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How do you listen to music? (Mental State R)

GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
edited December 2006 in Strut Central
So, I just have to comment about HOW I listen to music lately: usually with a mindstate that I am going to use the music for DJing. Although listening in this manner makes me a more practical and skilled DJ, it has diminished the "discovery" factor that initially drew me to music. After listening in this way, I find that sometimes I am "tired" of listening to music because it's not as natural of a process--sometimes it feels forced. I wonder if people here have the same experience and what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?~gNAT

  Comments

  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    drunk
  • GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
    An exposition of folks preferred method of music intake would be interesting to hear about as well.
  • the3rdstreamthe3rdstream 1,980 Posts
    what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?




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  • pjl2000xlpjl2000xl 1,795 Posts
    I just chill out in my lil studio, smoke a lil weed, download music and throw records on while im dicking around on the internet. If i like something I make a mental note and just put it on file in my brain for later use. Then ill load it into Microwave or pack the record when i dj or sample that shit right on the spot or throw it on the ipod or pc for some personal use. I do a bunch of different applications with music so i use it however necessary.

    When im out and about though i like to listen a lot to the music going on around me. take lil notes when im in the supermarket or at work or at say the dentist. im always evaluating and analyzing music for dj, sample, personal use. i always try to really engage what i listen to and really pay attention to it. I'm neurotic about that shit. it drives my friends nuts. Im always exploring new stuff too, like different genres or real local indie shit. Just try to keep my head open and always listen to all the music around me and research stuff. Keeps it interesting and it doesn't really seem forced. If i aint into it then i just wont play anything. Ill take a little break and go read or some shit. Just disconnect from music for a little. Too much of a good thing is always a bad thing.
  • mr.brettmr.brett 678 Posts
    what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?

    Some times it's just good to step away from your computer, turn the lights off, lay on your bed and listen.
  • butterybiscuitsbutterybiscuits 300 Posts
    what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?

    Some times it's just good to step away from your computer, turn the lights off, lay on your bed and listen.

    i second that...sometimes it best to do nuthin, let the music impact you. i feel i hear things a bit differently when i got the walkman on half-asleep on the train or bus...peaceful non-analytical approach. on the otha hand, when producing, i gotta hear things in different settings, that's why i got monitors, speakers in the studio, plus a system in the living room and little crap pieces in the backyard so i can wander around and change perspective when necessary.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    So, I just have to comment about HOW I listen to music lately: usually with a mindstate that I am going to use the music for DJing. Although listening in this manner makes me a more practical and skilled DJ, it has diminished the "discovery" factor that initially drew me to music. After listening in this way, I find that sometimes I am "tired" of listening to music because it's not as natural of a process--sometimes it feels forced. I wonder if people here have the same experience and what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?

    you sort of answered your own question...it feels forced mainly because you're only listening for deejay purposes and not for pure pleasure. sounds like its starting to tell on you, if youre starting to get bored with it
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,390 Posts
    So, I just have to comment about HOW I listen to music lately: usually with a mindstate that I am going to use the music for DJing. Although listening in this manner makes me a more practical and skilled DJ, it has diminished the "discovery" factor that initially drew me to music. After listening in this way, I find that sometimes I am "tired" of listening to music because it's not as natural of a process--sometimes it feels forced. I wonder if people here have the same experience and what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?

    you sort of answered your own question...it feels forced mainly because you're only listening for deejay purposes and not for pure pleasure. sounds like its starting to tell on you, if youre starting to get bored with it



    Yeah, it gets hard to enjoy music when you listen to records and your only thought is how well this would go down in a set. Fuck a DJ crowd.
  • TabneticTabnetic 206 Posts
    what, if anything, can be done to return to a more natural listening routine?




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    thats more like it
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like I-pods and Mp3 phones have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down, put on a record/CD and listened. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool ringtone, I can listen to this new jam while I go buy my groceries, etc.....
  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like I-pods and Mp3 phones have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down, put on a record/CD and listened. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool ringtone, I can listen to this new jam while I go buy my groceries, etc.....

