I was thinkin… about music… how we relate to it… what role it plays in our lives……….. It seems to me there’s two ends of the spectrum (at least in this certain way I’m thinking about it):
MUSIC AS ENTERTAINMENT – the definition (for this blog’s purpose anyway): Music as a way enhance happy feelings and/or create them out of nowhere… Music as an escape from how you feel… music to transport you to another place… music that reflects the way we WISH we felt all the time… music that is in the background enhancing some other activity (driving not included:).
MUSIC AS A FRIEND – the definition: When you see music as a friend you seek out music that takes you deeper into who you are… Deeper in to how you already feel… enhances how you feel… gets you thinking… seems to define or clarify parts of you that you couldn’t explain…. Music that helps you relate to, or contemplate God… Music that’s there for you when you need to remember what makes you YOU…
MUSIC AS A LIFESTYLE: – lets not worry about this one right now… but it’s more closely related to music as a friend… anyways…
Okay, so if I were you, I’d be thinking: well I enjoy music as BOTH entertainment AND as a friend! Well, yeah, of course “both” is a valid answer… BUT I truly believe that MOST of us are more than 50% in one direction or the other… and some of us are WAY more in one direction than the other. So think hard and make your choice.
This subject is SUPER interesting to me… as some of you know, I’m involved deeply in both ends of the music industry… as a listener and music creator… I’m involved in the side that’s ALL about entertainment and commerce… and the side that would starve for the art of it, and is all about expression. SO I’d LOVE to hear from you Mr. or Mrs. or Miss reader… and yes I do mean YOU… even the you that is like me and never makes a comment or wants anyone to know that you cruise around to blogs. Dive in. This is a juicy topic once you start thinking about it…
So, are you MORE THAN 50% into music as ENTERTAINMENT? Or music as a FRIEND? And WHY (or how does it play out for you)?
As a bonus, (if you’re long-winded like me), try to explain your answer in terms of feelings and bands or songs you like… i.e. “when I’m bummed I put on Radiohead and when I’m stoked and about to tackle someone I put on Andrew W.K. But I relate most closely to Frank Sanatra” etc.
A few “duh” questions that might help you figure it out:
1. What music do you listen to when your bummed out? When you’re Happy?
2. What do you listen to when you drive?
3. Do you care about the lyrics in the music you love the most?
4. Are you a fan of bands and artists and follow them album to album? Or are you a song-whore, just looking for songs you dig, no matter who or what style (that’s a bad name for a good thing)?
5. Are you a musician?
There’s no right answer, or correct equation of course, so feel free to share…
Okay…………………. respond!! Elaborate:-)
Music is most definitely my friend, it represents something that means more to me than just a good jam session in the car, it encourages me to not give up, it questions some of my perceptions, it motivates me to go deeper, it gives me new perspective on God, and these are just a few things. And lyrics mean so much to me that I will not listen to music that i feel is flat, or that talks about things I cant connect with. My wife loves love songs and I like some of them, but if there lyrics do not have a certain depth or meaning to them I just skip em. I definitely have my bands that I have followed forever, but I do this because once I find that connection I’m not about to give it up.
i like pleasure spiked with pain and music is my aeroplane. it’s my aeroplane.
this truly is a juicy topic and reveals so much, i think, when answered deeply and honestly. music is my friend. my thermostat. i rely on music to regulate my emotion. anxiety calls for Muse or VAST because the emotion they stir in me is one of satisfaction and resolution…it trumps the anxiety. sadness leads me to Ingrid Michealson or Feist because their music owns a joy that is not offensive to sorrow. when thoughts are heavy in my head, and i need to just think long and hard about something weighty, Wagner seems to always be the perfect mix of subtlety and inspiration, lyricless for the sake of my thoughts. Sting just makes me feel good about things. driving music varies greatly, but when the sun is shining and the air is crisp and i find my car wanting to head to the beach, i inevitably roll back the sun roof, crank up some Cake, and sing at the top of my lungs.
lyrics are my thing…lyrics can win me over on a song i didn’t like at first impression. i love a lyric that makes me jealous…like i should have written it first. for a song to become a close friend of mine, it needs to have lyrics that either intrigue me or move me. but i like plenty of hollow songs simply for their entertainment value…i would call them more acquaintances rather than friends, though.
i have my best friend bands that i follow faithfully…and maybe even like some of their music out of loyalty rather than taste (don’t tell them, though). i have felt betrayed by friend-bands a few times (jewel is one example…and sheryl crow and i had a rocky phase as well)…sometimes we have to work out our differences. but on the whole, the “friendship” usually remains.
i am a musician…although i wince at making that statement. i think i’d much rather call myself a lyricist or a singer.
good questions…