable in my head. I assemble my own soundtrack to life as the events of each day unfold. That's what happens when parents decide to stick you in a music program because you can't play sports or whatever else: it never leaves. I can't describe myself without putting music at the beginning of the list.
I use music as an insturment to express the way I am feeling. Music doens't make me sad when I am sad. Music expresses my sadness when the tears get stuck. I use music to express my joy, since I cannot get "chill bumps" on demand, music gives them to me; they even tingle on the top of my head, and it brings me great joy. Without music I would not feel ----- anything. Without music I would be claustrophobic.
Music for me is an integral part of my everyday living. I had the iPod shuffle I ordered online with a personal inscription: Dream. Breathe. Live. Listen. All music I've heard in my life is stored in my consciousness and any particular tune can enter my thoughts without warning, but It's just something that's part of me. Music in all its forms is life and living.
I think without music that life wouldn't be life. Every time I hear a song that I liked from the past it takes me right back to that time, and it's always the good stuff.
If I hear Miles Davis... SIA, Bjork, MF DOOM, and Yesterdays New Quintet. I must paint something.
Music is a drug for the ears. Find some you like and then you can't get enough.
Music is my life. I love music. I am music. Music is universal and it has the power to bring people together. Through music, we will all find peace. Music will save the world.
Im not sure if we are influence by the music, or if the music is influenced by us. I mean the music wouldnt exist the way it is now if we didn't ask for it. everything from our friends to clothes have some influence to the music we listen to. whether its the tiniest thing, or your entire life, music shapes us.
http://mikereinhart519.blogspot.com/
music definitely influences the way I act. That's probably why depending on my mood or situation I'll skip through my shuffle like crazy and then finally find something satisfying. Or if I'm in workout mode it has definitely has to get me running.
Music is so powerful to me. It is uplifting, spiritual and cathartic. It helps me become a better person and move (pun intended) through life. It gives movement to my grief and my joy, helping me cherish and love them both: Music helps me make friends with my bones.
Music makes my ordinary life into something extraordinary. It makes it the movie adventure that I've always wanted, it lets me have a soundtrack, it helps me concentrate, helps me create. AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO DANCE
I love music, period. Every time I am on the internet, my Pandora is pulled up along with it. I listen to ranges of rock: Coldplay or Death Cab when I'm feeling it and so on... When I am in my friend's cars it gets me hyped up for whatever we're doing or some stuff makes me feel like dancing. Music influences me, but my mood chooses it in the first place. I'm not the type to never be away from my iPod, but I seriously would ache inside if I were deaf and could not be with music for the rest of my life. Music inspires me to be fun and especially happy.
It may be an unpopular stance, but I maintain that whatever we take into us, becomes a part of us. Things we partake of often, increasingly become a part of us. Garbage in, garbage out. One may not go "bust a cap in someone's ass" a day, week, or even years after regularly partaking of leisure suggesting it is a valid or even justified option. But I would maintain that at the very least even a strong person would become desensitized to it to some degree: whether simply becoming more tolerant to others doing it or actually considering doing oneself in a time of mounting anxiety or frustration (say, losing a job).
My personal view, probably bound to raise objections, is that what we take into us becomes a part of us: and that for our leisure we tend to "reward" ourselves with what we feel we "deserve".
It would seem that many of us increasingly feel we "deserve" violence, aggression, crime, backstabbing, unfaithfulness. It's what an alarming percentage of our "popular entertainment" is based on.
And have we really looked around lately to see what our world is becoming?
I just don't work without music. It speaks to me in ways that very few mediums do. I don't know why I workout harder when I hear the Ting Tings, or why Soko makes me giggle and wiggle, or why Vivaldi makes me cry. There's the old adage in musical theater that song breaks forth when characters run out of words. And I feel that way too. I feel like music has the ability to speak to the unspoken things within me. So while I don't have 99 problems or subsequent bitches, I connect to the emotion in the song.
Music has a huge influence in my life. There are certain types of music that are the only relief I can find for physical pain. No amount of Excedrin can help a bad migraine like some songs can. I'm sure I'd never be able to clean the house so thoroughly or so fast if I didn't have music to help. Music gives me comfort, entertainment, variety, movement, inspiration, solitude, expression, upliftment and connection with other people.