    Well, if you're talking about new jams, it seems a lot current music is trivial in the first place...it doesn't have the same kind of depth that music used to have.

    With a few exceptions, I've been filling my iPod with newer music I can listen to while I'm at the gym, commuting, etc. But, at home, I'm almost always listening to records (older music), that I can give my full attention to.

    I don't necessarily see either of those as a bad thing, that's just the way it is.
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like I-pods and Mp3 phones have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down, put on a record/CD and listened. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool ringtone, I can listen to this new jam while I go buy my groceries, etc.....

    Well, if you're talking about new jams, it seems a lot current music is trivial in the first place...it doesn't have the same kind of depth that music used to have.

    With a few exceptions, I've been filling my iPod with newer music I can listen to while I'm at the gym, commuting, etc. But, at home, I'm almost always listening to records (older music), that I can give my full attention to.

    I don't necessarily see either of those as a bad thing, that's just the way it is.

    Yeah, I hear you...but I bet you are in a small minority of Ipod owners that has a turntable and buys/listens to records...I mean they have sold how many millions of those things? I would bet that the numbers of hardcore/listen to vinyl at home music lovers that also have Ipods is maybe 100,000, if that...a drop in the bucket...At least 10 years ago, when a CD was made for 14 year old Becky, it was a whole album that she had to stick in her disc-man, now that you can put a bazillion songs on an Ipod, her short attention span and extensive song list allows her to listen to something else when she gets bored 30 seconds into a song. This has to translate to even more immediate, trivial, I-like-this-song-because-it-sounds-like-another-song-I-like music being made....
  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like I-pods and Mp3 phones have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down, put on a record/CD and listened. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool ringtone, I can listen to this new jam while I go buy my groceries, etc.....

    Well, if you're talking about new jams, it seems a lot current music is trivial in the first place...it doesn't have the same kind of depth that music used to have.

    With a few exceptions, I've been filling my iPod with newer music I can listen to while I'm at the gym, commuting, etc. But, at home, I'm almost always listening to records (older music), that I can give my full attention to.

    I don't necessarily see either of those as a bad thing, that's just the way it is.

    Yeah, I hear you...but I bet you are in a small minority of Ipod owners that has a turntable and buys/listens to records...I mean they have sold how many millions of those things? I would bet that the numbers of hardcore/listen to vinyl at home music lovers that also have Ipods is maybe 100,000, if that...a drop in the bucket...At least 10 years ago, when a CD was made for 14 year old Becky, it was a whole album that she had to stick in her disc-man, now that you can put a bazillion songs on an Ipod, her short attention span and extensive song list allows her to listen to something else when she gets bored 30 seconds into a song. This has to translate to even more immediate, trivial, I-like-this-song-because-it-sounds-like-another-song-I-like music being made....

    I think I understand what you're saying...

    Recorded music, I suspect to a significant degree, has/is made in accordance to the medium it will be played on. Hence, the MP3 player is the newest incarnation of devices shaping the music and by extension, its industry.
  • The_NonThe_Non 5,691 Posts

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  • vajdaijvajdaij 447 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like new-fangled recorded music have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down and listened to the band. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool 78, I can listen to this new jam while I entertain, etc.....

    Not the first time this argument has been made, and certainly won't be the last.
  • TabneticTabnetic 206 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like new-fangled recorded music have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down and listened to the band. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool 78, I can listen to this new jam while I entertain, etc.....

    Not the first time this argument has been made, and certainly won't be the last.

    agreed. it's also important to note the ways in which music composition has been altered by the fact that it's now a portable medium.
  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,390 Posts
    I was having this discussion the other day and i came to the conclusion that things like I-pods and Mp3 phones have trivialized music in a big way. Music used to be like a book,you gave it your full attention... you sat down, put on a record/CD and listened. Now music is being presented as something you listen to while you do something else. Folks are giving it their full attention less and less these days...its a cool ringtone, I can listen to this new jam while I go buy my groceries, etc.....

