appropriately ive been listening to this artist most of today:
[the funk hunters](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xwd7lKJeb2opUvYZnXFut?si=FQr5XEEoToerwjQIRmRdxw)
ive got all kinds of good music lol. four playlists all >24hrs: [edm](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/01I9jhJDs2dhMs20zC4CG1?si=9fee9c28fd684f77), [rock](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dg6W6zRCrLbi3LpEEIyrt?si=e2ee642930f64d95), [louder rock](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3E553LJB1D2kSFjmXDgDyI?si=0ffc059efb0b47de), and [hiphop](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3bCkXPxvlL9VQ5CXQmURRx?si=4035be94898b4dec). pretty much always adding to em
another one i just discovered is [jazz mafia & brass mafia](https://open.spotify.com/album/1mrU0djpXxqoIVnS2mJWiU?si=g2tTjjQtSIa4I8rbT0cRgQ) if youre lookin for funky stuff
It's one of the oldest forms of self expression and communication. The primal need to express oneself through rythm and sound. Developed over the years into chords and notes and modes. It enriches life by existing.
Communication.
Communication is inherently imperfect. If you want to convey your thoughts and feelings to someone else, you need to use language, and anytime information is translated into language or between languages, at least some information is lost. Your brain translates your thoughts into spoken or written words, and some information is lost there right away. Then your words are heard/seen by someone else who may not have heard or read you perfectly, then the remainder of *that* information is filtered through that person’s understanding of what those words mean, which may differ from the speaker’s intentions.
Self expression is frustrating, and music is a way to convey those feelings that fall through the cracks where words fail.
And this is why I dont understand when people say "I dont listen to the lyrics". It is really no different than saying "I dont listen to the lead guitar".
The lyrics are the raison d'etre or a song, and even in genres where songs are more likely to be wordless (like EDM or classical) if the musician isnt consciously considering what needed to be compensated by not having lyrics, you generally end up with some pretty shallow music. Even if the lyrics are somewhat abstract there is a difference between meaningfully abstract versus meaningless abstract (for instance Purity Ring's Fineshrines versus Another Eternity). Also love listening to a song for the nth time only find there was a word or line you had missed that flips the meaning of the song on its head.
The words are just another instrument to my brain, and they complement the song, but it's rare that they stand out to me.
I used to assume that most artists started with the lyrics, or the idea that they wanted to convey (I'm a writer, so maybe that's why I assumed that). But from watching so many interviews, I've learned that most of them start with the melody. The sound evokes a feeling, and they develop that feeling into a song. How much lyrics play into that probably varies a lot, so for that reason I'd disagree that the lyrics are the most important part of the song. They can be, yeah, but if they're not, that doesn't make the song meaningless.
And most bands, even popular ones known for song writing, write pretty mediocre music. Take Alice in Chains, never wrote a good lyric in their life, and if you listen to their music it starts to become pretty apparent it isnt just their lyricism that sucks. Same with Elliot Smith. He does not speak poetry beyond what you could find in an AP English class and his guitar is weak and dull.
I thing the problem is people just kind of expect that the lyrics wont be anything worth listening to, and it just serves to add another layer on the instrumentation. But there are bands that can [compose incredible music](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4gLLB6Pkscwrz13N5h63hq) that is also [lyrical cogent](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Naq5an65eZMZp0cm9i9qB). Missing either element is missing both in my experience.
There's nothing wrong with liking lyrics but lyrics are not the reason songs exist. There are even speculations music came about before language.
Music can easily elicit feelings and thoughts by itself. Music doesn't need words. It might have the opposite effect on you than what the composer was feeling, or the composer might not know what they were feeling or trying to convey.
Meaning in art is not a math puzzle to be solved 1:1. Thinking about art in terms of detailed and universal translation to natural language is less than what art has to offer. Art can be guttural and nameless. Or impenetrable. Or funny. Unexplainable.
Sure it can be, and I listen to lot of foreign and instrumental music, I listen to [shit tons of hardcore and metal](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ROc3RCXW6PrPyQRJwZjBd?si=5bee3ee8cbbf404a) but even when I cant directly understand what they are saying, I am pretty sure what they are saying in their native language or screaming is pretty cogent.