Music definitely influences us- our creativity, our moods, our emotions. How many times have you been in a difficult or maybe a happy situation and one song comes on the radio and you totally bust out crying or dancing because it was just enough to push us over the edge? What else in the world can do that to us every time?
Music has a great impact on our lives because we can all relate to it somehow. It's the universal language. We don't have to know what it says to know how it makes us feel when we hear it.
@Jordantastic
I agree with the fact that music, movies, etc. do not make people do things. Someone has to have the desire or ability to do the action before listening to the music in order to be able to carry it out. However, I do believe that people are affected by music. It can change your mood, your view, it's something that you can feel and relate to. It doesn't even need to be the lyrics, the music itself can definitely make you feel a certain way which will in turn, can make you act or think a certain way.
I've realized that while I'm listening to music it definitely affects my thoughts, views, and actions. Driving in the car, if I'm listening to heavier, blood-pumping music I tend to speed more than I would if I were listening to calm, makes-you-think music. I also found that when I was spending a lot of time with a particular friend who liked to listen to rap, my thoughts and even my words began to change a little bit the more I listened to it. Music is something that goes to the deepest part of you and whether we like it or not, or even realize it or not, it affects who we are. Or maybe it's who we are that affects what kind of music we listen to? Our moods, recent decisions, location, etc.?
To be honest, i dont listen to the lyrics, i jst like the music
but i don't think songs really effect people that much
but i dont know EVERYONE so i am just guessing
actually one song did get me through a VERY rough point in my life
it was So I Thought by Flyleaf
Music is my life, and I listen to almost everything. From my experience, while music is capable of doing many things (for example, helping accentuate a certain mood I am feeling, or bringing back memories from an earlier time in my life), I don't believe and I have never seen evidence of music influencing individuals to do certain actions such as committing crimes or acts of violence, which is a concern of many a person.
It is the same with movies and tv shows and video games (and I believe there is even less of a concern with music); while there might be the individual who watches The Matrix and then goes and gets a trenchcoat and shoots up his school, this is not commonplace. Most people are smart enough not to do absolutely everything they see or hear in the media.
When I listen to song lyrics, I don't take them seriously, and (at least I hope) neither do the artists. I suppose I am thinking mostly along the lines of rap music - this is the area of biggest concern it seems like.
Anyways, all of this is to say,
the most that music has ever made me do is dance.
I listen to everything, rock, disco, rap, old 50's music and everything has a different meaning. Some good, some bad, some comforting, some unnerving. On a hot sunny day I like to drop the top on the car and listen to whatever comes on, usually my speed in the car changes with the beat of the music.
Too many factors to consider here... I think it's only fair to say that it affects everyone differently.
Kind of off the topic, but a few years ago I was watching one of those music documentaries and it covered the legal battle over Judas Priest supposedly telling kids to kill themselves via subliminal messages in their songs.
A short time later, I was pulled over for going roughly ten miles-per-hour over the posted limit. I went to court to argue my case and told the judge that it was not my fault, as at the time of the alleged crime, I was listening to "Radar Love" by Golden Earring and the subliminal messages in the song told me to drive my car extremely fast, as it was the only way for me to get to work on time.
The judge told me I was full of crap and that it wasn't a valid excuse, so I told him I'd like to change my plea to Guilty By Reason Of Insanity. He told me that anybody who would rather claim insanity than to pay a $56 ticket must really be insane, and so he dismissed the ticket. I didn't have to pay the $56 and the ticket never made it onto my driving record.
From that day on, I always drive with a burnt CD with songs containing subliminal messages for any situation, from "Radar Love" to "Take The Money And Run" to "Hey Joe".
Music scares me and excites me.
Highly complex poly rhythm excites me..gets my brain racing and creativity explodes.
The constant beat of industrial or techno influences me to take hallucinogenics. :)
I don't listen much to the radio...Drowny music makes me feel as if my heart is slowing down. Scares me..
Violent lyrical music was my thing for awhile...but I was way too temperamental.
Especially when it was just bland babble about their own shortcomings.
I can safely say though that the music I listen to now influences me to live above any bullshit and maintain a positive attitude and to turn on, tune in, drop out. ;)
My iPod Shuffle is my daily salvation. When I first got it and used it continously, it was like an IV of pure adrenaline coursing through my system; motivating me through my workday.
