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When do we actually "love" music?

cascadeco

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Most of the time I know immediately if a song is an "I love this song and I will listen to it for the rest of my life" song. The first time I heard the song "Run" by Snow Patrol I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest

I LOVE this song. :heart: (and it's one of the rare songs for me where the lyrics do come to the foreground and it's one reason I like it so much)

My loving a song could be for any number of reasons, although to be honest lyrics tend to be the last thing I pay attention to. In fact, I don't know many of the lyrics for most of my all-time favorite songs!!! I think this puzzled a former Indian coworker who I made a mix-cd for; he wanted to know what the songs were 'about', and I couldn't answer him on many of them! The songs I like also tend to have lyrics that are more...random and open to great interpretation anyway!! My lack of focus on lyrics is probably another reason why I enjoy listening to a lot of music from around the world - I have no idea what is being sung, but I DO pay attention to and love everything else.

I guess I pay attention most to the melody, the overall 'vibe'/emotion shining through the song, the rhythm, the artistic quality of the instrumentation...but I suppose emotion is what I pick up first. Raw emotion. And the music itself -- melody, instrumentation, vocals, and finally lyrics....just comes together and wraps around said emotion. But I have to sense a cohesiveness and depthness to all of it -- not just loudness covering up the absence of anything else.

I love many types of music - my list of songs I 'Love' goes over 100 or more, easily. :)
 

Jive A Turkey

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This isn't perhaps "love", but every time I hear Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun", I have to change the channel immediately. When I hear it, it's like being dragged by my nails back into the past where everyone I knew was Janie. It was madness and survival and this wild sort of trying to escape, and I can't listen to that song without getting cold chills and physically recoiling/reaching for the radio like it's on fire.

Amazing how music can do that to a person.

I just gave "Janie" a listen but I used the your nail dragging madness trip as a backdrop vision in my own listening process. Applying your vision during the crescendo interlude ("...run away...") effectively rouses the chills for me. This is cool because ordinarily I flip the station when I hear Aerosmith, not being much of a fan.

and I can't listen to that song without getting cold chills and physically recoiling/reaching for the radio like it's on fire.

Do you reach for the radio to turn it up or to turn it off? Or neither, this is a character action in your own listening vision (that's what it is in mine)?
 
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I like this thread!

For me, music is all about how it makes me feel emotionally, and it really has very little to do with lyrics. I usually completely ignore lyrics unless they are particularly good, in which case I can enjoy the song more; but terrible lyrics will not prevent me from loving a song. Otherwise I could never enjoy Def Leppard! :whistling:

A song I love will make me feel the emotion that the performers are feeling...it'll be impossible for me to not physically play along. When I hear a guitar part that bludgeons me with its sheer physicality or a voice consumed with genuine emotion, that's what's going to make me love a song. I guess this is why I tend to dislike dance music, electronic music and other music that doesn't employ "real" instruments...there is no demonstrated personal investment in the music, at least for me.
 

CzeCze

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Music has been shown to activate areas of the brain that are reserved for narcotics. Music is powerful and can affect you on an emotional gut level.

Music really is my drug. I prefer it to drinking or smoking. Though drinking - and especially drinking and dancing - can definitely enhance the experience. I don't really have much control once the music hits me. And I am one of those people who listens to most everything.

I don't have synesthesia - boo - but music really affects me. I kind of live in the song or fall into it and instead of it occupying my head or ears, I end up occupying that place. I guess that's the spacey NF daydreamer in me.

It's hard to say how typical this so do I love music any more or less than the next person? Music moves people almost universally. In my own words, I do love music though.

And FM, I'm actually the opposite. I love dance and electronica for this reason. Especially downtempo. I guess I don't see the issue with the instrumentation (though I can crave acoustic after longs bouts of electronica).

A lot of electronica is able to create very emotionally evocative music and actually does use sounds from real instruments, even played by real musicians, it's just fed and looped and tweaked through synthesizers and whatnot.

On the flip, I also listen to a lot of stripped down acoustic and singer-songwriter. Where lyrics take on a heightened importance. Electronica is also generally meant to be experienced in a group and usually involves dancing (or for certain scenes, amphetamines and psychedelics) so it's an overall experience.

I guess you can say that about most types of music, classical in an opera house or concert hall, punk has dive bars, jazz has jazz clubs, etc.

That's what I also love about music is the group experience and the visceral nature of it, it's like alchemy.
 

Octarine

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I think on a base level, there are two things that make me love a particular piece of music.

The first and I don't know how to express it clearly is what I consider the base component, or the "groove". Music does not actually require a formal rhythm or motivic melody to 'groove'. But the overall combination must be something with a flowing pulse and due to the combination or variation in timbre or melody, be something that you could listen to repeated many times with very little variation. I think this is something that certain 'avant-garde' music forms lack and that is why such music lacks accessibility.

The second is the overall structure. A music piece must take me on a journey. It doesn't have to be a long epic journey, or anything like that (and epic music can be tiring depending on mood), but the music must take me somewhere I want to go.
 

Thalassa

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Sounds like you have Si if you have to listen to a song a minimum of seven times to even get a reaction. INFP seems to be a good type for you.