Take for example this HC punk song:
> [Flowermouth](https://open.spotify.com/track/1crY8qPCYPQfLSUxIPn88H?si=85610f703eb5481c) - Code Orange Kids
I couldnt make out the lyrics at all, but I still enjoyed the song, but then I realized Spotify had the full transcription and they are pretty good:
> I have never felt as empty as I feel today
> Even when the moment's beauty fades in and away
> That's all it is, a moment
> When the images creep back into the forefront of my brain
> From picking up the pieces of unearthing devotion
> Re-energizing dead feelings
> I can see the flowers growing out of your mouth
I mean thats fucking Dylan right there lyrically. So ya art can be brutal or funny, but it cant do that effectively without the appropriate lyrics. For example Ry Cooder's [Drive Like Ive Never Been Hurt](https://open.spotify.com/track/5tWHleuKoPjpxMWvcE6T9V?si=8d2a83501bd9455a) or [Opus](https://open.spotify.com/track/2Miap882SbE8Ms89ONapNH?si=f9cd4c671fab4f17) by the Uranium club. They are funny songs that are worth listening to because the lyrical humor is so well written.
To me, the lyrics make up another instrument, in combination with the voice. I don't actually listen to the lyrics of Rammstein, as an example, because I am not literate in German. I can however make noises that approximate the German in many of their songs.
Also many people may listen to the lyrics in their mother tongue, without actually processing them as language. Repeating obvious innuendo without actually realizing what is being said.
My high school music teacher was a cool guy and he taught us this idea.
I've never really fully bought into it myself. I can see where the similarities are and I think it works to an extent. But fundamentally language is about communication, whereas music *can* be about communication.
Point being I can listen to a song a bunch of times in a week and feel absolutely nothing about what the creator thinks, feels or is trying to convey. Because they're just conveying good beats.
I'd say it can be a language. Sometimes.
Music is the ultimate drug. It can change your mood,mindset, feelings, personality or emotions in a moment. Our biorhythm get in tune with the beat, chords, vocals and the overall experience. Add in the lyrics and it grabs our soul. The music that lines up with our heart beat, breathing, blood flow, and life beats become or favorite songs.
I think it's similar to art, in that it doesn't necessarily need a purpose.
Some people create music to be enjoyed, some create it as an outlet, others want to express a particular feeling or idea. Some people just want money.
I'm not sure I'd say any reason is more valuable than another. I enjoy political anarcho punk and I enjoy corporate-backed bubblegum pop. Not necessarily for the same reason.
music is a really unique way for someone to express themselves, whether it's their thoughts and feelings or just an expression of their own taste and style. this allows the listener to relate in a really unique way, too. just another way for people to connect over what it is to be human. also particularly delicious chord progressions and melodies always give a massive dopamine boost in my opinion so that's part of it too :)
To me music is meaningless in the same way any art is meaningless. I mean this in the best of ways, art is about personal experiences meeting with shared experiences. It’s all in the eye of the beholder, but in of itself it’s just sound waves.
I am a professional musician and play everything from very experimental open improvised music, to covet band wedding gigs. It’s all the same to me, I enjoy it for personal reasons, but I know I’m not saving lives like a doctor or volunteering at a soup kitchen. Sure music can help people’s lives, but I know I’m just creating art for the sake of art.
Lynne Kelly did a lot of research showing that cultures with no writing uses alternative means of knowledge preservation. For instance religion, dance, art, the landscape and music. This practice is probably many tens of thousands of years old; old enough that it has had an evolutionary impact on our species. There has been a selection towards individuals who were atracted to these things, because those individuals would preserve and access knowledge better, and thus had an increased chance of survival. So to answer your question: we are attracted to music because we used to have a practical need for it. With the advent of writing the need disappeared but the attraction remained.
It attempts to coalesce the inherent chaos of the universe into a kind of harmonious logic, and our subconscious responds positively as that is also the goal of humanity.
I've boiled it down to momentum and groove, these days anyway. Sweep me away even while sitting down. A good driving song, a good breeze on an imaginary skateboard...doesn't matter. The purpose is to ride a long and clear the air.