Now, I use it as a barrier between me and the noisy, intrusive, distracting world. I need to stay focused, and my blessed iPod helps me to achieve that. It is especially effective at filtering out the occasional crass comments from male humanoids in the general public.
"What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" -- Best line ever, pretty much sums it up, and it's also why I love High Fidelity so much....
@jbarnofski I think it's the second, although studies of students who listen to classical while studying have show that certain types of music can improve your ability to take in information. I don't think it makes you smarter, but rather helps you concentrate and perhaps even retain information.
Also, here is an interesting study that correlates data on students' SAT scores vs. the music that they listen to (which could lead one to think that 1) either Beethoven makes you really smart or 2) the smart kids just naturally gravitate away from bands such as Lil' Wayne and Beyonce.)
http://thegrip.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/sat-scores-vs-music-you-listen-to/
I feel like this is the kind of discussion that can go in circles, much like the chicken vs. egg conundrum. Are you influenced by the music you listen to? Or do you listen to particular music based on your psychological/emotional make-up?
If you listen to diverse music, would you be an open or diverse-tasted person without music, but it happens to exacerbate your tastes by providing more options? If you're into one type of music, like let's say rap, does this mean that you only like this type because the meter and lyrics reflect your lifestyle and you don't have interest to explore other options?
Personally, I think it's a little bit of both, but I think it starts with your personality driving one to be open to particular styles of music before the music can further influence one's state of mind.
Music is everything to me- and I'd have to say it did influence me. Before I found God and was a total mess, it did make me a violent ugly person (hip-hop) but I think that's also because that's just who I was. I didn't know any better, and if I did see the damage it caused I'd ignore it and blame on an external source outside of my lifestyle.
I honestly wont even listen to the radio anymore I havent for 2 weeks and I think it's making my own music better (I rap and sing r&b) because I don't care what's the latest in society, what everybody else thinks is cool. I think the fact that we have so many love songs on the radio is annoying enough- young girls that listen to this can feel alone young, feel like they need someone (when they really need to figure out who they are and mature) and it can promote many things like anxiety, low self esteem, a boy crazy freak, or promiscuity.
So when I listen to any love song now I picture them talking about God and the song is way more fulfilling (I'm single so maybe that's why too lol)
Now I am totally hip-hop, and will always be, because it falls in line with everything I've gone through but I refuse to rap angry stuff like I used to, I am so over it. Now it's about womans need for respect, God's need for attention and are need of Him, everyday life and how I handle it, etc... things that arent violent and ugly. Maybe I can help turn Hip-hop on a new leaf or give another point of view of a girl that "dun dun it all" and failed, happily to find true life.
BTW My friends hate me for not playing the radio, ever. lol Thats why I put on Gogo or Raggae.
Music is a HUGE part of my life, and when I say I listen to all kinds of music, I mean ALL kinds. Everything from opera to rap to metal and everything in-between. One thing I have noticed is that the music I choose to listen to throughout the day affects my demeanor. I cut out all heavy-metal and hip-hop from my listening for nearly six months and people began to tell me that they noticed a huge improvement in my attitude and personality. I'm back to listening to metal and hip-hop, but I am now a lot more careful about what I listen to within those genres.
my taste in music is very diverse. it goes from 50's, to snoopdogg's 'pump pump' (great song) and might i add lil'wayne's a milli? and from beethoven, edith piaf to david bowie and bb king. i can handle anything exept trance/dance/hardcore/metal
i think it does touch our lives because it can really express the mood your in. it's a feeling you can relate with.
but dont get to hung up on the lyrics, they can be really meaningfull to you but also can be not relevant. when i hear bb king about " i gave you seven children and now you want to give m back" i can sing it with all of my heart, but it has no relevance to me personally ;)
My MacBook Pro wakes me up every morning with music from my iTunes. Trouble is, sometimes it's so beautiful that I go back to sleep! Right now it's set to play Hayley Westenra's PURE -love that Maori music in particular. Then I have this iTouch to listen to while I'm working in the yard -sure makes the work more pleasant. Only yesterday the headphones I was wearing over my ear buds for noise protection from the lawn mower kept slipping off cause I was so slippery from sweating! We had a Baha'i meeting a few days ago with music performed by local talent -guitar, voice, viola, conga -that really uplifted everybody. Music, a stairway to heaven.
