Music? WTH?

Anti-stance wrote:

friedgreencorrado wrote: ...said the music was seriously important to her when she was young, but as she aged she just thought of it as a pretty cool hobby.

I feel the same way as that. Music was soooo important to me as a teenager, now I feel like I grew out of caring. When I do listen to music now, I am not as narrow-minded and elitist as I once was. I can listen to just about all kinds of music and enjoy it. I can also not listen to a single song for 6 months and be okay with it.

I guess I'm a little like that. Every once in awhile I hear something newer that really catches my ear (Dope's "I Don't Give a F" and Coal Chamber's "Big Truck", I'm looking at you), but I find myself most of the time listening to the music I listened to when I was 15-25yrs. old. Of course, I'm old enough that those years were the end of the "classic" period and the beginning of the Punk/New Wave movement, so there's plenty of variety.

Oh, and I'm also tired of "New Wave" being defined as 80s English synth bands. I'm talking Elvis Costello/Joe Jackson/Graham Parker/Pretenders/Talking Heads/Blondie/etc.

I'll typically have the radio off in the car for once simple reason, there's not that many good radio stations nearby. I agree wholeheartedly with the "trash or silence" thought, although if you like the way your car sounds, that's music enough for me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really like music, but I only really like good music. I change the channel when Nickelback, Creed, Theory of a Deadman, etc come on.

I really need to fix my CD player.

Certainly not as into it as I used to be, but currently regretting not working more actively to make a career out of it. Not sure if 34 puts me in "mid-life-crisis" range, but I'm actively trying to join a working band. I really miss playing shows...I think.

I am in the "you have no soul" camp yet I could be slightly wrong. Kidding.

I love music and more specifically audio. It is the only way I have ever fed my family or bought a house. Right now I am still outside listening to the soundtrack to The Social Network. Atticus Ross is awesome!!! and his side kick is ok.

dabird wrote:

friedgreencorrado wrote:

dabird wrote: I still like music but I've been touring the world in rock bands for the last 20 years so I tend to not listen to music when I'm not making it. I almost never listen to music in my cars. My daily doesn't even have a radio and I listen to talk radio when i drive my f350.

I once heard an interview with Chrissie Hynde where she said the music was seriously important to her when she was young, but as she aged she just thought of it as a pretty cool hobby. I guess that would explain the difference between "Precious" and "I'll Stand by You"..

this is pretty much exactly what happened to me. I think like anything else once something you really love becomes a job or seems like work it starts to lose it's luster. I do find myself listening to music more these days now that I'm older and not touring as much. It really doesn't effect me in the same way anymore though. Being in a band has made me overly critical of music. I'm never just listening anymore. I'm always thinking about how the guitar tone sucks or how the could have gone to the chorus earlier. It's really kind of a bummer

I recently had a pro musician(pro in the sense that it's his full-time gig, not that he's anyone of world recognition) tell me "I get to wake up in the morning and make music, how could it get any cooler than that?"

While he's someone I have utmost respect for, I listen to the music(all cover songs, for whatever it's worth) they've been playing for the last 32-years, and think I'd have gouged my eardrums out about 20-years ago.

There was certainly a time in my 20's when becoming a pro musician was my career goal(not that I'm saying I was good enough, but how good does a bass player need to be anyway? ), and it was the realisation that it wasn't "making art" that paid the bills, it was playing the same ol' songs - whether they were yours or someone else's - over and over and over.... that really turned me off of it.

Back on topic, even though I play and write still(occasionally), there are periods of 6-months or more at a time that I won't listen to a single song, and any I happen to hear I find repulsive. But then something will get in my head; whether it's a song/band I haven't heard in 20-years, or something new that's truly remarkable, unusual, or just plain weird - and I'm back down in the groove again.

Interesting thread. I love music, but I'm very particular about what I want to listen to, and sometimes I'd rather just listen to nothing. I don't like when it's used as filler or background noise. Generally I don't like vocal pop, ballads, country, most buttrock, or so-called "roots music", aka Gravelly-Voiced Dudes Strummin' a Gee-tar. It's not that I don't respect the musicians or recognize their talent, it's just that I listen for different elements in my tunes than others seem to and the styles that I like are what fits that best.

The thing is, it's so personal. You'll never convince anyone else to like something with some kind of reasoned argument so I don't get why people constantly try. Being a long-term electronic guy (especially techno, trance, electro, ambient, breaks, etc.), I'm constantly told by numpties that I will "mature" out of it and start listening to whatever it is they like. Occasionally they mean classical but 90% of the time they're referring to Gravelly-Voiced Dudes Strummin' a Gee-tar. This irritates me to no end and has made me really self conscious. I almost never play my own stuff or my favourite tracks for others unless I'm 100% sure they're on the same page.

