Poll: Why do you listen to the music you have?

[Qwurty2.0]

I was curious about the reasons people listen to the music they like. Do you listen because it has personal meaning to you? Do you listen because it brings back memories of better times? Or do you simply listen to it because it sounds good?

I often listen to the music I do because of how it sounds. If I am sad, I listen to music that sounds sad. If I am angry, I listen to some heavy metal. If I am relaxed, I listen to music that calms me. You get the idea.

Often times I dont even learn the lyrics or "message" of the song until some time later, which has resulted in some awkward "Defaq am I listening to O.O" moments, lol!

(Apologies if some options seem to overlap.)

 

[Tiger King]

the songs on my iPod are there because they give me a lift or remind me of good times or sometimes sad times that make me reflect.

to be honest I don't listen to music unless I'm drunk (in which case I throw on some nostalgic tunes) or at the gym.

Sigh I used to love music

 

[DugMachine]

Variety of reasons. My music usually matches my mood but I still enjoy it more than anything. I won't just put a "sad" station on Pandora and leave it at that. It's got to be music I personally enjoy listening to. Even if it's depressing.

And if the song makes me tap my foot, bob my head you best believe I'm adding it in my library. I enjoy dancing, even if it's by myself.

 

[Artina89]

There are a variety of reasons why I listen to the music I do. Sometimes it is to remind me of good times and/or if I am feeling nostalgic, other times it is because the song sticks in my head and I enjoy listening to the rhythm and the beat of it.

 

[shrekfan246]

I think this will give you the answers you seek:

It's a little bit of them all, for me. I like listening and examining, pulling apart the pieces and focusing on specific bits like the vocals or guitars. There are a lot of songs I like for the nostalgic factor of growing up with them. There are a lot of songs I listen to depending on the mood I'm in.

There's no singular reason beyond "I enjoy it", which is about as vague a response as you could make on a topic such as this.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I just like how shit sounds I guess. I have a LOT of game and anime soundtracks, I think I would have more slightly more songs in Japanese than English if I went and counted. I have primarily instrumentals with no words at all though

Hey, sometimes you just want to drop Shinsou on permanent repeat while you're playing League so all the pro plays can be tagged "Astral Finish!" in your mind. It works, trust me. I'm not weird I swear!

Anyone who has played Extend will understand that if see a chance for some risky tower dive and the song ticks into the chorus you're damn right i'm diving that!

I have fuck all depressing songs. I have some of the melancholy ones from the Persona 4 soundtrack and that's about it.

Really I have one big League soundtrack instead of an iTunes library. The few pieces of dubstep adds some much needed volume too :3

I DID have a proper library but my old laptop went and died on me and I lost ALL my data. Spent the first few days downloading everything I could remember since the Cloud thing remembers fuck all.

 

[omega 616]

I like the music I like 'cos it would make good AMV songs.

You know those fucking annoying AMV's on youtube, some metal/heavy rock song over anime fights? I like them songs. They are just good for getting you going, not getting you hyped to punch somebody but give you a kick in the pants to wake you up.

The groups I have on my phone (which I use to listen to music on) are Rob Zombie, Blue Stahli, Disturbed, Dope, Drowning pool, Godsmack, Hatebreed, Linkin Park, Mushroomhead, Rammstein, Saliva, Seether, Slipknot, Soil and Theory of a deadman.

I do go through phases though, like I haven't listened to linkin park in a year or 2 but one day I will get sick of drowning pool (which I am listening to constantly at the moment) and go on a linkin park rampage for 4 months. Been on a drowning pool kick for 4 months now, same 3 albums over and over again.

I walk about 2 miles every other day and that is like 2 albums worth of music.

 

[capper42]

I walk about 2 miles every other day and that is like 2 albums worth of music.

Either those are very short albums, or you walk incredibly slowly.

OT: I have no idea, I guess it's a combination of everything. I guess most of the music I really like I just think sounds good, a combination of beat, melody, nice sounding vocals etc. Some songs I will like because the lyrics are thought provoking or witty. Other songs I'll like because of nostalgia.

 

[SuperFrankieLampard]

I think there's a lot to be said regarding external influences. When I was at secondary school I guess I was one of the more 'indy' crew and listened nearly exclusively to rock. However since having come to university and partying and such a lot more I find that I still like rock, but listen to a lot more pop, dance, rap, r&b and such.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Why do you listen to the music you have?

Because I can't listen to the music I don't have...?