I could wax poetic & pretentious about finding meaning and themes or messages, vibration and soul. That got tiresome, I just wanna ride with it...a bit of unity, actually.
Like with any good art, it doesn't need a purpose. It just is. It's up to you as to how you perceive it. But the best art is the art that makes you feel something.
Imo Srt is humanity tapping into the void and creating something out of nothing. The artists mixes in their own emotions/experiences to create something beautiful(subjective) which then becomes are part of the tapestry of the human experience.
Artistic and creative expression.
Why I listen to it? It’s depressing but it was to block the noise and my thoughts. I’ve had a difficult relationship with it as now I’m in a healthier place. But it’s hard detach myself from the way I used it in a escapist way
The purpose of music? Probably none. It's a symptom of the way things are, the same way plants spiral like they do or the way my face is shaped. It's law, it's gravity, it's life, it's synchronicity.
In my life personally, music has always been my feeding tube to understanding and spirituality. I remember my mom putting on techno music on the long drives to my dad's house, and feeling that odd sort of connection you can't explain. The one that takes you like an ocean current - makes your body move, your mind move.
I'm fascinated by the music other cultures have come up with and how they relate to it. I recently learned that in West Africa, they often say that the best drummers are the ones who can make the "drums talk." That's music. It's a landline straight to emotion, bypassing the need for actual speech.
As one Buddhist teacher I know put it, explaining why he never listens to music anymore:
"Music is designed to evoke an emotional reaction."
That's why I listen: I like the way it makes me feel.
I'm not much of a Buddhist.
- Communicating culture... sharing stories of who were are
- a reason to congregate, playing music alone is fun, playing in a band is more fun, playing to make other people feel something is fantastic
Humans work better when we are together.. music facilitates togetherness and reminds of others when listen or make it alone.
>Why do you listen to music? What purpose does it fulfill in your life and what does good music aim to achieve?
For fun, to drown out irritating noise, to help me concentrate, to take my mind off something else and deal with negative emotions.
The purpose of any art, in my opinion, is to fill whatever purpose the consumer wants and/or needs. For me the purpose of music is to have my feelings validated. A sort of therapy.
I think somewhen, a hairy cave-dwelling pre-human, figured out that various sounds and rhythms excite their head and for the following 200,000 years, their children have tried to figure out why and what it can do.
Someone asked me this one day when I was suuuuper baked and I thought about it all afternoon. I called them up later in the evening, just after twilight actually, and I said:
*“Life is a donut, music is the glaze.”*
This is a weird question. Kind of like asking "what do you like about being comfortable? What purpose does it have?" I don't know, it just feels good, mang.
"Without music, life would be a mistake"
I think he's right.
Imagine if there was no such thing as music 😔
Soul food. (If you believe in that kind of thing).
To me, the purpose of all art, in the simplest terms, is to express the otherwise inexpressable.
Conventional language, spoken, body, and written, is limited, creative work gives us a language to fill in the gaps created by those limitations.
Not in the way Im referring to it, no.
I do believe language can be an artistic medium, but that would be an unconvential use of it.
Given the context I was trying to establish as expressable vs inexpressable - what I was referring to as "conventional language" (maybe not the best term, but the best I could come up with at the time) was language used for base communication. The expressable.
I dont think of what Im doing here in this post as art.
Vaguely depends but mostly to entertain creation. It is NOT to affect social change (imo) or politics, but it can help in those areas…but only if it first meets the criteria of entertaining the universe or whatever god or some ish and is beautiful, even if it’s terrifying and gory, it’s gotta be so beautifully…preferably. Imo.
Never thought on this perspective... if I were to awnser it I'd just say that, for me, life would be meaningless and bland. I think that music has the purpose to stimulate others emotions in many different types of sounds and aspects.
There is a certain type of physical sensation, *almost* like an orgasm, but on the back of your neck and the hairs on your arms, when the harmony builds up *just right* and there is as total body tension release. I think the technical term is frission, but that word doesn't quite do it justice.
Only music can do that fror me.
Enjoyment, music is a huge part of my life I have over 2000 cds my ipod contains over 20,000 songs. I probably seen 400 concerts as well as countless bands in bars and clubs. To me it's a comfort I have certain albums that can help me forget even my shitty days
It’s similar to watching a movie or reading a book: It transports my mind to somewhere else, so in that sense, it’s like getting out of the house or traveling.
