Ask Lemmy

I view music as both art and content, considering I'm basically always listening to it in my free time if I'm not watching or listening to a video. I absolutely LOVE it!

Normally, before a couple Christmases ago, I would just buy some wired Sony headphones and call it a day because they just worked. Exception being a pair of Skull Candy headphones I bought because I've been unable to get the headphone jack working on my laptop after installing Linux, but that's off topic.

A couple Christmases ago I got a pair of over the ear Beats ( usually prefer in ear, but whatever, it was a gift ). They have basically been exclusively what I use to listen to everything on my devices that have Bluetooth capabilities. They are the absolute best headphones I have ever owned.

My tastes aren't as varied as others, but I still have a wide variety of over 500 unique songs on the SD on my phone from over the years. Everything from various Chinese and Japanese songs using things like Vocaloid, UTAU, DeepVocal, etcetera, to 90s music from For Squirrels to R.E.M. to Soul Coughing, to anime music to a little bit of Sonic music.

I know this will kinda dox ( doxx? ) where I was for Thanksgiving, but I went for the 2nd time to a Thanksgiving Throwdown while visiting family and saw a group local to that city live for a second time. I bought a couple of their albums last year and highly recommend the album Convalescence from The Nixon Rodeo, especially their song Deafening ( available on yt ). I would describe it as emotionally hard rock.

I was also a music kid when I was in public school. Besides the mandatory music classes I had in elementary school, I joined that school's drama/choir for maybe a year or two, and went from 5th-12th in orchestra. Don't have my viola anymore because I lost it in a rush move, but I now have an acoustic guitar that I've had for about a half a year now. Haven't done much with it since I don't have the money for lessons or any books to help me learn, but I'm hoping to get at least one book this Christmas. I'd go online, but with the rise of AI slop and low effort things that don't teach you a damn thing, I'd rather get some books to start.

So, given my background, I can't not think of music as an art.

I am an enthusiast but not a musician. So somewhere in the middle I guess? I try to go to several live shows every year, I'm aware of when someone I like puts out new music, I seek out unknown artists because I do love live performances more than recordings.

I care enough about sound to buy Klipsch Bluetooth speakers on sale for the portable ones, all wired earbuds sound fine to me, as do the Google speakers we have paired to do stereo in the living room. I don't have the sort of ears that can tell great from good speakers, but can't listen to music on my phone speaker like my kids & husband can, those are so bad it bothers me.

Music to me is art and entertainment, I don't think I'd call it content.

it's complicated. from crappy speakers, hate all music. with a good enough sound system i like music in movies and shows, but i don't like if it's played as just music. and i hate listening to music in a car regardless of quality

I am not sure what u mean by “care” but as someone who grew up isolated music has always been my best friend.. or to be more accurate the best coping mechanism haha, you can coast through your moods and twists and turns of your life much better when you have a song to match your innerstate, idk but its like a way to validate ur internal emotions (which can get intense) in a safe way, nothing better than screaming “so give me reasonnn, to prove me wrong” after feeling betrayed🫣

Had a conversation with someone just today about how we feel like music is our purpose in life. So, an average amount, I guess.

I care. I have good speakers (KLH 1973. $1 At a garage sale :) ). I have sane music software (libre elec). I download albums. I never use a streaming service. Commercial interruptions are unknown in my house.

I'm a music whore.

I am a self-taught vocalist of 19 years going of hobby. I tend to attribute many songs as themes for emotions, people, and all assortment of things.

I wouldn't say I'm an audiophile though, because I know peak audio quality is 320kbps and CD-quality alone is more than sufficient. I also really care enough to want as clear of a sound as possible.

I am also one of the few that has a hard time tiring out of some songs, even when I've listened to them over hundreds of times. Additionally, I am melting in the new experience of new songs I discover or that have been released for the first time.

And I think platforms like Spotify are shit.

Music is art and therapy to me. Helps me process and feel emotions when I don't really want to talk about them in real life.