I've had reactions to songs I've heard once, in the middle of the song. But I also love some songs I've heard a million times.

I love music all the time, I just have to feel it for whatever reason.

Some people love music more than others, I've loved music all my life.
 

violet_crown

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1 - The most objective measurement of "loving" a song for me is marked by an obvious physical reaction, usually head & spine tingling, arm and leg hairs raised on end. These songs always throw my head in the clouds.

This is my barometer. I can feel it the first time I listen to a song though. I'm more of a "at first sight" kinda gal anyways though :smile:
 

OrangeAppled

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I've definitely been struck by a song immediately. It sneaks up on me though; it's not usually a song I directly put on myself. It's often a song that comes on in the background while I am doing something else, and as I become aware of it I, I realize it is affecting me. Then I'll usually say to myself "what is that song?" and scramble to find out so I can download it later. I've gotten into my favorite bands this way.

Lyrics are often a part of this; I'll notice a snippet, a line, even one word, that I like and it influences how I react to the song.

This immediate response does not always result in loving the song; sometime it does, but other times it is just novelty & I tire of it eventually (sooner than later....).

If I consciously put on a new song to check out, I'm almost in too much of an analytical mode for a raw response, so I have to listen to it a few times for it to "grow" on me.

Enjoying the lyrics can speed this up; I definitely notice lyrics very quickly and have a tendency to look them up if I can't decipher all of them in a song I really like. Great lyrics go a long way for me, but lyrics are not a requirement, whether there are vocals or not (as evidenced by my name that I am a Cocteau Twins fan - vocals w/no real lyrics).

I tend to approach music emotionally first, intellectually second, and physically last. Whether I can dance to it or it elicits a physical responds means the least, and it tends to result in songs I like for a short period & then forget. If it elicits an emotional response AND a mental one (inspires an idea, makes me think, but is not necessarily "deep"), then I'm more likely to "love" it for the longterm.

I've been a serious music fan since I was like 5 (serious meaning, no kiddie music for me, and an interest in it resembling that of a teenager). In music years, you could say I am 40 & not 27 :tongue:, because I often share music taste with people in the 35-40 age range (80s darkwave/college rock), due to getting into music at a young age.
 

Such Irony

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For a few years now I've wanted and attempted to discuss the process of liking or loving music with others, but the conversations have all rapidly decayed into "That's foolish, you just like it and that's all there is to it. You're overthinking it." So I'm opening a discussion in hopes of hearing some of your angles.

Here are a few quick bullets highlighting my own process & criteria:

1 - The most objective measurement of "loving" a song for me is marked by an obvious physical reaction, usually head & spine tingling, arm and leg hairs raised on end. These songs always throw my head in the clouds.
2 - I have to listen to a new song around seven times before I get a true physical reaction (the point at which I can say that I love the song).
3 - I have to listen to a song around thirty times before I start paying attention to lyrics.
4 - Rhythms are cool and they can make my body want to move, but music with no melody will not evoke the previously mentioned physical reaction (#1). Consequently, I won't love a song without melody. I'll like it at best.

So how does the process work for the rest of you?

For me, the songs I love the most are those that cause a strong visceral reaction in me. Songs that just totally grab my attention and make it hard to focus on anything else. These are the songs I could listen to on repeat several times in a row without tiring of it. In fact with many of my favorites, listening to it each time feels new. Some of my favorite songs I can't help but tap my feet to. With the less danceable ones, it may not be a physical reaction so much, but it will spark the imagination- with a bunch of associations. Sometimes I fall in love with the associations brought on by the song more than the song itself.

There are some songs I instantly fall in love with and cause a physical reaction right away. Others grow on me and just keep getting better with repeated listens.

I don't pay much attention to lyrics and for me its optional but If the lyrics are really good, I will take notice. I don't love songs for lyrics alone though.
 

Randomnity

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I like this thread!

For me, music is all about how it makes me feel emotionally, and it really has very little to do with lyrics. I usually completely ignore lyrics unless they are particularly good, in which case I can enjoy the song more; but terrible lyrics will not prevent me from loving a song. Otherwise I could never enjoy Def Leppard! :whistling:

A song I love will make me feel the emotion that the performers are feeling...it'll be impossible for me to not physically play along. When I hear a guitar part that bludgeons me with its sheer physicality or a voice consumed with genuine emotion, that's what's going to make me love a song. I guess this is why I tend to dislike dance music, electronic music and other music that doesn't employ "real" instruments...there is no demonstrated personal investment in the music, at least for me.

Wow, that suddenly makes a whole lot of sense....I hadn't really thought about it that way before but.....yes. Also sort of connected to their focus on rhythm rather than melody. You can't convey emotions through "boom BOOM boom BOOM".

I don't think I can describe what make me love a song. A combination of things that is different every time. In some cases my "love" of a song fades to "like" or even get bored of it, and other songs I still love years later.It will often, but not always, take many times hearing the song before I like it or love it. (5-10 times or more). Very occasionally I find a song I love right away.
 

bunnyhighbrow

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Wow, that suddenly makes a whole lot of sense....I hadn't really thought about it that way before but.....yes. Also sort of connected to their focus on rhythm rather than melody. You can't convey emotions through "boom BOOM boom BOOM".