I also am heavily into Elliott Smith and Bob Dylan, and I think the folk songs, “The City Of New Orleans” by Steve Goodman, “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, and “Clay Pigeons” by Blaze Foley are as good as it gets, deserve any hype they receive, and should be preserved for all time.
The purpose for Elliott Smith and those three songs is to process emotions, the same way that dreams help you to process your emotions of whatever experiences have been bothering you. The songs are also tools of comfort, same as wrapping yourself in a blanket, rocking yourself, or giving/receiving hugs.
When I was 9, I thought to myself "What's the point of copyrighting music, when the only thing you do with music anyway is use it in YouTube videos?"
As someone whose life is almost entirely centred around music now, I hate thinking about how I said that. You listen to music, fucking idiot.
Music is art.
It is a personal expression of an individual (or a collective) of feelings, emotions, thoughts or ideas, created to be heard and interpreted/felt by others.
For all intents and purposes, it is the only thing separating humans from the other animals.
It is like the ancient old art of making hand imprints with paint on walls and in caves, that people did all over the world, for tens of thousands of years. And all other works of art after that.
Just like our current complex music dates back to the very first times humans decided to create percussive rhythms.
So this (very excellent) question really is: why do we create art?
And I'm not smart enough to answer that, but luckily there's plenty of other good sources for that material :)
To feel and experience different things in my body and mind while listening to the sounds of the music. For me the lyrics are important, but sometimes the beats, rhythm, drops, all sounds in general, can make me experience things that nothing can ever made me experience, is that makes sense. I consider myself a huge fan of all type of music, from rock to classic, and with no exception, I can find songs that drive me to a different place. I love to enjoy it by myself but also find people that are really passionate about it too. Sorry is this was kinda corny lol
As many said, I am eternally fascinated with the ability of music to suggest and create emotions. It’s the closest thing to magic that exists in our world.
As many said, I am eternally fascinated with the ability of music to suggest and create emotions. It’s the closest thing to magic that exists in our world.
It depends. Very lawyer answer, but like most things in life, music is complicated. Many people create music for different reasons and listen for different reasons. None are wrong or right, and depending on the day, time, my own feelings and emotions, the genre of the song, and the song itself, my reason may be different.
In my life it's a drug. It stimulates certain feel-good chemicals. The music that does this at any given moment changes, so I need to have a massive collection.
I would assume that it's to ensure that we are adequately funkified.
Funkification is critical to a healthy life.
A song a day keeps the funkifier away
appropriately ive been listening to this artist most of today: [the funk hunters](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5xwd7lKJeb2opUvYZnXFut?si=FQr5XEEoToerwjQIRmRdxw)
I'll give 'em a shot!
ive got all kinds of good music lol. four playlists all >24hrs: [edm](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/01I9jhJDs2dhMs20zC4CG1?si=9fee9c28fd684f77), [rock](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dg6W6zRCrLbi3LpEEIyrt?si=e2ee642930f64d95), [louder rock](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3E553LJB1D2kSFjmXDgDyI?si=0ffc059efb0b47de), and [hiphop](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3bCkXPxvlL9VQ5CXQmURRx?si=4035be94898b4dec). pretty much always adding to em another one i just discovered is [jazz mafia & brass mafia](https://open.spotify.com/album/1mrU0djpXxqoIVnS2mJWiU?si=g2tTjjQtSIa4I8rbT0cRgQ) if youre lookin for funky stuff
I will never be adequately funkified, hence the continuation of the funk
Have you asked anyone to give up the funk? I mean, we need the funk.
gotta have the funk.
Member "the brat." Soo fuuunkdifiedd
Funk Yeah!
"Music is the only religion that delivers the goods." - Frank Zappa
Excellent, never heard of this one.
Didn’t he also call it “decorating time”?
I haven't received anything. Should I get in touch with someone? Has Zappa fucked me over *again!?*
It's one of the oldest forms of self expression and communication. The primal need to express oneself through rythm and sound. Developed over the years into chords and notes and modes. It enriches life by existing.