I like all sorts of music and it helps me relax and unwind, commiserate when I'm sad, or get hyped up when I'm doing something active.

Without music there would be no grace in the world. It is my church. Without music life would be diminished, not augmented.

• Equipment: yeah, I have a decent set of speakers at home and headphones to listen while on the move. Sound quality matters, so a decent set is worth it for me.
• Albums vs random: I got used to listening stuff album-wise (with some albums not doing listening to their entirety takes away from the experience). As for favorites:
  • "Feathers & Flesh" and "Dance Devil Dance" by Avatar,
  • "Dead & Alive" by Parasite Inc.,
  • "Faceless" and "The Oracle" - Godsmack.
  • "Mezmerize" - SOAD
• Listening as the only activity: yeah, though more often than not I listen to music to drown out the world.
• Talk with others about it: too often. Though I'm afraid there's very little ppl in my immediate surroundings that can dig into what I listen to 😅
• Spending time searching for music: not anymore, have a base I enjoy.
• Art or content: art. The feeling of chills going down my spine on a particularily well-constructed chorus / instrumental part is like no other feeling for me.

There is a popular question "If you were to lose either sight or hearing, which one would you chose?" and my answer is always: i could live with never reading with my eyes again, i couldn't live with never hearing music again.

So yes, music is a big part of my life.

I use it as a tool, to support a specific mood or situation. For example I have a few playlists that help me get into a flow state for work (the Brotato OST is great for this, also my anime playlist). I use a specific album to help me calm down when I'm having a bad headache. I listen to epic music while cooking or doing housework (recently: Two Steps From Hell).

But I also listen with intent, especially for my favourite artists, or artists I just recently discovered, or albums I just recently bought. I like to find my favourite song in each album, so I want to listen closely, and sometimes write down my thoughts about a song, or quotes from the lyrics.

And I also make music myself: I am a member of a local women's vocal group/choir. The genres of music we're singing isn't really something I would listen to at home (metal doesn't really lend itself to be sung by 40 women with a median age of 50+ unfortunately) but I'm not necessarily doing it for the songs themselves: it is just so much fun to sing together! I love hearing our voices come together, I find immense joy in joining my voice with others.

So, yes: music to me is art, and content, and community.

I love music.

Do you care about having decent enough devices to enjoy it or do you just buy the cheapest pair of earbuds to silence the world around you?

I have some nice headphones and a decent enough dac/amp (subjective obviously, I tend to go for good cost/performance), to me there's a floor I'll want to use, cheap Sony buds were mine. If it doesn't absolutely destroy the music (tinny, compressed, etc. Crap devices can really make things unpleasant, there are cheap buds that aren't crap).

Do you have favorite albums or do you just hit play on a random playlist and zone out?

It's all mood dependent, I do absolutely have favourite albums, but I often listen to a playlist of albums either my partner or I have found.

Do you ever listen to music just to enjoy it and nothing else?
Yes, definitely.

Do you talk with passion about your favorite songs/albums/artists?
All the time, my partner is also really into music so we talk about it all the time. I totally share albums and stuff to colleagues and friends, I tend to listen to a lot of different genres so have a bunch to chose from. I tend to have more favourites in terms of recent listens, some exceptions though.

Do you spend time searching for music?
Yeah, all the time. Some weekends I'll just browse bandcamp and find albums that sound interesting to me. Totally a couple's activity for my partner and I, very regularly share finds with each other or things that we might think the other would like. Sometimes also do playlists up of stuff we think might expand the other's listening, different genres or styles we might have missed or glazed over.

Music is art to me, I love looking at the evolution of genres, hearing influence between genres (some genres have similar roots and cross over, but also really interesting to hear totally unique takes). I like collecting records if only for the large format, some albums have amazing art on them. I do also use music as a coping mechanism, was something I used to help handle undiagnosed ADHD for years, would always have music on to drown out surroundings.

