Why do you listen to the music you do?

[OMNOMNOMALY]

[COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Trebuchet MS]My friend and I have very different music tastes. He loves classic rock, while I love new, and alternative sort of underground rock. He seems to choose his music based more on lyrical content, while I go for what sounds good to me. I was just curious, what do you guys on the OB listen to music for? Is there a reason that you think draws you to the sort of music you listen to?

For me, it's always been what something sounds like, first and foremost. If something's catchy, I'm usually hooked. Lyrics are important, but definitely not as important, in my opinion. I always know whether or not I'll like a song within the first few bars. I love bands like The Shins and Metric, who sound awesome and have some of the most nonsensical lyrics I've ever heard. Maybe that's the other reason why I like them so much *laughs* I do tend to like the bands with the original and sometimes really abstract types of lyrics, and I find most of these bands in the alternative genre.

My boyfriend usually doesn't decide on whether or not he likes a song until he's heard most, or all of it. He likes a song with good, solid lyrics, and it's even better if they're political and really advocating something. Of course he needs to like how it sounds, but this comes second to him. (keep in mind this is just my generalization to get the thread started. He does like a bit of my music, and he even went to Metric with me XD) That's why he likes his classic rock so much. Alot of it is about acceptance, love and peace. Really sort of meaningful lyrics.

So what about you guys? Do you decide on something because of the instrumentation, or are you the lyrics type? What do you figure draws you to your sort of favourite genre? Do you even have a favourite genre?

Discuss!

(I hope this isn't too similar to the favourite music thread I saw a few pages in. If so, I apologize. >_>)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[TheShinje]

[color=crimson] I am somewhere along the middle, I like the song to be a rock or rap/rock type, yet I also like my music to have a strong messgage that I agree with/.

And then again, I like a lot of easy listening stuff too, simply because of it's lyrical content, I'd suffice to say that I'm happy with all kinds of music, depends on my mood and what message it conveys, but I would prefer rock and rap/rock to any other genre.[/color]

[Random]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1]Well, for me...I dunno, really. I guess I'll start off by answering what I like listening to, a.k.a what genre(s) I like, and then base [i]why[/i] I like it on that.

What type of music do I like listening to? Really, I'll listen to anything...except Rap, Heavy Metal, and...*shudders*...Country/Blue Grass/Anything-related-to-country. So, what [i]do[/i] I listen to? I listen to the Top 40, remixed stuff of the Top 40, underground Indy-type, and Rave/Trance/Electronica.

Alrighty, the "why?" to each:

[b]Top 40:[/b] I listen to this because it's on the radio, basically. Not any other reason, really.

[b]Top 40 - Remixed:[/b] I listen to this because, for one, it's catchy. Secondly, I like the beats that the "popular" songs are put to, and it's different from the "plain old" radio-edit version of the song. I think it's more, I dunno, edgy?

[b]Underground Indy:[/b] I listen to his because alot of it is quirky, random, and all-around fun! YAY! I do like this because, besides having fun beats and dancy rhythms, alot of these bands have great lyrics and underlying messages that most people, just because the band isn't "popular," miss out on. I like having the cutting edge, if you will, on music, and listening to Underground Indy is my way of doing it...besides, the music is great to listen to!

[b] Rave, Trance, Electronica, ect:[/b] Why, you ask? (or don't ask...humor me, nontheless) Well, my answer is because this genre ROCKS! Notes on why I love this music - one, great to dance to...two, good chill-out music, when the right one's picked...three, good background "noise"...four, annoys the HELL outta my parents...three, wait, no, five, it-just-friggin'-rocks!

Hope that answers your questions...heh, this was actually 'kina fun! AND you made me think...Kudos to you! ~_^

-Random[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[2010DigitalBoy]

Well, it all depends. If the voice is terrible I cannot listen, if the music is terrible I cannot listen, and if the lyrics are terrible I cannot listen. Other than that, I'll listen to anything.

So basically, I won't listen to most rap music because of terrible lyrics, though some more clever ones, like Missy Elliot and Ludacris, I like.

I won't listen to country music period for every reason.

A lot of pop music falls under terrible lyrics, not usually because the lyrics are that bad, but bucause they're so reused.

Most emo and really heavy/black/death metal has horrible voices.

The only genre that does all three catagories good for the most park is rock and it's variations.

Also, I am one who sticks to the bands I know. If it's Linkin Park, System of a Down, Gorillaz, Disturbed, The Mars Volta, Green Day, etc. I'm bound to like it.