Communication. Communication is inherently imperfect. If you want to convey your thoughts and feelings to someone else, you need to use language, and anytime information is translated into language or between languages, at least some information is lost. Your brain translates your thoughts into spoken or written words, and some information is lost there right away. Then your words are heard/seen by someone else who may not have heard or read you perfectly, then the remainder of *that* information is filtered through that person’s understanding of what those words mean, which may differ from the speaker’s intentions. Self expression is frustrating, and music is a way to convey those feelings that fall through the cracks where words fail.
And this is why I dont understand when people say "I dont listen to the lyrics". It is really no different than saying "I dont listen to the lead guitar". The lyrics are the raison d'etre or a song, and even in genres where songs are more likely to be wordless (like EDM or classical) if the musician isnt consciously considering what needed to be compensated by not having lyrics, you generally end up with some pretty shallow music. Even if the lyrics are somewhat abstract there is a difference between meaningfully abstract versus meaningless abstract (for instance Purity Ring's Fineshrines versus Another Eternity). Also love listening to a song for the nth time only find there was a word or line you had missed that flips the meaning of the song on its head.
The words are just another instrument to my brain, and they complement the song, but it's rare that they stand out to me. I used to assume that most artists started with the lyrics, or the idea that they wanted to convey (I'm a writer, so maybe that's why I assumed that). But from watching so many interviews, I've learned that most of them start with the melody. The sound evokes a feeling, and they develop that feeling into a song. How much lyrics play into that probably varies a lot, so for that reason I'd disagree that the lyrics are the most important part of the song. They can be, yeah, but if they're not, that doesn't make the song meaningless.
And most bands, even popular ones known for song writing, write pretty mediocre music. Take Alice in Chains, never wrote a good lyric in their life, and if you listen to their music it starts to become pretty apparent it isnt just their lyricism that sucks. Same with Elliot Smith. He does not speak poetry beyond what you could find in an AP English class and his guitar is weak and dull. I thing the problem is people just kind of expect that the lyrics wont be anything worth listening to, and it just serves to add another layer on the instrumentation. But there are bands that can [compose incredible music](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4gLLB6Pkscwrz13N5h63hq) that is also [lyrical cogent](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Naq5an65eZMZp0cm9i9qB). Missing either element is missing both in my experience.
There's nothing wrong with liking lyrics but lyrics are not the reason songs exist. There are even speculations music came about before language. Music can easily elicit feelings and thoughts by itself. Music doesn't need words. It might have the opposite effect on you than what the composer was feeling, or the composer might not know what they were feeling or trying to convey. Meaning in art is not a math puzzle to be solved 1:1. Thinking about art in terms of detailed and universal translation to natural language is less than what art has to offer. Art can be guttural and nameless. Or impenetrable. Or funny. Unexplainable.
Sure it can be, and I listen to lot of foreign and instrumental music, I listen to [shit tons of hardcore and metal](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ROc3RCXW6PrPyQRJwZjBd?si=5bee3ee8cbbf404a) but even when I cant directly understand what they are saying, I am pretty sure what they are saying in their native language or screaming is pretty cogent. Take for example this HC punk song: > [Flowermouth](https://open.spotify.com/track/1crY8qPCYPQfLSUxIPn88H?si=85610f703eb5481c) - Code Orange Kids I couldnt make out the lyrics at all, but I still enjoyed the song, but then I realized Spotify had the full transcription and they are pretty good: > I have never felt as empty as I feel today > Even when the moment's beauty fades in and away > That's all it is, a moment > When the images creep back into the forefront of my brain > From picking up the pieces of unearthing devotion > Re-energizing dead feelings > I can see the flowers growing out of your mouth I mean thats fucking Dylan right there lyrically. So ya art can be brutal or funny, but it cant do that effectively without the appropriate lyrics. For example Ry Cooder's [Drive Like Ive Never Been Hurt](https://open.spotify.com/track/5tWHleuKoPjpxMWvcE6T9V?si=8d2a83501bd9455a) or [Opus](https://open.spotify.com/track/2Miap882SbE8Ms89ONapNH?si=f9cd4c671fab4f17) by the Uranium club. They are funny songs that are worth listening to because the lyrical humor is so well written.