I care a decent amount. I won't spend insane amounts on equipment because I simply don't hear a quality difference, but both my pairs of headphones were around 250€. I can honestly tolerate most 10€ trash for a bit with some eq adjustment but it's just noticably worse.

I often spend half an hour or even two hours in the evening just listening to music when I was supposed to just go to sleep. In that case I usually click from youtube video to youtube video, I find that MVs can also add a lot to the experience. Otherwise I mainly have one playlist that I put most songs I like into, if they fit the general vibe of what I want for my generalist playlist.

I always feel a need to share the music I love with ppl but everyone I know either doesn't care or follows the same artists anyway. So since you asked... (this is gonna be mostly japanese, and mostly metal)

Probably my current favorite artist is Release Hallucination, japanese prog metal with jazz influences. The drum patterns tickle my brain in the right way. Sisters is probably my favorite from them.

There's also Utsu-P, who imo is an incredible songwriter and lyricist who in his newer songs does all sorts of metal genre fusions, usually but not always with vocaloid vocals. Musically, I love Gorgon the most (best genre description would be... trap metalcore with a speedcore breakdown?). I also always find myself coming back to An Alien's I Love You because I just find the song very touching, in spite of my japanese being very basic and thus only understanding like a fifth of it without subtitles. He also has a pretty cool band called Ohayo Gozaimasu.

Then there's this great german metalcore band (very poppy and catchy sound, but high variety in song styles and meaningful lyrics) called Future Palace, we're on lemmy so I'll just link the song that's not-so-subtly about the palestinian genocide.

Then there's kobaryo who does just about every EDM genre under various aliases, though his main thing is speedcore. His entire latest album is just great - all the credited featured artists are just him under different aliases.

Honorable mention to the little subcommunity of metal vtubers doing mostly covers, many of which I like better than the original, such as this cover of make them suffer's song contraband which was apparently my most listened to song last year.

Last but not least my favorite singer is also a Vtuber, by the name of Roca Rourin, who does regular karaoke streams that I enjoy so much I try to schedule other things around so I don't miss them, and then I just listen to her sing for an hour. She does a lot of 80s songs, classic rock, and jazz, but also a little bit of everything. By nature of them being karaoke streams there's often a little scuff, but imo that just adds to the charm and my god the voice on this woman. This is a good example of one of those. She also has a great cover of The Pretender.

I could continue but this would go on forever lol.

In spite of the obvious genre bias, I enjoy a wide variety of music when I'm in the mood for it. The only hugely popular genre I can't get into is hip hop/rap, but even that has a few exceptions.

Things I do:

• Maintain a large database of music, though primarily for archive purpose
• Write software for listening music, though it is far from done
• Maintain some overengineered smart playlist
• Occasionally search and purchase new albums

It's primarily Vocaloid, so that's probably why I can't listen to it and focus on something else at the same time. Also probably why I can't tell the difference between bad and good headphones. Some are meme songs too.

Music isn't something I take super seriously. It's background noise to listen to at work or while driving to help keep me focused instead of my mind taking over and giving me reasons to have an anxiety attack. I listen with whatever wireless earbuds I can find at a decent price and can last long enough to not die during my work shift. I appreciate it more when used well in films or videogames, but on its own I don't really think much about it.

Do you care about having decent enough devices to enjoy it or do you just buy the cheapest pair of earbuds to silence the world around you?

I think good quality devices are important for the experience, but I stay in the sub $500 range for portable. Diminishing returns with honest claims at least. Get expensive enough and there's just snake oil scams or bling cringe at the very top. My surround sound speakers I've been re-using most of them on multiple receivers since 2014 and won't replace them unless they break. They were mid range at the time. I've replaced the center speaker and sub woofer with better ones.

Do you have favorite albums or do you just hit play on a random playlist and zone out?

Do you spend time searching for music?