I've been into electronic music all my life and been composing it myself (or at least trying to, heh) since I was single-digit age. I used to make tunes for Adlib and the C64 SID in BASIC back in the day. Part of what's kept me interested is that I never tried to make any kind of career out of it, it's always been strictly for fun for me. When I get uninspired or unmotivated, I just shut off the synths and concentrate on something else for a while. I do that regularly, although the 10 year hiatus between 2001 and 2011 was too long.

Even just listening, I often find I'll overplay a great set and burn out on songs in general for a few days (like I've just done with some wicked demo tracks I downloaded last weekend), then I don't listen to anything for a while. Then I'll switch gears slightly on the playlist and come back to it totally refreshed and it's awesome.

Back to my own stuff, well, I do it for fun and am not really bothered whether my tracks are 'popular' or not. I really have no desire to play live or do gigs. My dream musical career would have been to be the in-house musician (with a lot of creative control naturally!) for a sci-fi TV series or video game studio. (Being Chris Tyng would be awesome!) But I never had the classical training you need on paper to do something like that, and I steered my career choices elsewhere for a variety of reasons and don't regret it one bit. (I probably could have done the video games, although I was born about 5 years too late and the market was well sewn up around 1999~2001 when I really started getting good.)

If anyone's curious: 2001 // 2012 (you might need XMplay to listen to those, but Winamp should work as well.) I still think "Sail the Universe" (2001) has some of the best musical ideas I've ever put in a sequencer but my production values these days are vastly improved.

This post ended up being a lot longer than I'd intended. I guess the point is, we all like different types of music, and that's awesome. Don't give people a hard time because they don't like "your" kind of music. There's no argument to "win" so just chill and realize that people get different things out of it, just like everything else in life.

Jay wrote: ...I'm constantly told by numpties that I will "mature" out of it and start listening to whatever it is they like...

I love this. I recently heard an anecdote from a high school classroom wherein one kid was talking about what metal he liked, and some other kid says "Only children listen to metal. People are listening to dubstep now."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I mean, if you like dubstep, fine, listen to dubstep. I just love the earnest fifteen year old edict regarding the state of the world.

I don't understand not enjoying music, but I don't understand a lot of things. I wouldn't let confusing me worry you

^^ To be honest, the absolute worst people for that kind of mentality come from within the electronic music community itself. They (we) invent hundreds brand new genres every year just so we can be snooty at people who aren't as up-to-date. "Eww, you still listen to Italo Disco? We're all listening to Chicago House now!" (1985) "Eww, you still listen to Chicago House? We're all listening to techno now!" (1987) "Eww, you still listen to techno? We're all listening to acid breaks now!" (1991) "Eww, you still listen to acid breaks? We're all listening to trance now!" (1994) "Eww, you still listen to trance? We're all listening to progressive trance now!" (1997) "Eww, you still listen to progressive trance? We're all listening to jungle now!" (2000) "Eww, you still listen to jungle? We're all listening to drum'n'bass now!" (2002) "Eww, you still listen to drum'n'bass? We're all listening to dubstep now!" (2007) "Eww, you still listen to dubstep? We're all listening to retro Italo Disco now!" (2011) ... you get the idea!

EvanR wrote: Either that, or they all want to convert me, as in, "You don't like music? Oh, that's because you haven't heard [insert band name here]."

I hate to be ^^that^^ guy, but, what about live music? I find myself thoroughly enjoying even local/amateur live music if the atmosphere is right.

Jay, "Sail the Universe" is really cool. (Plays in VLC, too.) I could listen to a whole album of that. Can you recommend anything similar?

What's wrong with the music industry:

http://youtu.be/GowCEiZkU70

EvanR wrote: I'm just going to come out and say it. I don't particularly care for music. Not any particular sort of music, all music. Society seems to want to make me feel like some sort of pariah for that. Everyone I've ever known or met thinks I'm the strangest person on the planet for not liking music. Either that, or they all want to convert me, as in, "You don't like music? Oh, that's because you haven't heard [insert band name here]." No, I just don't like music. I don't need an iPod, or a phone that's capable of storing 160,000 songs, none of which I enjoy. The radio in my car is either turned off or tuned to a news station. When I installed it, I had to borrow a CD to test the CD player, because I don't own any CDs. Point is, I'm wondering why society is compelled to view me as some sort of pariah/loser/nutcase for not liking music. Any insights greatly appreciated.

Couple of things....

First and foremost- why the hell do you care what other people think of you? Unless your boss is going to prevent you from getting a raise or promotion, or if you significant other is going to ignore you if you don't start listening to music, who the hell cares?