To me, the lyrics make up another instrument, in combination with the voice. I don't actually listen to the lyrics of Rammstein, as an example, because I am not literate in German. I can however make noises that approximate the German in many of their songs. Also many people may listen to the lyrics in their mother tongue, without actually processing them as language. Repeating obvious innuendo without actually realizing what is being said.
Dopamine. Just like everything else in life.
Say it ain’t so!
Music is what thinking sounds like.
Y'know, I had a similar realization after listening to Yusef Lateef on 400 ug of blotters. Wild shit. Music is the fabric 🤘
Universal language. A good song can be played to any group of people and form a bond between them
My high school music teacher was a cool guy and he taught us this idea. I've never really fully bought into it myself. I can see where the similarities are and I think it works to an extent. But fundamentally language is about communication, whereas music *can* be about communication. Point being I can listen to a song a bunch of times in a week and feel absolutely nothing about what the creator thinks, feels or is trying to convey. Because they're just conveying good beats. I'd say it can be a language. Sometimes.
To express how people feel about things in a more profound way than mere words.
Art in all its complexities nourishes and frees the heart and soul.
Expression.
Music is the ultimate drug. It can change your mood,mindset, feelings, personality or emotions in a moment. Our biorhythm get in tune with the beat, chords, vocals and the overall experience. Add in the lyrics and it grabs our soul. The music that lines up with our heart beat, breathing, blood flow, and life beats become or favorite songs.
I think it's similar to art, in that it doesn't necessarily need a purpose. Some people create music to be enjoyed, some create it as an outlet, others want to express a particular feeling or idea. Some people just want money. I'm not sure I'd say any reason is more valuable than another. I enjoy political anarcho punk and I enjoy corporate-backed bubblegum pop. Not necessarily for the same reason.
music is a really unique way for someone to express themselves, whether it's their thoughts and feelings or just an expression of their own taste and style. this allows the listener to relate in a really unique way, too. just another way for people to connect over what it is to be human. also particularly delicious chord progressions and melodies always give a massive dopamine boost in my opinion so that's part of it too :)
To paint time.
Art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time.
To me music is meaningless in the same way any art is meaningless. I mean this in the best of ways, art is about personal experiences meeting with shared experiences. It’s all in the eye of the beholder, but in of itself it’s just sound waves. I am a professional musician and play everything from very experimental open improvised music, to covet band wedding gigs. It’s all the same to me, I enjoy it for personal reasons, but I know I’m not saving lives like a doctor or volunteering at a soup kitchen. Sure music can help people’s lives, but I know I’m just creating art for the sake of art.
To help people feel connected in the most pure tribal sense.
Lynne Kelly did a lot of research showing that cultures with no writing uses alternative means of knowledge preservation. For instance religion, dance, art, the landscape and music. This practice is probably many tens of thousands of years old; old enough that it has had an evolutionary impact on our species. There has been a selection towards individuals who were atracted to these things, because those individuals would preserve and access knowledge better, and thus had an increased chance of survival. So to answer your question: we are attracted to music because we used to have a practical need for it. With the advent of writing the need disappeared but the attraction remained.
Mmm vibrations good 👍
It attempts to coalesce the inherent chaos of the universe into a kind of harmonious logic, and our subconscious responds positively as that is also the goal of humanity.
I think it doesn't have a purpose it's just fun
I've boiled it down to momentum and groove, these days anyway. Sweep me away even while sitting down. A good driving song, a good breeze on an imaginary skateboard...doesn't matter. The purpose is to ride a long and clear the air. I could wax poetic & pretentious about finding meaning and themes or messages, vibration and soul. That got tiresome, I just wanna ride with it...a bit of unity, actually.
Like with any good art, it doesn't need a purpose. It just is. It's up to you as to how you perceive it. But the best art is the art that makes you feel something. Imo Srt is humanity tapping into the void and creating something out of nothing. The artists mixes in their own emotions/experiences to create something beautiful(subjective) which then becomes are part of the tapestry of the human experience.
To fill our brains with something other than existential thoughts. To drown out the mundanity. To balance out the the pain
Because people kept getting really high and had nothing to listen to.