I go through phases where I'll browse Bandcamp for a few hours as an example, buy a few albums and then listen to the same album(s) on repeat almost every day for awhile if I find any worthy of that. That's usually because of the lyrics primarily, and relating to what the artist is singing about strongly. This happens most often with modern/recent Psychedelic Rock. I'll post a song from a local band for a bonus: https://youtu.be/1iyfXDFBgHw

I listen to F.M. radio when commuting, and discover new artists to lisyen to this way pretty often. Usually I screenshot the playlist history on CKUA app and then look them up at home later. Really only that one station: https://ckua.com/ donor sponsored radio. My favourite segment is The Road Home: https://roadhome.fm/ which conveniently is scheduled as I'm getting ready for work and ends when I arrive to work. The host lives alone in the forest in a cabin wood fire heated with his dogs. He mixes spoken word, poetry, music, letters people send him, stories, and more all together. Wild life noises and the fireplace can be heard in the background whenever he's talking. Often birds and squirrels. It's most excellent. This is 50/50 with commuting. I also like total silence with earplugs in while driving half the time.

Or my YouTube playlist on regular YouTube (ReVanced for screen off playback) which I've been adding to ever since 2006. I don't use any other music streaming services and pay for none.

There's also my NAS and bittorrent, but I've been buying music a lot more often these days. I like vinyl which is why I use Bandcamp so much. Usually you get a digital copy when buying vinyl, though I do buy digital only too.

Do you ever listen to music just to enjoy it and nothing else?

Yeah, usually that's through the Shortwave application on Linux. Both on my desktop and living room PC. That's for internet radio. I pay less attention to it. Background noise for chores, web surfing, or hosting dinner dates.

Do you talk with passion about your favorite songs/albums/artists?

No because nobody I know cares about music I like :(

TL;DR is music art or content to you?

Art! Usually.

I care. A lot. I still buy vinyls and CD’s. Music is a whole life to me.

A lot, helps with emotional release.

Music is such a lifesaver that I should've found out about earlier. Like... after your parents yell at you, it would help a fucking lot to just let the sounds soothe you, or more like let you release your anger and sadness being being a "burden on your family".

I actually haven't listen much to English "Songs". Like I mostly listen to video game music, sometimes even games I never played.

Like I like FTL music, Multiverse Mod music, Undertale, Deltarune, that one main theme of Detroit: Become Human, Stardew Valley, some random TV show theme songs, the Terminator theme, Anime Openings and Ending songs.

A lot of random classical music. Canon in D on a Piano.

A few random soundtracks from Life is Strange True Colors.

As for "songs" with vocals, my favorite are the 70s/80s/90s era Cantopop (Cantonese Popular Music) songs by 黃家駒 (Wong Ka Kui) and his band Beyond, especially 海闊天空 ("Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies")(it's like in the top 20 of Chinese Music Videos) and 光輝歲月 ("Glorious Years")(song made in honor of Nelson Mandela), but as well as various others like 劉德華 (Andy Lau).

I first got interested because my dad grew up during those eras and I just decided to go googling. But, nowadays, it's kinda conflicting on my emotions tho, since Cantonese reminds me of my parents yelling at me... so I kinda have to suppress my traumatic memories a bit to actually enjoy it. My brain automatically makes the "Cantonese = I'm about to get yelled at" subconscious associations lol. So I guess listening to this is a bit of desensitation therapy kinda of lol. As for Mandarin... it kinda... it kinda always sounds weird to me, even tho I am a native speaker of both Cantonese and Mandarin.

But TLDR: For the most part, I just love listening to Anime songs and Video Game Soundtracks.

Music kinda helps with depression, otherwise I'd just feel so "empty".

I just grab the audiofile with a youtube downloader, and like put it in a folder. Maybe I should go archiving these things, but I've been procrastinating lol.

As for headphones, just some random cheap one under $100 made by those mainsteam manufacturers like Anker. I hate wires cuz it's so annoying when it touches your neck, like sensory issues lol.