[Jakehammaren]

I listen to Metal. I'm talking real, honest, true Metal - not Slipknot or Ill Nino or anything else along those lines. That's not Metal.

I mean METAL! I like everything from the highly melodic and rediculously cheesy power metal (POWER OF STEEL!!!) to grim and frostbitten Black Metal (N3KR0!).

The reasons I listen to metal are many. First of all, I love how diverse it is. In the same genre we've got men who sing higher than any woman with lyrics about slaying dragons and raising one's sword on high, and then on the other end of Metal we've got extremely technical polyrhythms and blastbeats with guys who sound like they're putting their vocal chords through meat grinders growling over it all (although I tend not to enjoy this style so much). Metal covers the whole spectrum.

I tend to like Viking Metal and Folk Metal the best. I love Viking Metal because the lyrics tend to be amazingly awesome. You see, I'm really into Norse beliefs and studying Viking culture and such, so this music really comes naturally to me. Plus the music itself can be epic beyond belief. Take bands like Thyrfing, Equilibrium, or Ensiferum for example: they just feel awe-inspiring to listen to! When you hear those epic string arrangements swell up behind chanted vocals about Valhalla, what's not to love?

I guess it comes back to escaping to a world much more ancient and different than ours. I can't stand political lyrics and the like because that's just the kind of stuff I want to get away from when I pop in a Menhir album or an Enslaved disc. I just like the feeling of closing my eyes and being surrounded with a completely seperate world, one not burdened with politics, being dumped by a girlfriend or being angry at parents. No, I want to be on top of a snow-blown mountain holding a battleaxe on high and praising Odin!

I could go on and on and on about why I love this music, but I won't. I will however, depart with one more reason. Out of all the styles of music besides the great Classical composers of old, Metal contains, by far, the most talented musicians out there. I've found in all my searching through all genres that all the guitarists who can [I]seriously[/I] shred are in the Metal scene. Listen to the solos bands like Children of Bodom or Hibria put out! Good LORD, these guys can play! And then there's stuff like Nile... I can't even imagine writing songs as complex as those guys do. The musicianship involved in the true Metal scene is unapparelled in todays world, and I love it.

[IceRose]

Well I listen to sort of different kinds of music since I have a little bit of everything on me.

Japanese: Style of music is very rhytmic and the lyrics are somewhat sad at times and deal with somewhat real situations.

Salsa: Lots of movement involved and also the songs tell stories, I mean the old salsa and merenge not the new.

Alternative: Somewhat sad and pretty much relates to some parts of my life that are gonne but is good to go back and look at them for strenght, plus I love guitar solos and depends on my mood.

[Linkk]

Plain and simple I like it!

I listen to what I want no matter what others think.

I love Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Classic Rock...WHATEVER IT'S CALLED LOL! Heavy Metal,Metal.....

Ok I listen to a pretty big variety from the 50's to ...00's. Mostly I like older stuff as new stuff to me is very I just don't like it. I love 80's. I just love good music. It keeps me going. Makes me happy. When I feel sad it makes me feel a little better. I live and breath music. Whatever sounds good to me. I could care less ( but not worth the effort..LOL!)about anything else!

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='Jakehammaren']I listen to Metal. I'm talking real, honest, true Metal - not Slipknot or Ill Nino or anything else along those lines. That's not Metal.[/quote]

[color=crimson]How cliche.

I listen to whatever catches my ear. Lyrics are important but not as much as the overall flow of the song- the combination of what the singer is trying to say with the instrumentation behind it. Combine those well enough and you have a majestic work of art- or, I suppose, a really great song.

I don't really have a favorite genre anymore. I know what genres I generally don't 'appreciate' though- Country (excluding Mr. Johnny Cash) and Pop music.[/color]

[element5852]

:animesmil Ilove to listin to hevay and death metal. I love music its my life. :animesmil

[font=Verdana][color=blue]Please be sure to add some content to your posts from now on. Explaining your choices leads to further discussion where as one line posts don't really help move the discussion along at all.[/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue]- Petie[/color][/font]

[MirrIll]

Hmmm, I pretty much listen to anything from poppy bands like Panic! At the Disco and Taking Back Sunday to harder rock/whatever it's called like Underoath and Chiodos to screamo like Van Johnson and Saetia to metalcore like It Dies Today and Job For a Cowboy.

Some of my favorite bands, though, I don't really know what they fit under... genres are so confining. Fear Before the March of Flames, The Fall of Troy, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, etc.