Second- if it's a problem, how in the world does it come up in conversation? How do other people find out that you don't like music? Are you the driver of a ride-share? Or move a lot of people around (although, plenty of taxi's I've rode in had no music)? Stop bringing it up. If someone asks "what do you think of"- shrug and say nothing.

The point is- why do people let themsleves be botherd by "society" or even bring up the issues they have with society. I don't get that.

Music is really nothing more than vibrations picked up by your inner ear and translated by electrical impulses to your brain. You don't enjoy it? Cool, whatever, move on.

Jimmy Buffet however, is different. His music contains no vibrations whatsoever. It is transmitted directly into your soul via the limbic system. You should give it a try.

(LOL. Anyone ever try that one?)

[philosophicalmode]

Some of us hear music in the wind, in voices, in tires turning and engines firing, in frogs and dogs and teakettles. Our rhythm is measured in rpm,hertz, heartbeats, and seasons. We tune in the world.

[/philosophicalmode]

Anyone got any bacon?

It does appear that a lot of people are biologically wired to enjoy music. Maybe they somehow skipped you when they were handing out music appreciation genes. So what? I'll bet everybody has something they completely don't get that a large number of people enjoy.

Me? I'm missing out on the urge to gamble. I was staying at a casino for Bonneville Speed Week, and the closest thing I felt to actual interest in gambling was either pure curiosity ("Would the penny slot machine do anything interesting if I dropped a penny into it, or is it totally boring?") or a deliberate attempt to monkey with the casino (such as asking at the betting counter what odds they'd give me that Lee Sicilio would break the A/Gas Altered record, suspecting that they'd ask "Lee who?" and give me the chance to reply, "You should know; he's on your guest list!"). But I had a somewhat stronger temptation to put rubber cockroaches on the slot machine chairs to see if any gambling addicts would notice or just sit down on the rubber roaches. Since I didn't have any rubber cockroaches, though, I pretty much just ignored the casino floor.

So, maybe you're missing the urge to enjoy music. So what? There's plenty of other things in life to enjoy.

I have to go along with Duke Ellington's famous quote, paraphrased as "There are really only two kinds of music - good and bad." Of course, each individual sets his/her own definitions of each.

So I obviously agree about silence versus trash - or even styles I don't particularly like.

You're a strange cookie indeed. There's no fixin' you cuts you're not broke. To each their own.

Me, I like all kinds of music. In fact, the programmed buttons on there stereo are programmed as such:

1) Alternative
2) Classic Rock
3) Classicer Rock
4) Crappy Classic Rock Station
5) Rap/Hip-Hop
6) Jazz

Luke wrote: Jay, "Sail the Universe" is really cool. (Plays in VLC, too.) I could listen to a whole album of that. Can you recommend anything similar?

Thanks Luke! Great to hear you enjoyed my piece, even after all these years I'm still excited to get feedback on it! I was very much influenced by the greats of the Demoscene at the time, so you might check out: Necros (example), Jugi (example), Skaven (then - now - example), Purple Motion (hell, just watch this...), and Siren (example)... or you can always just turn on Nectarine and see if you find anything you like.

...Aaaaand that completes the list of names I never, ever thought I'd be mentioning on this board. Sooooo far away from the culture here... All in good fun though. Good reason to spread around some of my musical heroes.

N Sperlo wrote: 6) Jazz

Even these cows are not broken.

Jay wrote: ^^ To be honest, the absolute worst people for that kind of mentality come from within the electronic music community itself. They (we) invent hundreds brand new genres every year just so we can be snooty at people who aren't as up-to-date. "Eww, you still listen to Italo Disco? We're all listening to Chicago House now!" (1985) "Eww, you still listen to Chicago House? We're all listening to techno now!" (1987) "Eww, you still listen to techno? We're all listening to acid breaks now!" (1991) "Eww, you still listen to acid breaks? We're all listening to trance now!" (1994) "Eww, you still listen to trance? We're all listening to *progressive* trance now!" (1997) "Eww, you still listen to progressive trance? We're all listening to jungle now!" (2000) "Eww, you still listen to jungle? We're all listening to drum'n'bass now!" (2002) "Eww, you still listen to drum'n'bass? We're all listening to dubstep now!" (2007) "Eww, you still listen to dubstep? We're all listening to *retro* Italo Disco now!" (2011) ... you get the idea!

OMG YES THIS. ^^^ I spend a lot of time listening to our local college radio station, and there are a whole subsection of the airstaff there who behave just like this. Not to mention that they will go on for hours about how things that sound completely 100% alike to anyone without a graduate degree in electronica are so obviously different that only an idiot can't immediately tell the difference.