I do think you're stereotyping electronica here a bit :)

There is plenty of quirky electronic out there that fits all the emotions. Its a bit like seeing electronic as extroverted, and rock as introverted. Such generalizations make no sense.

Music I love is Nick Cave and Mr. Cohen... The distinctive/timeless feel is what does it. I like how its almost about a single persona, almost crafted, rather than being highly associative. For emotional music I always go for singer/songwriters, or bands that are almost completely focused on the lead member.

Music definately is like a drug for me. Don't get physical sensations (I only do when its a hollywood soundtrack, or battle metal or something) It definately feels like a fix when after long periods of silence or daily noise, and I can get sick of it in the same kinda way. It becomes slightly intellectual, ironically, when I'm listening to more general/sensational stuff, and I'll try to analyse and think, ok thats original, or derivative of so and so, or just plain bombastic or whatever. When you've got groups of people coming together I think its extremely hard for them to gel into the same 'whole' that an individual naturally is, so it focuses more on creativity, over crafting something truly expressive. My 'sensational' band of the moment is The Black Keys (who are as addicting as crack right now).

^ damn, thats about the most infp thing I've ever written. :dry:
 

uncommonentity

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When we relate to it?

The second a song starts I know if I like it or not because I figure out what scale it is written in in my head. Then I assess the melody, timing and use of sixteenth notes and then the vocal melody. I know at this point that I enjoy the song. In regards to feeling anything for the song it depends on if I relate to what is being spoken and/or the melody/pitch of the vocal line appeals to me. I may feel for the wave-forms or tuning the lead instruments consist of but it's mostly based upon scale and melody for me. The bass, I can sometimes feel the bass but prefer 16th slap bass melodies in comparison to off-beat 4 to the floor super-sawtooth waves and/or slow, groovy riffs.

I 'love' music when I relate to the mood it conveys and my soul feels as if it is on the same level as it.

There's around 352 unique scales in music. In commercial western music as we know it only around 12-24 are used which is why music is so bland here in comparison the east.
 

Randomnity

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I do think you're stereotyping electronica here a bit :)

There is plenty of quirky electronic out there that fits all the emotions. Its a bit like seeing electronic as extroverted, and rock as introverted. Such generalizations make no sense.

Music I love is Nick Cave and Mr. Cohen... The distinctive/timeless feel is what does it. I like how its almost about a single persona, almost crafted, rather than being highly associative. For emotional music I always go for singer/songwriters, or bands that are almost completely focused on the lead member.

Music definately is like a drug for me. Don't get physical sensations (I only do when its a hollywood soundtrack, or battle metal or something) It definately feels like a fix when after long periods of silence or daily noise, and I can get sick of it in the same kinda way. It becomes slightly intellectual, ironically, when I'm listening to more general/sensational stuff, and I'll try to analyse and think, ok thats original, or derivative of so and so, or just plain bombastic or whatever. When you've got groups of people coming together I think its extremely hard for them to gel into the same 'whole' that an individual naturally is, so it focuses more on creativity, over crafting something truly expressive. My 'sensational' band of the moment is The Black Keys (who are as addicting as crack right now).

^ damn, thats about the most infp thing I've ever written. :dry:
Yeah, I can't speak for what anyone else experiences, or for the songs I haven't heard. I'm sure every genre has a few songs that can be universally enjoyed, I just haven't heard them yet for electronica. :shrug:
 

bunnyhighbrow

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When we relate to it?

The second a song starts I know if I like it or not because I figure out what scale it is written in in my head. Then I assess the melody, timing and use of sixteenth notes and then the vocal melody. I know at this point that I enjoy the song. In regards to feeling anything for the song it depends on if I relate to what is being spoken and/or the melody/pitch of the vocal line appeals to me. I may feel for the wave-forms or tuning the lead instruments consist of but it's mostly based upon scale and melody for me. The bass, I can sometimes feel the bass but prefer 16th slap bass melodies in comparison to off-beat 4 to the floor super-sawtooth waves and/or slow, groovy riffs.

I 'love' music when I relate to the mood it conveys and my soul feels as if it is on the same level as it.

There's around 352 unique scales in music. In commercial western music as we know it only around 12-24 are used which is why music is so bland here in comparison the east.

This is quite analytical. I didn't understand what I listen to, but I was always reluctant to pin down exactly what rhythm, melody and harmony gets me excited,
as I had this idea that when you start breaking it down it becomes 'degraded', as if you are unraveling the rainbow, and then you can't let go of the T... And then the only solace is more conceptual/discourse based forms. apologies for this tangential rant. Then again, if you just came up with your ideal song using this method... wouldn't that inspire you to go and create it? :shrug: :huh: I suppose we humans (thankfully) are very good at 'blending' things so we'll never really break it down logically. Like you say, you love it when the right 'soul' is there...

Edit: also, maybe we should be glad that all our music sounds similar... at least we don't have everyone going nuts and finding wildly differing musical styles so we can't piece it all together to figure out what the hell they're on about ;) We gotta be able to relate to it.
 
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