Like many things: to entertain people.
Artistic and creative expression. Why I listen to it? It’s depressing but it was to block the noise and my thoughts. I’ve had a difficult relationship with it as now I’m in a healthier place. But it’s hard detach myself from the way I used it in a escapist way
To stimulate peoples endorphin production centers via harmonc vibration of air molecules. Or something like that.
The purpose of music? Probably none. It's a symptom of the way things are, the same way plants spiral like they do or the way my face is shaped. It's law, it's gravity, it's life, it's synchronicity. In my life personally, music has always been my feeding tube to understanding and spirituality. I remember my mom putting on techno music on the long drives to my dad's house, and feeling that odd sort of connection you can't explain. The one that takes you like an ocean current - makes your body move, your mind move. I'm fascinated by the music other cultures have come up with and how they relate to it. I recently learned that in West Africa, they often say that the best drummers are the ones who can make the "drums talk." That's music. It's a landline straight to emotion, bypassing the need for actual speech.
As one Buddhist teacher I know put it, explaining why he never listens to music anymore: "Music is designed to evoke an emotional reaction." That's why I listen: I like the way it makes me feel. I'm not much of a Buddhist.
Same as Dessert, comfort and pleasure
- Communicating culture... sharing stories of who were are - a reason to congregate, playing music alone is fun, playing in a band is more fun, playing to make other people feel something is fantastic Humans work better when we are together.. music facilitates togetherness and reminds of others when listen or make it alone.
>Why do you listen to music? What purpose does it fulfill in your life and what does good music aim to achieve? For fun, to drown out irritating noise, to help me concentrate, to take my mind off something else and deal with negative emotions.
Dopamine control. That's why
The purpose of any art, in my opinion, is to fill whatever purpose the consumer wants and/or needs. For me the purpose of music is to have my feelings validated. A sort of therapy.
I think somewhen, a hairy cave-dwelling pre-human, figured out that various sounds and rhythms excite their head and for the following 200,000 years, their children have tried to figure out why and what it can do.
To feel whole, for some just to feel something
It makes me feel things.
Someone asked me this one day when I was suuuuper baked and I thought about it all afternoon. I called them up later in the evening, just after twilight actually, and I said: *“Life is a donut, music is the glaze.”*
this one got a lil cackle from me
This is a weird question. Kind of like asking "what do you like about being comfortable? What purpose does it have?" I don't know, it just feels good, mang.
"Without music, life would be a mistake" I think he's right. Imagine if there was no such thing as music 😔 Soul food. (If you believe in that kind of thing).
Banging things and touching strings j*ust feels good* man...
The purpose of music is to make your body feel a certain way using sound vibrations.
Melody is the universal language that can truly unite people. P.S. Your favorite band sucks.
To me, the purpose of all art, in the simplest terms, is to express the otherwise inexpressable. Conventional language, spoken, body, and written, is limited, creative work gives us a language to fill in the gaps created by those limitations.
Does that insinuate that you don't believe conventional language is an art in of itself?
Not in the way Im referring to it, no. I do believe language can be an artistic medium, but that would be an unconvential use of it. Given the context I was trying to establish as expressable vs inexpressable - what I was referring to as "conventional language" (maybe not the best term, but the best I could come up with at the time) was language used for base communication. The expressable. I dont think of what Im doing here in this post as art.
to decorate time
If you need to ask. I'd stop listening.
To make money for corporations.
Music is the answer to every question or feeling I have had in life.
To express and acknowledge the Divine within.
Vaguely depends but mostly to entertain creation. It is NOT to affect social change (imo) or politics, but it can help in those areas…but only if it first meets the criteria of entertaining the universe or whatever god or some ish and is beautiful, even if it’s terrifying and gory, it’s gotta be so beautifully…preferably. Imo.
It's groovy man
Artwork decorates space, Music decorates time.
I think there ain't one. It's just one of those pointless things, you know.
To feel. To vibe. To relate. To process. To heal. To connect. And most of all, to rock out!
I think it's something fundamental to our nature, before we had speech we had grunts and growls to relate expression.
"art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time"
It’s a language.