Not really an audiophile, and my stuff breaks too often, so I don't wanna ever spend $200 again, just cheap ones will do. ("Boots Theory of Economics" doesn't apply, I broke an expensive one before lol, there was barely any difference in quality, like I can barely tell the difference between a $200 and $100 one.)

Kinda rambled a lot, so idk if I typo'ed anything lol.

edit: typo

I can't live without it. I would be always unmotivated and unproductive without it

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

I don't care much about the earbuds. I just buy the wireless earbuds with the longest battery life . To me it's all about the artistic sound of music

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭?

With the amount of music I own. It's too hard to pick music . I simply have one long playlists with all the music I own that i play in order. If I encounter a very good song from a good artist thanks to musicale paroral queues I can pause the library playlist listen to the full album then when finished resume to the last played song from the library playlists

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬/𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐬/𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬?

No, arguing about the best albums, debating other opinions with obsession simply ruin the enjoyment of listening to music

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜?

I used to but with 2000 artists I listen too I stopped

𝐓𝐋;𝐃𝐑 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

Music is artistic audio content

I deeply care about music. It is a part of my everyday life.

I don't have high end devices to play from but I have different speakers, earbuds, or the car to play wherever I want basically.

I usually just make a random playlist of all the songs I own and go from there. Sometimes I want instrumental sometimes I want to sing. Just depends on what I feel like. I have lots of different tastes from The Calling to Beethoven. All the way to Sabrina Carpenter.

I listen to music by itself all the time. It is a different activity than just in the background. But I am also a singer so many of my song choices I actively sing to. I also sing in a choir and other events along with karaoke.

I talk about favorite music all the time with friends and family. Whether it's how it makes me feel to seeing if they have heard anything cool recently.

I search for music constantly. I usually want to own my music so I use places like Bandcamp to purchase music. But I also have music from cds, online, or stuff from myself and my choirs.

Tldr- Music is definitely art that I believe can find someone at the right time to make them feel something.

I care, a lot. But this wasn't always the case.

Before I was 13, I didn't care much about music at all. Sure, I liked some songs I heard on the radio but I didn't own any albums in any format. I considered music to be a harmless but mostly pretty meaningless.

Then my 7th grade music teacher gave me a really low grade, on the sole basis that I couldn't sing in tune or play an instrument. I got good grades on the written tests, but this apparently meant nothing to her.

So purely out of spite I decided to learn how to play an instrument and sing. Getting music classes wasn't an option due to my parent's economic situation at the time, so I used my savings and bought my friend's old acoustic guitar. I found good intro books from the library and started practicing.

I listened to the radio and recorded a few acoustic guitar songs on tape, so I could practice playing and singing along with them. This must have been a terrible few years for my family, but slowly I started to get the hang of it.

During this time I discovered some bands I really liked and copied their albums from LP's from the library. My dad brought me an old discarded boombox from his work, it was big but had an excellent sound. I also scrounged enough money to buy a secondhand Walkman, so I could carry the music with me.

In high school I formed a few bands with my friends, I played rhythm guitar or bass, depending on the genre. We weren't good, but I loved it. In university I had a chance to minor in music, which opened up whole new worlds for me. I learned to sing properly and had piano lessons.

By this time music had become a big part of my identity. I almost always had something playing on the background, if I wasn't listening actively.

Nowadays I don't have as much time for music as I'd like, but I've got myself a really good vintage Hi-Fi setup. It's amazing to discover small things in songs I never noticed before in songs I have listened for decades. My gear may not look like much, but it's got what counts.

When I was younger, I couldn't afford good gear but now that I have some musical education and have learned to listen", I can't really enjoy the music if the sound system is crappy. If it's in the background it's fine, but I just can't use bad headphones anymore.

I listen to music from a large variety of genres, but hiphop/rap is something I just can't get into. I've tried several times to approach it with an open mind, but there's something in that genre that just rubs me the wrong way.