I really listen to whatever simply sounds good to my ears, thus I have very varying tastes. What I listen tends to depend on different things... what I'm in the mood for, if I feel like singing along in the car (haha), etc. Generally when I'm in the car in the morning, I tend to listen to heavier things... if it's the end of the day and I'm tired I usually head for softer stuff. The middle of the afternoon is when I usually listen to things I can sing along to.

Music is basically my life, and I'm very sincere in saying that. There's almost always music playing around me, I'm in a band, I videotape local bands' shows (which comes in handy when you're trying to make friends in the "scene"... bands love to see themselves on tape, it seems), etcetc. I don't know where I'd be without music.

[Albert Flasher]

[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=Sienna]It's all about the soul, man. This new crap, man, it just don't got that soul. Rock n' Roll, real Rock n' Roll, is more than music; more than beats and rythms and riffs and notes, it's a way of life. A living, breathing, evolving entity. That's why I listen to music. Music that people poured their soul and spirit and identity into; songs that grab hold of you a shake you until you scream for more. Guy's like Bowie, Peart, Plante, Lennon, McCartny, Hendrix, Clapton, real-live music in it's most pure incarnation.

In the words of Randy Bachman... [I]
[B]
You realize now
You should have tried now, oooh ooh
The music's gone now, you'll find out
You lost it somehow[/B][/I][/COLOR][/FONT]

[OMNOMNOMALY]

[QUOTE=Ziggy Stardust][FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=Sienna]It's all about the soul, man. This new crap, man, it just don't got that soul. Rock n' Roll, real Rock n' Roll, is more than music; more than beats and rythms and riffs and notes, it's a way of life. A living, breathing, evolving entity. That's why I listen to music. Music that people poured their soul and spirit and identity into; songs that grab hold of you a shake you until you scream for more. Guy's like Bowie, Peart, Plante, Lennon, McCartny, Hendrix, Clapton, real-live music in it's most pure incarnation.
[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Trebuchet MS]
I disagree.
Just because it has been widely believed that all artists put everything they had into their music back then, it definitely doesn't make it true (I bet some people just picked up some rocks to throw). I just don't think it's anything you can measure. I do believe that just like now, some musicians were likely in it for the fame and the money.

I think music from now can speak to you just as much as music that came from then. In fact, the music you mentioned does nothing for me and it really doesn't speak to me at all. Artists from now can put just as much of themselves into their music as artists from back then did.

(Sorry if this is a totally ****** response, but I'm having a really really bad day.)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Guest kuroinuyoukai]

I listen to many kinds of music. I listen to old skool (RUN DMC, etc.),heavyand death metal, trance/techno,new age, goth,and 80's new wave music.

Most of these I like because of the beats and rhythms. i like anything with a good drum beat to it. The death metal and heavy metal I listen to when I am angry. Somehow the drumbeat helps my mood mellow out sometimes.

I prefer not to listen to gangsta rap-if I wanted to hear about the female anatomy I would go to health class. And no country-except maybe Johnny Cash.

I also like Baroque classical music simply because it's calming and I find that is beautiful and wonderful to listen to.

[Albert Flasher]

[QUOTE=CoLoR_Me_EviL][COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Trebuchet MS]
I disagree.
Just because it has been widely believed that all artists put everything they had into their music back then, it definitely doesn't make it true (I bet some people just picked up some rocks to throw). I just don't think it's anything you can measure. I do believe that just like now, some musicians were likely in it for the fame and the money.

I think music from now can speak to you just as much as music that came from then. In fact, the music you mentioned does nothing for me and it really doesn't speak to me at all. Artists from now can put just as much of themselves into their music as artists from back then did.

(Sorry if this is a totally ****** response, but I'm having a really really bad day.)[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]
[FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=Sienna]
Well maybe it's just a difference in taste, because, for me, I can tell... I can feel it, I can live it, it's just an inexplicable difference. When I listen to new music, I'm to busy trying to figure out why somone would write a song about cutting their wrists and their old boyfriends/girlfriends or some other depressing whathave you, or what a 'gangsta' is (What happened to the Italian accents!).

In any case, I'm not the only one who can tell this difference. I mean, in twenty years, who's going to remember 'The Killers' or 'My Chemical Romance' or 'Britney Spears'? Probably no one; but the names of the Beatles, the Stones, the rest of them, will always remain. That's the difference - new music is just a flash-in-the-pan, cash-in-on-the-latest-craze cash-grab (for the most part, there are exceptions to every rule).