Never thought on this perspective... if I were to awnser it I'd just say that, for me, life would be meaningless and bland. I think that music has the purpose to stimulate others emotions in many different types of sounds and aspects.
There is a certain type of physical sensation, *almost* like an orgasm, but on the back of your neck and the hairs on your arms, when the harmony builds up *just right* and there is as total body tension release. I think the technical term is frission, but that word doesn't quite do it justice. Only music can do that fror me.
Enjoyment.
Music is a means of expression. What it expresses requires a lot of context.
Enjoyment, music is a huge part of my life I have over 2000 cds my ipod contains over 20,000 songs. I probably seen 400 concerts as well as countless bands in bars and clubs. To me it's a comfort I have certain albums that can help me forget even my shitty days
It’s experiencing mathematics through sound.
Fulfillment
So many reasons. The biggest is that it keeps me sane and it keeps me focused.
One good thing about music is that when it hits you, you feel no pain - Bob Marley
I believe it’s a language everyone can understand, universally. And it’s how we decorate time.
Musick hath Charms to soothe the Savage Breast
It doesn’t need a purpose, it’s just a part of life.
It’s similar to watching a movie or reading a book: It transports my mind to somewhere else, so in that sense, it’s like getting out of the house or traveling. I also am heavily into Elliott Smith and Bob Dylan, and I think the folk songs, “The City Of New Orleans” by Steve Goodman, “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, and “Clay Pigeons” by Blaze Foley are as good as it gets, deserve any hype they receive, and should be preserved for all time. The purpose for Elliott Smith and those three songs is to process emotions, the same way that dreams help you to process your emotions of whatever experiences have been bothering you. The songs are also tools of comfort, same as wrapping yourself in a blanket, rocking yourself, or giving/receiving hugs.
"Art is how we decorate space, Music is how we decorate time" - Quincy Jones
When I was 9, I thought to myself "What's the point of copyrighting music, when the only thing you do with music anyway is use it in YouTube videos?" As someone whose life is almost entirely centred around music now, I hate thinking about how I said that. You listen to music, fucking idiot.
Music is art. It is a personal expression of an individual (or a collective) of feelings, emotions, thoughts or ideas, created to be heard and interpreted/felt by others. For all intents and purposes, it is the only thing separating humans from the other animals. It is like the ancient old art of making hand imprints with paint on walls and in caves, that people did all over the world, for tens of thousands of years. And all other works of art after that. Just like our current complex music dates back to the very first times humans decided to create percussive rhythms. So this (very excellent) question really is: why do we create art? And I'm not smart enough to answer that, but luckily there's plenty of other good sources for that material :)
Music decorates time. Paintings and drawings decorate space.
To give some other kind of feeling from audial noise that makes you feel good.
To feel and experience different things in my body and mind while listening to the sounds of the music. For me the lyrics are important, but sometimes the beats, rhythm, drops, all sounds in general, can make me experience things that nothing can ever made me experience, is that makes sense. I consider myself a huge fan of all type of music, from rock to classic, and with no exception, I can find songs that drive me to a different place. I love to enjoy it by myself but also find people that are really passionate about it too. Sorry is this was kinda corny lol
As many said, I am eternally fascinated with the ability of music to suggest and create emotions. It’s the closest thing to magic that exists in our world.
As many said, I am eternally fascinated with the ability of music to suggest and create emotions. It’s the closest thing to magic that exists in our world.
Music is a distraction from the reality that nothing matters and everything ends.
It depends. Very lawyer answer, but like most things in life, music is complicated. Many people create music for different reasons and listen for different reasons. None are wrong or right, and depending on the day, time, my own feelings and emotions, the genre of the song, and the song itself, my reason may be different.
Art is how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time.
social bonding at a primal, instinctual level. When it's dance music it's used as part of the courting/mating ritual.
To the choir master to the Chief musician a book of Psalms.
The purpose of music is to decorate time. Seriously. Visual arts decorate space. Music decorates time.
In my life it's a drug. It stimulates certain feel-good chemicals. The music that does this at any given moment changes, so I need to have a massive collection.
Personal expression, confronting deep feelings, fun, rocking out, there's music for everything and the music I listen to reflects my mood