It's one of the reasons I don't like much electronic music. Though, as with all general genres, there is some I like.

MadScientistMatt wrote: It does appear that a lot of people are biologically wired to enjoy music. Maybe they somehow skipped you when they were handing out music appreciation genes. So what? I'll bet everybody has something they completely don't get that a large number of people enjoy. Me? I'm missing out on the urge to gamble. I was staying at a casino for Bonneville Speed Week, and the closest thing I felt to actual interest in gambling was either pure curiosity ("Would the penny slot machine do anything interesting if I dropped a penny into it, or is it totally boring?") or a deliberate attempt to monkey with the casino (such as asking at the betting counter what odds they'd give me that Lee Sicilio would break the A/Gas Altered record, suspecting that they'd ask "Lee who?" and give me the chance to reply, "You should know; he's on your guest list!"). But I had a somewhat stronger temptation to put rubber cockroaches on the slot machine chairs to see if any gambling addicts would notice or just sit down on the rubber roaches. Since I didn't have any rubber cockroaches, though, I pretty much just ignored the casino floor. So, maybe you're missing the urge to enjoy music. So what? There's plenty of other things in life to enjoy.

I'm with you on that one. When I was in Vegas for a pool tournament, a friend and I would put a $5 in the penny slot machine and just push the button when the waitress was around. We'd drink all night and people watch for $10 (giving a $1 tip for every beer). I do occasionally play poker with friends, but really have no desire to gamble.

poopshovel wrote: Certainly not as into it as I used to be, but currently regretting not working more actively to make a career out of it. Not sure if 34 puts me in "mid-life-crisis" range, but I'm actively trying to join a working band. I really miss playing shows...I think.

Get your ass up here already. Oddly enough, despite being a small/mid sized town in the armpit of the country, there is a ridiculously large number of bad ass musicians around. Get in good with some of them and you could play out nightly. Or I'm sure we could find a place for a second bass player or third guitarist.

16vCorey wrote: Or I'm sure we could find a place for a second bass player or third guitarist.

You could do a lot of Pere Ubu covers.

My life is followed by a soundtrack. Partially because what I do (travel) goes so well with music, especially while in a car. But I'm not a music snob, I don't care about genres. I just find music and listen to it. I'll scroll through a thousand songs on beatport (no lie) and download one.

I'm also a bit ADD, so paying extreme amounts of attention to the music focuses my thoughts while driving on long trips.

I also love lyrics (my favourite electronic beatz have lyrics, even if they are repetitive). Part of why I loved classic rock (and a bit of a hopeless romantic, which classic rock seems to work well with as lots of it is about love and heartbreak and all that other stuff )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe3yTbxOL9k

Jay wrote:

Luke wrote: Jay, "Sail the Universe" is really cool. (Plays in VLC, too.) I could listen to a whole album of that. Can you recommend anything similar?

Thanks Luke! Great to hear you enjoyed my piece, even after all these years I'm still excited to get feedback on it! I was very much influenced by the greats of the Demoscene at the time, so you might check out: Necros (example), Jugi (example), Skaven (then - now - example), Purple Motion (hell, just watch this...), and Siren (example)... or you can always just turn on Nectarine and see if you find anything you like.

Thanks for the suggestions, Jay. I connected most with Skaven's work, particularly the stuff he calls 'electronic', and 'industrial', (rather than ambient and orchestral). Squander Myself is a stand out. Great song titles, too .

MadScientistMatt wrote: It does appear that a lot of people are biologically wired to enjoy music. Maybe they somehow skipped you when they were handing out music appreciation genes. So what? I'll bet everybody has something they completely don't get that a large number of people enjoy. Me? I'm missing out on the urge to gamble. I was staying at a casino for Bonneville Speed Week, and the closest thing I felt to actual interest in gambling was either pure curiosity ("Would the penny slot machine do anything interesting if I dropped a penny into it, or is it totally boring?") or a deliberate attempt to monkey with the casino (such as asking at the betting counter what odds they'd give me that Lee Sicilio would break the A/Gas Altered record, suspecting that they'd ask "Lee who?" and give me the chance to reply, "You should know; he's on your guest list!"). But I had a somewhat stronger temptation to put rubber cockroaches on the slot machine chairs to see if any gambling addicts would notice or just sit down on the rubber roaches. Since I didn't have any rubber cockroaches, though, I pretty much just ignored the casino floor. So, maybe you're missing the urge to enjoy music. So what? There's plenty of other things in life to enjoy.

I detest casinos. I do however, like slot machines. As an avid arcade junky, I do admit to being enamored with slot machines under the basis that all the major slot designers are the ones that were doing arcade games 15 years ago.