Again, I qoute, this time Gord Downie:[I]
[B]
Fireworks exploding in the distance
Temporary towers soar
Fireworks emulatin' heaven
Till there are no stars anymore
Fireworks aimin' straight at heaven
Temporary towers soar
Till there are no stars shinin' up in heaven
Till there are no stars anymore [/B][/I][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Amorphous]

[QUOTE=DeathKnight][color=crimson]How cliche.

I listen to whatever catches my ear. Lyrics are important but not as much as the overall flow of the song- the combination of what the singer is trying to say with the instrumentation behind it. Combine those well enough and you have a majestic work of art- or, I suppose, a really great song.

I don't really have a favorite genre anymore. I know what genres I generally don't 'appreciate' though- Country (excluding Mr. Johnny Cash) and Pop music.[/color][/QUOTE]

I'm not about to defend Jake (though with this statement I will have) but I would like to point out that your post is just as cliché as his, that being in the sense that it is like everyone else?s response. This is the same response that everyone tends to have, with minor alterations, to avoid conflict between other people that are not as open minded as we supposedly are. This type of response is for people who think they are even partially pseudo-intellectual, normally but obviously not always.

Now I am not insulting you nor am I calling you a pseudo-intellectual but I would like to point out a second time that your post is just as cliché as Jake's is based on the fact that it portrays exactly what thousands of others will reply with when responding to a thread of similar direction.

Now to keep on topic, I do, I do, listen to all types of music. I though have three genres ranging above all others; Metal, Rock, and Electronic. These three genres encompass a gigantic amount of sub-genres and a plethora of side genres that have a distant relation with them. These three genres account for more then half the music being made, but to stay fair there is a gigantic amount of music from these genres that I tend to hate as well so it is a very well balanced. I also enjoy Classical and Folk music as well.

After that it comes down to what happens to sound decent to me. I have to say though there is a lot of music that totally fails in atmosphere and the atmosphere of music is in my opinion the most important part of all music, no atmosphere means that it really is not worth listening to. The atmosphere is as well based on the instrumental talents of the people playing thus instruments mean everything to me but that is not to say that a bad set of lyrics will not turn me away from a song or even a full album.

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='Amorphous']Now I am not insulting you nor am I calling you a pseudo-intellectual[/quote]

[color=crimson]I'd hope not. I'm a very, very sensitive person you know.

It's all good, bro. After all, after your little rant your post turned out to be rather cliche too, so..

I suppose that, ultimately, we all fail it. Especially you, Ziggy Stardust.[/color]

[Amorphous]

[QUOTE=DeathKnight][color=crimson]I'd hope not. I'm a very, very sensitive person you know.

It's all good, bro. After all, after your little rant your post turned out to be rather similar to mine, so..

I suppose that, ultimately, we all fail it.[/color][/QUOTE]

I did realize the irony that came with posting my rant do not worry. So that rant was directed in every direction including towards me. Ultimately everything is over done some way anyhow.

[OMNOMNOMALY]

[QUOTE=Ziggy Stardust][FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=Sienna]
Well maybe it's just a difference in taste, because, for me, I can tell... I can feel it, I can live it, it's just an inexplicable difference. When I listen to new music, I'm to busy trying to figure out why somone would write a song about cutting their wrists and their old boyfriends/girlfriends or some other depressing whathave you, or what a 'gangsta' is (What happened to the Italian accents!).

In any case, I'm not the only one who can tell this difference. I mean, in twenty years, who's going to remember 'The Killers' or 'My Chemical Romance' or 'Britney Spears'? Probably no one; but the names of the Beatles, the Stones, the rest of them, will always remain. That's the difference - new music is just a flash-in-the-pan, cash-in-on-the-latest-craze cash-grab (for the most part, there are exceptions to every rule).
[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Trebuchet MS]I'm sure it's a difference in taste, because when I hear a song by, for example, Metric, I feel exactly what the song is trying to convey. It makes me want to sing and move. But if I hear old music, in most cases it all sort of runs together. I know that you'll totally disagree with me, but I find that alot of it sounds the same to me.

I'd have to agree. People will always remember bands like The Beatles, or Led Zeppelin, etc. for their music. Unfortunately new "artists" like Britney Spears may be remembered, but certainly not for their "music." I do hope that by some miracle, bands that put out consistently good music that isn't just about relationships or cutting yourself will find a place in music history, alongside the bands aforementioned.

