Type and Musical Appreciation

[Snowey1210]

I'm really into music. I love listening to a real broad range of styles, however there are some music genres/styles that just seem to gel with me more than others. I find myself listening to a lot of folk and indie style music, along with old rock 'n' roll classics etc. Melancholy music is something I really enjoy listening to although it tends to contrast somewhat with my upbeat self.

Ok so what I'm getting at is how does music selection reflect upon type, does it reflect external characteristics of yourself or does it address the more introverted aspects. Here are a few questions to help guide responses.

What type are you?

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?

I'll just add this smilie on the end because it seems fitting.

[Jeffster]

What type are you?

ISFP

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?

All sorts of stuff at times, but pop/rock styles of music most of the time. These days I listen to more 80's/90's pop than anything else, some more recent contemporary Christian music

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?

I value both, sometimes I focus more on one aspect, but unless it's an instrumental, then a song needs both to be complete

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?

I think it's like blood in my veins, it flows through me and I will almost always have a rhythm or a melody or both in my head, often things people say or do will remind me of a lyric, or what somebody said sounds lyrical and I'll repeat what they said and put it to a melody.

I'll just add this smilie on the end because it seems fitting.

Rock on.

[MerkW]

What type are you
INTp. Or INTJ. I am a bit indecisive.

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?
I listen primarily to classical music (by this, I mean the entire classical movement, not just the brief period throughout the 1700s). I usually enjoy pieces that are highly structured, but I may also occasionally listen to anything as dissonant, sporadic, and bizarre as Schoenberg. I also very much enjoy Klezmer (and most folk music from Eastern Europe/surrounding areas). Why? Overall, because I enjoy structural complexity in the music that I listen to. It may also be influenced to a certain degree by my ethnicity/cultural background.

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?
Most of the music that I listen to involves no singing, so this question is a bit irrelevant. In the rare cases where singing is involved, I enormously value the musical content over the lyrics.

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?
I am not entirely sure. I might bet back to this one latter.

[Orangey]

What type are you
INTP

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?
I enjoy all kinds, but since that is vague I'll boil it down. I listen to some classical (I enjoy both the classical and romantic periods), different types of folk music (mostly Celtic, Indian, and various Middle Eastern), and some contemporary rock/alternative. My favorites of the latter type are usually the more bizarre kind that incorporates folk elements such as Led Zeppelin. Anything interesting, basically, because if the song is too repetitive, I will not enjoy it for long.

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or vise versa?
Definitely musical content over the lyrics. Popular artists who write opaque lyrics are usually in my favorites because they sort of transcend interpretation and let me focus on the music. I also enjoy listening to music in different languages so that I don't have to try and understand the lyrics, I can just enjoy the musical quality of the vocalist.

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?
I honestly don't know. Maybe it makes me seem aesthetically versatile?

[01011010]

What type are you?
INTJ

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?
Jazz, Foreign, Classical, R&B, Rock, Alternative, Goth, and Industrial.

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?
Musical content. Though, intelligent lyrics always get noticed.

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?
It doesn't really.

[colmena]

What type are you?

INTP

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?

Classical/Opera/New Age/Folk/Almost everything else

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?

I like Bob Dylan lyrics, but I normally go for music. Words will never be as powerful as music.

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?

I don't know. I don't often listen to music for recreation, anymore.

[Flush]

What type are you?
INFP.

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?
Mostly metal. The brutal sort.
Why? Stimulation! Drums, guitar, bass, vocals, possibly synth at the same time.

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?
It depends on the song. The lyrics usually add an extra dimension to it, though. I love it if I can relate to the lyrics, if there is some depth to be found (*hint*Devin Townsend). I'm not really into the "rape the limbless cadaver" kind of lyrics.

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?
I don't think it does.

[Beat]

What type are you?
Eye-Es-Tee-Jay
What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?
Lately whatever sounds catchy to me - John Mayer, Angels and Airwaves, Blink 182. I've always been a big fan of real heavy and fast music though.
Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?
A little of both but mostly the musical content.
How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?
I'd say for my heavier (but most often melodic) punk/hardcore/metal music tastes, the music reflects upon me as a person in that most of the bands are very serious in confronting issues in personal life, society, politics etc. and there's really no filter or limit on how blunt and honest they are. It's not watered down for the radio, it's not put out to make money. It's people, it's life, it's issues, it's honesty.

One of my favorite bands - Go It Alone and probably my favorite song of theirs' (you can listen at the link):

Nothing Gold

What's the point in holding on to fading memories when they just rot away with time and sour with the years? Time crushes us and nothing gold can stay, whether it's the things we lose or the things we give away.

I miss those times. I wish that I would relive those days, but like sand through our fingers they just slip away. The past can be a poison kiss when the mind is free to reminisce.
They say "time's tide will smother you" so hold your breath. We can't go back to where we lost ourselves, to where our memories are trapped like insects in amber, prisoners of the past. I miss those times. I wish that I could relive those days, but like sand through our fingers they just slip away.

I've got to remember not to hold on, just let go, because nothing stays the same. I've got to remind myself: "don't look back" because nothing stays the same. Time marches on with or without us so say goodbye to how things used to be.
Those memories are like a sad song I haven't heard in awhile, so familiar yet so bittersweet. Time marches on. Nothing gold can stay. Time marches on with or without us.

[PinkPiranha]

What type are you?

eNFJ. With pralines.

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?

Punk rock/new wave. It's what fueled me through a very impoverished bleak early life down South. This list includes Elvis, motown, and stuff like U2.

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?

Both. I find daft/vapid lyrics ruin things. I can enjoy a song that says something but has a wonky tune better than I can stand a good beat and stupidity.


How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?

That I'm angry and disaffected? lol

[phoenix13]

Yeah! This is my kind of thread.

What type are you?
ENFP

What kind (genre preferably) of music do you primarily listen to? Why?
Classical: mid 1800's on. Favorite composers (in order of preference): Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Mahler, Bruckner, Richard Strauss, Sibelius, Massenet... I'll stop here.

As to why... It's intense. It's cathartic. Any emotion that's ever been felt in the history of man is represented by these composers. One Mahler symphony alone covers the emotional breadth of a lifetime. Aside from catharsis, it also offers this over-reacting ENFP some much needed perspective. I have actually broken out in laughter over my own grievances after listening to, for example, Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet. Everyone suffers, and the shit these composers have been through is so much worse than my bird flying away.

Irish and Hungarian folk are secondary loves.

Do you value lyrics over the musical content? Or visa versa?
Uh, music of course... otherwise I'd be reading poetry. I'm am notoriously bad with lyrics. I can sing entire symphonies, but memorizing the lyrics to a pop song?... forget it.

How do you think this music reflects upon you as a person?

As a rather moody person who's very reactive, unpredictable, and prone to spells of existential horror, I must say that my top 4 fav. composers write music full of abrupt extreme highs and the darkest of lows in unpredictable places.

Interesting tidbit: my dad (ENTP) shares my musical taste, but my mom (INFJ) is more of a Bach/Beethoven gal. From this extremely small sample size, I'm thinking that Ps are more receptive of the wild and seemingly random structure (but it's not random... just complex) of the 20th century composers, whilst a J may be overwhelmed by it and prefer the more structured and subtle expression of classical and early romantic composers (although Beethoven surprises me sometimes by breaking out a sadistic rhythm reminiscent of Shostie... but I digress).