But I sort of understand what you mean. I have albums which, regardless of genre, I just consider generic time-wasting filler. In a good way. I mean, I can listen to them regardless of mood.
I have a few albums I listen to when I'm saddened, and for simple background noise I tend to use ASMR videos off've the Youtube.
Got a few tracks I listen to almost-exclusively when I'm massively drunk.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I don't listen to the music. I FEEL the music. The speed, the rush, it makes me feel alive. Music moves me like it is a part of me, like the blood running through your veins.

 

[DanielBrown]

When I was 12 I borrowed a CD from a friend during a school trip. The CD was Brave New World by Iron Maiden and it was my first experience with metal. Blew me away and I've been in love with the genre ever since. Recently listened to that CD again after probably eight years and I still remembered every single word. Nostalgia <3
These days I listen a lot more to Swedish trallpunk(melodic, up beat punk with depressing lyrics), but metal is still a huge part of my life.

What struck me was the feel of the music. Amazing instrumental work and you can tell they put a lot of effort into the music. The lyrics aren't very important to me when it comes to metal though.

 

[omega 616]

I walk about 2 miles every other day and that is like 2 albums worth of music.

Either those are very short albums, or you walk incredibly slowly.

OT: I have no idea, I guess it's a combination of everything. I guess most of the music I really like I just think sounds good, a combination of beat, melody, nice sounding vocals etc. Some songs I will like because the lyrics are thought provoking or witty. Other songs I'll like because of nostalgia.

Sorry my walking speed isn't impressive enough.

How fast do you walk? 'cos I'm thinking 1 mile in about 15-30 minutes is ok.

 

[capper42]

I walk about 2 miles every other day and that is like 2 albums worth of music.

Either those are very short albums, or you walk incredibly slowly.

OT: I have no idea, I guess it's a combination of everything. I guess most of the music I really like I just think sounds good, a combination of beat, melody, nice sounding vocals etc. Some songs I will like because the lyrics are thought provoking or witty. Other songs I'll like because of nostalgia.

Sorry my walking speed isn't impressive enough.

How fast do you walk? 'cos I'm thinking 1 mile in about 15-30 minutes is ok.

It wasn't meant as a dig, sorry if I offended.

I'd say 15-30 is about average, I walk about 3 and a half miles to uni and that takes pretty much dead on an hour, and I'm not exactly a speed walker. I'm just surprised you can listen to two albums in that time.

 

[AkaDad]

I think I enjoy it the only answer that makes sense. Would you listen to music you didn't enjoy?

To me, lyrics are the least important part of music. I'm an Atheist and I still enjoy Flyleaf and Skillet even though I can't relate at all to the lyrics.

"Run to the Hills" is an awesome song and it would still be awesome it was called Take the Red Pills, or George Foreman's Grills, or Use Power Drills.

 

[Ratties]

Find songs that are only good for one thing to be pointless. Like when everybody likes a song because it's easy to dance to. Of course there is no real meaning to the song other than it being a one hit wonder for the band that nobody will remember in a couple of years. Alot of the stuff I like paints a picture in my mind and I can imagine myself being in that situation. There usually songs that tell a story. Very much don't really care for the crap that is played on a radio station while you are at work. Lets put on music that will offend nobody and kind of put you into a drooling fog.

 

[ThreeName]

I have over 15k songs on my iPod, and they're all there for a variety of reasons. I guess polygons emotions would be the biggest reason, it feels like music elevates me to a higher state. That basically encapsulates two of your options, and of course I do like the sound of it

 

[mitchell271]

Mostly because of sound and emotion. I've been playing music nearly my entire life so that seems natural, I guess. I love metal because of the aggressive style and the absolutely crazy sounds and speeds people make but I also love swing jazz because of the great melodies and they work well for impressing a significant other if you can play them (many of which I can).

At the moment, I play guitar and cello because I like the music and it's a fun way to spend my time. The musician's appeal is just an added bonus.

 

[Blow_Pop]

I think this will give you the answers you seek:

It's a little bit of them all, for me. I like listening and examining, pulling apart the pieces and focusing on specific bits like the vocals or guitars. There are a lot of songs I like for the nostalgic factor of growing up with them. There are a lot of songs I listen to depending on the mood I'm in.

There's no singular reason beyond "I enjoy it", which is about as vague a response as you could make on a topic such as this.

all of that and I occasionally enjoy dancing and/or singing like an idiot to the stuff that I have. Most of the time however, it's just background noise.

 

[Risingblade]

It varies from song to song.