I love getting lost in the music when I am jamming my favorite tunes, and they run the gamut of all genres and all tempos. I think the danger in that, however, is getting too caught up in "feeling cool" or thinking my music is better than yours. It's an easy trap to fall into, but when we are really digging our music, finding new things, loving it, we can think we are so much better than other people. It can start with something as simple as music, but it can lead to feelings of superiority.
In a less negative sense, I am influenced by my music all the time, particularly in mood. In a random shuffle of songs of all different emotional values, I can feel each one in a row, as my mood constantly changes. This is quite odd, and I don't think anything other than music can cause that sensation as quickly and realistically.
I've ALWAYS had an eclectic taste in music. Everything from Johnny Cash, to Miles Davis, to Lady GaGa to the Grateful Dead. I like to listen to a lot of different things, but I don't think that makes people look at me differently, or make me look at myself differently. Most of the people around me feel this way also.
Well, I tend to stay away from rap music ( not that there is anything wrong with it, that's only my personal opinion) I enjoy listening to The Killers. Their lyrics are amazing. They ALWAYS make me look at things differently, and if you just read the lyrics, they could have so many different meanings! Also If you haven't heard of "Owl City" you should listen to them as well. Same effect, but lesser in my opinon.
I'm not sure I would say influenced, but music definitely can put you in a completely different frame of mind, for good or bad. Music should make you think or remember something from your past. Not just produce noise.
Certain music/songs can physically cause me to have a pit on my stomach, make tears pour out of my eyes or hit the gas pedal, hard. This can happen on the way home with my kids in the car, so I have to snap out of it these days.
I can't go where I used to go with music at this point in my life, but by god I can get a bit of the old feelings the instant I hear a song that takes me back to a certain place. The sound of Stevie Nicks voice can literally stop me in my tracks.
Driving the other day (alone) Green Day's "Basket Case" came on the radio and I found myself scream/singing at the top of my lungs, called my old friend Glenn who it reminded me of and held my phone up to the speakers and left it on his voicemail, took a wrong turn on an Atlanta road (that's not a safe one) and for once I said fuck it, and drove on.
All because of the song. Glenn, incidentally, did not call me back.
i really feel what eric33190 is saying, but against better judgment (perhaps), i will try to talk about it verbally, but probably still pretty vaguely.
i am profoundly affected by the music i listen to, and for this reason i try to be pretty selective in my selection and be mindful of the context. I'm also mildly synesthetic, and that needs to be taken into account as well (ie, i love Nels Cline and think he's brilliant, but i can't listen to much of his solo/non-Scarnella-or-Wilco work in the car without fear of a wreck).
So, when i am at work and NOT on the phone (i'm in web sales), i can listen to crescendo-core and instrumental stuff like Mogwai and Polvo and really get into the zone. But that's not true active listening. on the other end of the spectrum, when i get a new record, i love to lay in the floor (pref with headphones) in the dark, and just let the music really penetrate the moment.
But the question was how does it affect me.
Rock and Roll makes me feel alive.
Avant Garde Jazz and incidental music make me contemplative.
Romantic music (like Debussy) makes me reflective.
R&B and Jazz make me feel cheeky.
Gangsta Rap makes me feel like a voyeur and very old.
Creating and playing music is meditative.
Folk music and Hymns make me feel connected.
thanks, Mr Wilson. this was a nice thing to wake up and think about!
Music , to me isnt my whole life but without it i wouldnt be able to live.
It affects my mood generally , and it helps me get over myself when im pissed off so , i enjoy it's "company"
lol, But mostly , i enjoy the fact that Music and books have the ability to soothe the lion within , and that's something my closest friends couldn't do.
Music is amazing. I'm not sure what our music choices say about us, but I definitely believe it affects us in profound ways.
Why is it that you can like some songs for a while then get sick of them, but other songs you could listen to over and over again? Perhaps this is what says the most about us.
Whatever the case, I do think it must be a conditional situation. I think it's only natural for people to like different music at different times of day, different phases of their life, etc.