I don't care if the music is a jokey meme thing or considered a masterpiece of it's genre, if it clicks with you it's good. I love symphonies as much as I love old simple folk tunes.

Music is everything to me. From playing the clarinet, to listening to frank Sinatra.

I love it. We all need it.

I care

i don't care about music.

I've always loved music (especially rock n roll) and engaged with it on physical media. Grew up riding the back seat of my dad's car while he was blasting rock classics, and we had a basic hi-fi system that we'd play cassettes and CDs with, that my grandpa left us when he died.

I remember the first album I chose to play by myself, which was my older brother's Offspring's Ixnay On the Hombre (I was a kid and kids loved it) and the first album I bought with my allowance was Rage Against The Machine's Battle of LA, when I was a pre-teen.

Music was always a huge part of my life, for me and my brother, and I guess when the world was falling to pieces around our family life, those were the two things we could turn to, at the time.

When mp3 files became widespread in my teen years, we jumped on that bandwagon on it was a huge drive to discover even more music through Kazaa and the likes and, around that time, I started to fall in love with prog rock, and sites like progarchives had an embedded player that let you listen to some of the more well known tracks, which made me find a ton of bands, that would honestly be too obscure for anyone to know. I started going to live shows more, especially from some of those lesser known bands, because tickets were cheaper. Nowadays, everyone knows who Porcupine Tree are/were, so tickets are pricier, most likely.

When I got to college, we were on a family Summer vacation on a beach town and me and my brother stumbled upon a quaint little music store, that had some bootleg live albums from more of these geeky bands, and in an unassuming shelf in the back, they had some used LPs. They were 50cent to 1€ a piece, so we thought 'why not?' and bought them for the novelty of the vintage media. One of them was an early French press from ELP's first album, and the other was rock n roll Mecca for us and our dad: Van Halen's debut album. When we got back home, we set up the turn table from grandpa's hi-fi system, which had always been disconnected up to then, and our jaw dropped when we played Van Halen. We couldn't believe how much better it sounded than a digitally remastered CD version he owned, it was like experiencing the album for the first time, the way it was meant for it to sound, much more open with a wide soundstage and that analogue organic sound. I remember ELP blew MY socks off, because it was also my first time listening to that album itself and it sounded amazing both musically and sonically (if that makes any sense).

This kickstarted a whole new collector's road for us and we started to discover music again by the way certain albums sounded on certain masters. Around this time, vinyl was also starting to make a comeback in mainstream stores, but at this point we thought the 1st pressings were the one true way to listen to those 70s records, and on one of our runs around music stores, we come across our white whale, shaped in Black Sabbath. An early Vertigo (label company from around the time) press of Vol.4. But it was pricey. Way too pricey for our limited college survival funds (probably around 50€).

We'd always stop by the store to see if it was still there and if it was discounted if it was, but alas, early Sabbath pressings never go down in price. So come Christmas time, I decide to go with a grand gesture and buy my brother the fabled Vol.4 on display, but someone had already taken it. And after all this time scoping it too. So I guess the next best thing is to find another version of it and I get a more recent press from around the 00's. Got back home to wrap it before anyone gets in the house, but that doesn't go well either, because of all people, my brother comes home with a friend and catches me wrapping his present, so there goes the surprise. I show what I got him and he and his buddy start laughing hard. "Hey man, I know it's a repress, but goddamn, it's probably not that bad to laugh about, they were out of the Vertigo press". His buddy chimes in: "No, dude, we're not laughing at that." So my brother goes to the other room and gets out that very same Vol.4 on display that we were stalking for weeks. It was HIS Christmas gift to ME.

Fast forward to present day, we're both older, have pretty upgraded audio gear considering how we started, a bigger collection of media, branched off to some different musical styles, but last night my brother was showing off an audiophile remaster (the latest Mo-Fi) of ELP's first, and my newborn niece is falling asleep in his arms, while the piano is seemingly raining down on Take a Pebble. He looks up from his daughter to ask "Hey, do you remember that summer vacation by the beach town?" and we both smile.