One of the problems with music of today is the fact that every band that comes out finds it necessary to come up with a new genre for themselves. It drives me nuts. Back then there were only a few choices. You had your rock 'n' roll, your country, etc. and people didn't have alot to do back then, so what did they do? They listened to music. It's just what they did. I think that's why those artists will never be forgotten. They were loved by an entire generation of kids who practically had nothing else to do [i]except[/i] listen to music. I have alot of friends who can name probably like 5 bands. I find that sad. Personally, I think music should be a huge part of everyone's lives.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Fall]

I like heavy sound. Really loud sound. The kind that has a bit of bite to it. A bit of strength. Grinding guitars and the heavy drums are right in my lane.

Not so much the screaming and "deathly yelling"... I'd rather the clear vocals, more along the lines of Disturbed, or Bullet For My Valentine.

...but the heavy music, is a must. Anger, is my most favourable subject in my music. Complaining about something, against something, putting someone down, you know.

It's just my style.

[Guest AnimeRules15421]

I listen to alot of J-pop techno smooth electronica and europen music. Manily becase moderen Amarican music is retarted and oriented around drug's, sex, and violence. I prefere listening to music that dosent have random solo's and yell's about how much threre life suck's. And I like to listen to music that come's from my home lands.

[Lord_Hadez]

I listen to music for allot of reasons. Lately its because I need inspiartion, cuz im a writer. I have no muse and that is waht I need the most right now. Or becuase I need to wake up or just simply becuase the mood I'm in. I mostly listen to heavy metal. But I also listen to all differnt kinds of music.

[Kanariya]

[font=georgia][size=1]I listen to quite a variety, especially depending on my moods. Most of the time, it's pop, of usually English or Japanese, because pop is one of my favorite genres. Whether it be Christina Aguilera, or Ayumi Hamasaki, I listen to it. The ballads even brighten my dark moods. So, in general, I like happy feelings to songs; to brighten my mood.

If I'm bored, or feeling not too excited sometimes, I'm listening to something heavy. Cradle of Filth mainly, but that's rarely since I'm not really into those moods. And if I'm bored, I find myself playing a video game...

And other moods associated with music, etc. Also based on my enviornment. Sun = Happy stuff. Rain = Mysterious Stuff. You get the picture.

Of course, those rules don't always apply, but in general, I listen to variety of music because they match my moods, and what's around. Plus, I need some kind of music to be on while I type, write, etc.

Except Fall Out Boy. Or something like that. For some unknown reason their voices just annoy the hell out of me.[/size][/font]

[Ai.sAkUrA.chan]

i guess i just listened to a certain type of music because it feels that that's part of what makes me ME.
heck, i can listen to Madonna, Gorillaz, Coldplay, Slipknot, Foo Fighters, RBD, and what not, and NOT compare. I don't have a fave genre, really. Although i dress like i only listen to one type of genre, I DONT.
I can be listening to Rancid, and the minute next, singing to James Blunt "You're Beautiful".
Whether it's screamo, punk-pop, rock, indie, electropop, it doesnt really matter.
As long as the song flows through ur mind and sticks to it!!
Sometimes I'll just feel like dancing and i'll play an old, salsa-like, yet "bailable" song of Chayanne. Or i'll just lock myself up in my room, cry,yet listen to Simple Plan's poppy "Welcome to my life".
Music is just a part that makes me complete. It shows sides of me not many people have seen, or have ever imagined of me...

[Revolut1on]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I enjoy listening to music that tells a story. I guess that's one of the only reasons I like rap music so much. It's kind of like an escape from reality. You have this guy talking about killing people, selling drugs, etc. but in reality the rapper probably doesn't participate in any of it, yet millions of people believe it. It's like rappers do nothing more than tell folktales with a beat behind them. Don't get me wrong, I like rap music, I just don't take any of it seriously. I guess you can say I listen to music to hear someone try to make the impossible seem possible.[/COLOR]

[Cat]

Most of the music I listen to none of my friends like at all. They like the pop stuff. I on the other hand, like music that have singer with a good voice and writes most of his own music. I have also like songs that discribe how a certin thing is. The other thing that I have notice is that I like music that hasn't really been a big hit in the United States.

Lately I have been listening to Rock, Arena Rock, Classic Rock, and Gothic Rock type of music. The bands that I like are Billy Idol, HIM, The 69 Eyes, James Marsters, and many others.