Now those songs with hidden subliminal messages on the other hand...
I have a love/hate relationship with music. I don't listen to music much right now because it affects me so. I feel most alive when I'm on stage singing in front of an audience and really connecting with them through the lyrics and the music and just the whole "vibe". There is nothing like it when my voice and the music and the audience's energy all line up in harmony and it feels like the music is being lifted to the ceiling. But I don't get to do that on a regular basis any more and it hurts. Sometimes hearing a song that I used to cover will touch me deeply and make me sad. Other times it will trigger a memory and make me giddy! But it always creates a longing in me that I can't satisfy. Yes, it is kind of sad, but it's where I am in my life right now. It's just a "phase" and I'm sure that soon I'll find an outlet. I'm an optimist!!!
I do have several Pandora stations that I listen to while I work - either at my husband's office or at home. My favorite lately is the "Erasure" station. I love happy, bouncy poppy music with substance. For me, Erasure fits the bill. One of my other favorite stations is my Dick Dale station. That'll get me going! Especially when I'm cleaning the house!
And then there's Sting. He and Annie Lennox are my music idols. They are not boxed in by any one genre. They write from the heart and from the intellect. I am always amazed by their work. Their words coupled with their voices can take me to emotions that I never knew could be touched.
I have recently (at age 41) started writing completely original songs. Up until now I've either just had a bit of influence over mostly written originals, or I've written parody lyrics to well known songs for a local comedy group (that's actually a blast!). It's very freeing to express emotion and let go of words in that way. I'm really enjoying it.
I'm not sure that I've really answered the question, but I've sure put down a lot of my random thoughts about music! (And this is my first comment on Soul Pancake. I'm looking forward to more.)
music, for me, does things that I could never explain in a blog comment, or verbally at all... flat out the feelings it causes me are just fully unexplainable.
Music is HUGE for me, not just in my enjoyment of it, but I work in the music business as well. We literally have thousands and thousands of CDs in our house, my husband has stacks of vinyl in storage and I’m surrounded by music all day long.
Music definitely sets the tone for me and what I’m doing. I have favourite road trip albums, work albums, getting ready to go out albums, all of which bolster my mood and create an environment. Music can also make us more productive, but especially so for people with AD(H)D, as it’s believed to engage the part of the brain that wants to be doing cartwheels instead of concentrating.
As for what music says about a person, it can identify someone as part of a subculture, or very mainstream, but I believe the more varied the musical taste someone has the more curious and interested in the world they tend to be. Music tells peoples stories and gives the listeners something to identify with. My tastes range from post-punk, 50s and 60’s R&B and soul, country blues, alt. country, gospel, lo-fi, garage, indie and straight up rock and roll. I’m constantly surrounded by stacks of CDs and am often like a kid in a candy store that can’t decide what to shovel in its mouth first
i don't know if music alters my mood, but my mood definitely determines the music i listen to. i listen to different artists depending on how i'm feeling that day i.e. today i'm feeling very calm and serene so i've been listening to David Crowder and Jack Johnson...yesterday i was having a bad day so i listened to more happier music/dancy music...the day before i was feeling down and depressed so i listened to more hard rock...
Having met my formative years during the "grunge" period, I have a penchant for really hard rock, flannel, loose jeans, screaming, and darkness. It works for me - I'm relatively happy that way. Like most teenagers I learned to express myself using other people's music, and I'm not ashamed of that. Nowadays, I tend to choose my music based on the mood I already have goin' on. Today, Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape. Ahhh...
I've got a Pandora "David Crowder" feed that streams what appears to be the latest/greatest worship tunes...and I've found that if I keep that playing when work is crazy, it doesn't all seem quite as crazy anymore. On the flip side, I used to have RHCP's "Blood Sugar Sex Magic"...and my wife told me that she could tell when I'd been listening to it cuz I'd start using a lot more profanity. It went in the garbage. Profanity is lazy-man's language.
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Really well written music, like music by The Soldier Thread, one of my favorite bands ever, makes me want to live life to the fullest. It's the feeling I get when I play "Run Run" or "Cannons" or "Make Believe" really loud in the car with the windows down, like nothing can bring me down. It makes me live a fuller life.