I’m assuming everyone here listens to music somewhat regularly, but I’m curious about how much you care about it. And i specifically want to know about your enjoyment regardless if it’s considered a timeless masterpiece or just a meme song. (feel free to share you favorite artists while respecting other’s tastes)
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?
Do you have favorite albums or do you just hit play on a random playlist and zone out?
Do you ever listen to music just to enjoy it and nothing else?
Do you talk with passion about your favorite songs/albums/artists?
Do you spend time searching for music?
TL;DR is music art or content to you?
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.