    I think I'd say the opposite - iPods and MP3s mean that more people than ever are consuming more music than ever. Most people don't listen to music anyway, they use it as a soundtrack/background to what they're doing/how they're feeling. The proportion of genuine music lovers who take the time to appreciate music for its own sake compared to the casual majority who just use it probably hasn't ever changed. Most music's pretty disposable anyhow.

    A music download site I work with has just over 1 million tracks in its catalogue. Every single one of those tracks gets downloaded at least once each month. That means there are a lot of people actively seeking out the music they want to hear and no doubt appreciating it, too. Music listening is in good shape.
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    yes, but the introductions of new formats has always historically changed the way music was made, some of the changes were good, some bad...the inroduction of the 12" LP meant jazz dudes had more than 3 minutes to expand their expression by being able to take extended solos...on the contrast the introduction of the CD meant, for some reason, artists thought they had to fill up all 80 minutes of the damn things and artists went from releasing 1 40 minute LP a year to 1 80 minute CD every few years. Formats change music, but not always in a good way. I think making music so it can be easily downloaded on a phone and made into a cool ringtone is not one of "the good ways"
  • drewnicedrewnice 5,465 Posts
    yes, but the introductions of new formats has always historically changed the way music was made, some of the changes were good, some bad...the inroduction of the 12" LP meant jazz dudes had more than 3 minutes to expand their expression by being able to take extended solos...on the contrast the introduction of the CD meant, for some reason, artists thought they had to fill up all 80 minutes of the damn things and artists went from releasing 1 40 minute LP a year to 1 80 minute CD every few years. Formats change music, but not always in a good way. I think making music so it can be easily downloaded on a phone and made into a cool ringtone is not one of "the good ways"

    Music, much like language, will continue to evolve and be manipulated in all sorts of ways, for commercial and non-commerical purposes. I don't get with how a song being made into a ringtone is either good or bad.

    Unless you are some kind of purist or something.
  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts

    A music download site I work with has just over 1 million tracks in its catalogue. Every single one of those tracks gets downloaded at least once each month. That means there are a lot of people actively seeking out the music they want to hear and no doubt appreciating it, too. Music listening is in good shape.

    Music 'consuming' is no doubt in good shape, but I agree with Hook_Up's perspective that the actual 'listening' is on the wane to a certain degree. Interest and commercial commodity are independent of how much time people actually spend with their ears really on. I don't imagine that it is THAT different in the long run from the last 25 years, music nuts will always be hyper-focused, but there is now such saturation because of more outlets, so it serves to reason that people will always be on the the next at an ever increasing rate, spending less and less time on one group, record, style,etc.
  • TabneticTabnetic 206 Posts
    yes, but the introductions of new formats has always historically changed the way music was made, some of the changes were good, some bad...the inroduction of the 12" LP meant jazz dudes had more than 3 minutes to expand their expression by being able to take extended solos...on the contrast the introduction of the CD meant, for some reason, artists thought they had to fill up all 80 minutes of the damn things and artists went from releasing 1 40 minute LP a year to 1 80 minute CD every few years. Formats change music, but not always in a good way. I think making music so it can be easily downloaded on a phone and made into a cool ringtone is not one of "the good ways"

    i think you just have to be willing to have different modes for listening to music. i used to obsessively listen to stuff to work into my set. which made my sets better, but made me want to not listen to music. now that i'm working on my own record, i try to stay away from music that has to do with what i make. this usually doesn't work.

    as a language, music is a nice way to temper any situation. ie: i always kick myself when i forget my ipod on my morning commute. i hate having to listen to the stupid conversations of people next to me on the train, and sometimes seeing everything as a silent film scored by ornette coleman, or portishead, or whoever makes my day a little more bearable. i completely agree on the CD length point. vinyl will always be my favorite format. DAT comes in second for home listening.

    you know for awhile they were considering having 45 players in cars instead of 8 tracks? i don't know if any made it to production, but that would be
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