Music hits different throughout the years, the formats, the styles, the gear, etc., and sometimes I'm sad I just don't have as much time to sit down and listen to those records. But it's always been there, weathering me through the ages like a brother.

I hear it when it's playing on a car radio or in an ad or on some show, and I acknowledge how music can spur an emotional response when used effectively, but I don't regularly listen to it.

I’m assuming everyone here listens to music somewhat regularly

As somebody who does not regularly listen to music, I am curious why you would make this assumption.

I think I care more than I should. But then most people didn't have their childhood shaped mostly by rhythm games so...

I have a very specific taste for music, and on top of that I basically don't listen to anything lower than a subjective 8 out of 10 in my books. Also some meme songs are timeless masterpieces (no I'm not giving examples)

• Not really. I care much more about the melody than the sound effects, and unfortunately my ears aren't sensitive enough to tell much of the difference
• I have very specific music that I listen to. At the very least it has to be a well-curated playlist, random playlist is a hard no for me
• Actually I mostly listen to music just to enjoy it... I used to listen to music on long roadtrips but I don't do those anymore
• No, but it's because there's no one to talk to. One of the downsides of only liking "alternative music" I suppose
• Sometimes; there aren't that many artists making things I enjoy in the first place

Music is leaning much more towards art for me

One of my main hobbies. Not just that, but my method of dealing with emotions, focusing, working effectively, expressing myself, preventing boredom, taking my mind off the world, bringing me up when I feel down, it's my main source of enjoyment, main source of happiness, my culture, my community. I enjoy learning about it, absorbing content, creating it, playing it. I even mod two communities here and post to other peoples'.

So yeah, it's pretty much my entire life at this point. Wouldn't be here without it. I probably spend more time awake, listening to music, then not. And when I'm not, I permanently have a song playing in my head.

To answer your question about devices, I like to listen through devices that allow me to get as close to the way the artist intended it, as possible. Whether it be good-quality peripherals, listening digitally or listening to vinyl.

The irony is, a lot of music I gravitate towards has many imperfections, which to me, is what makes it human, real, and ALIVE. It is far more powerful at conveying true emotion and is thus more meaningful. So even when listening to music which was poorly recorded to begin with, I still prefer listening through good quality speakers for example, because it is more true to the original sound.

It’s both art and content for me. I listen to a very wide range of genres; from metal to jazz, EDM, prog, industrial, film scores, kpop, and more. Streaming platforms have a hard time profiling me just based on the stuff I listen to.

I’m also a musican, so it’s my “art” as well, because I create it to express myself. It’s been a huge part of my entire life.

Music is art to me, no question at all. I care a great deal about it, and don't listen, and by that I mean really sit and listen, often enough. But yesterday I came across a video by Mary Spender about some emails she got in regard to some Spotify statements she made, and it reminded me of what a real pleasure music is when I actually attend to it, so last night I sat and listened to two full albums start to finish, and it was a joy. I used to do that frequently, that's how my generation did it back in the day, and now I'm reminded so I will likely do that more often. I don't talk with passion about my favorites because nobody knows who the fuck I'm talking about anymore, but I definitely think of them that way.

My headset is decent, and I have good speakers, but I don't do earbuds. I never need the very very best of devices because back in the day, these analog releases had to sound good on the shittiest of car speakers and even transistor radios, so while I absolutely get more nuance from better devices, it's not the be-all end-all.

The only streaming service I have is my own CD library ripped into MP3s, because of course the vast majority of artists I listen to recorded back in the days of analog and full albums, plus I have bought MP3s of various one-hit wonders, so there is literally zero upside to me in a subscription service. As others far more astute than myself have noted, the algorithms don't even really direct you toward new-to-you music, nor to music that will actually "interest" you, nearly as much as it is designed to suggest music that you will not click away from. I used to try suggested music but have never actually liked anything musically I got from a "Suggested for You" source, so I don't bother anymore, and to me I miss nothing.

I have often searched YT for more of the same by a specific artist I am already into, or for something I heard while watching a movie, but other than that, no, I do not search for new music. I've already got so much to enjoy, I don't ever want it to fade into background noise.

I usually only listen to music when I'm doing something else, like driving.

I listen to a lot of game audio or background music though I couldn't tell you who the artists are, only what game/movie they're from.

I think that puts me into the 'not really a music person' category.

I generally like music, some kinds more than other kinds. I'm especially fond of novelty music such as Weird Al.

But I don't usually go out of my way to listen to music. Not even when driving. (But my wife sometimes does which I enjoy.)

But really it's just not a big part of my life.

• Audiophile
• Gear whore
• Music is high art (our highest)
• Collect all I can
• love reading about musicians, composers, songwriters, their history, thinking about lyrics, concert tours, songwriting, covers etc...
• love all music from around the world all time periods I can get my hands on.

I love music. I can keep a beat fairly well, but I'm no musician. I listened to music quite often just to hear it in the background. As a kid growing up, it was like that. Seems to me, there was always a radio on in the background if we weren't watching TV.

I listen to most anything. Except for newer pop country or rock-country. I'm just about to hit 50, so my taste jumps around a bit. From Tool to Kenny Rodgers. Neil Diamond to Weird Al. They Might Be Giants to Deftones. Roy Orbison to Metallica. Talking Heads to Attila.

I'll put music on if I'm: doing the dishes, taking a shower, at work, diving, cooking, mowing the lawn, house chores.

It would most definitely suck the day I can't listen to music anymore!!

Care a lot. I've been playing music since I was 5, 40s now, listening just as long. I admit to being an audio snob and enjoy high-end setups, but I can be happy with a decent pair of ear buds too (my nice setup is in storage, and I'm dying withoPlaylist.

Music is 100% emotional for me. Whether it's playing, writing or listening, it has gotten me through many boughts of depression and brought me down from highs of anxiety. It helps me process a lot of emotions I have trouble expressing.

My tastes tend to skew hardrock/metal but absolutely have a wide range in tastes. I do tend to prefer listening to whole albums vs individual songs when possible, but when streaming I keep it on new release/band recommendation playlists.

Do you care about having decent enough devices to enjoy it or do you just buy the cheapest pair of earbuds to silence the world around you?

I can't afford truly high end gear, so I try to get the best possible; currently, it's a set of pebble speakers and some sony headphones that I think I lucked out on because they sound amazing. I have some clunky monoprice headphones that are like honey for my ears, but the cord is broken and I can't solder it together again. *I've also spent a considerable amount of time finding FLAC copies of everything I wan to listen too, which has been really easy to do once I found a certain, respectable website...

I have a bit less than a terabyte of music that I add too sometimes if I come across something. I have it all backed up an external drive, which is really the only reason I bought it.

Do you have favorite albums or do you just hit play on a random playlist and zone out?

Right now I've been consistently listening to Zoe Keating, all her albums are great imo. Honourable mention to LCD Soundsystem, Ólafur Arnalds, Bonobo, OK Go, Odesza, Hump Back, Bombay Bicycle Club and Big|Brave (in no real order).

Do you ever listen to music just to enjoy it and nothing else?

Sometimes, but mostly it's while doing other things like homework or shit posting.

Do you talk with passion about your favorite songs/albums/artists?

Not really, I've never met anyone that cares enough.

Do you spend time searching for music?

I sometimes find bands I like posted on the main music comm for lemmy, but usually it's not my vibe, even though I could say it's good. I would say that I'm satiated at this moment of time.

Do you care about having decent enough devices to enjoy it or do you just buy the cheapest pair of earbuds to silence the world around you?

I have adopted the standard for headphones that it's not good enough unless this album sounds ok