![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatThe problem with The January Talking Meme - is that you have to remember what you agreed to do and when you agreed to do it. I'm guessing that you are supposed to pre-plan and schedule this thing and not just spontaneously discuss them on the dates assigned? Which is sort of what I'm doing? Also, apparently it's a meme for people who do a lot less blogging than I do?
Anyhow, apologies, I forgot I had an assignment for Friday, thought is was for Saturday. And I thought is was on another topic, which I'm still struggling with, so procrastinated. Thought this one was for Monday. In my defense? I have a lot of crap in my brain at the moment...I'm amazed I remember half of it.
January17 18:oursin - Music - what you like, what you listen to, when you listen to it, do you go to gigs
1. What you like/ what do you listen to? This is a harder question to answer than one might think.
Short answer: Pretty much everything, including the kitchen sink. And What I like depends largely on my mood. I might like Mozart one day, and Lady Gaga the next. Right now, I'm on a Heart kick. Dog and Butterfly is a cool song.
What I listen to...has more to do with why I listen to music, which is the one question oursin did not ask - yet governs all the others. People listen to music for different reasons - to comfort themselves, to escape for a bit, to dance, to jump, to run, to stop thinking. I listen to music to relax, to calm my brain, and to think. I used to listen for hours in my room ...to study. In college and in high school - I used music to study to. It calms me. There was one stage in which I'd use it to put me to sleep. The soundtrack - I used was Graheam Revell's movie score to The Crow. Also used Mozart and classical - which had the side-effect of putting me to sleep whenever I listened classical music. Made going to concerts tricky.
The other reason, relaxing being the main one, is to inspire a story or to dance. I like music that tells a story or music that clears my brain and calms it.
That said, there's very little music I don't like. It's actually easier to tell you what I don't like, shorter list.
Not overly fond of organ music (find it grating, much to my friends chagrin), or for that matter formal and religious choral music. I tolerate it. (No, I don't enjoy listening to the Mormon Tabnernacal Choir.) Unless it's African American spirituals, Stephen Schwartz's Godspell, Broadway Show Tunes, gospel (basically the same thing as African American Spirituals), Johnny Cash, Native American spiritual songs, folk songs, Gregorian Chants or Mozart...religious music doesn't tend to work for me. Opera...never understood the appeal of frankly, and am very picky. Not a fan of high soprano. Am also ridiculously picky about Country (it can get sappy and nasally, if you aren't careful), Rap (misogynistic and hateful - lots of anger in it), Hip-Hop, and Electronica. Was never a fan of Disco - Donna Summer didn't do anything for me. And I'm admittedly not a huge fan of "Pop" - Justin Bieber makes my ears bleed, I can't stand Miley Cyrus, and never got the appeal of Rianna, Justine Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christine Aguillere, or Beyonce. Adore compilations, more so than singles or albums from one artist.
I like a variety - I get bored quickly. And I'm moody. I also binge. In some respects my musical taste is similar to my taste in books, movies, tv shows...I'm a culture junkie.
My ipod currently has over 4,000 songs and they range from Nina Simone to Pink. Mozart to Sand Sheff and Johnny Cash. Nine Inch Nails to Judy Collins. Porgy and Bess to Green Bay's American Idiot. Joan Jett to Billy Joel to Lady Gaga to Madonna to Heart to Queen and Prince.
Current favorite genres, or ones that I listen to the most at the moment, are Jazz, Americana, Alternative, Show Tunes/Musicals, Classic British Rock, Heart, Queen, and Punk.
But it varies. And I'm always open to try new styles and new things.
2.when you listen to it
This gets back to the whole Why question. I listen to calm my body and mind, and to relax, to be able to focus and think. I actually need music sometimes to do that. Not always. I rarely listen to music at home or on the train or on the way to work. I find it difficult to listen, with all the other loud noises. Also, you sort of have to pay attention.
But I do listen to it at work. All day in fact. I sort of look forward to plugging myself into my ipod/MP3 player. I work in a cubical, surrounded by conversations and people, and the only way that I can focus on my work - and block out everyone, is to listen to music. I also discovered that it calmed me. I was less likely to jump whenever a co-worker or my boss decided to wander into my cubical. It's a small cubical. When work is slow - it keeps me awake, when work is stressful, it calms me down, when work is boring - it entertains. And it blocks out those pesky conversations that I don't want to eavesdrop on, or restrain myself from responding to - then get kicked for.
Where I listen - influences what I listen to. Although weirdly not that much. I am less likely to listen to music that makes me want to dance or puts me to sleep. But sometimes I need the sleep-inducing music, like Mozart or Gershwin (love Gershwin, actually prefer Gershwin to Mozart and Beethoven...he's more lyrical and tuneful, less ponderous) - which calms me when work gets really stressful.
3. Do you go to gigs?
I'm know this will sound odd to most people reading this...and I'm probably in the minority...
Short answer: No, I don't go to gigs. Or at least not in a very long time. The last one was with ex-best friend, who loved gigs. I don't tend to like gigs. ( I know I'm in the minority on this and considered an odd duck or eccentric by more than one friend. Most of my friends adore them.) Keep in mind that this goes back to the why question - why I listen to music, either to relax or to listen to a story. Gigs don't tend to lend themselves to either one, with few exceptions.
Gigs...usually I can't hear the music due to all the feedback and background noise. It becomes more about the crowd - and I am allergic to crowds. After fifteen minutes, I start hunting the exit signs. And in the US - a gig usually involves a mob of people standing close to the stage in a throng. The other reason I don't like them - is I find them boring.
Watching someone stand up on stage and sing is dull. Does zip for me. I honestly have never understood the appeal.
Best gig? Peter Gabriel concert in 1987 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was wonderful. People sat through most of it (must be an English thing?) and didn't stand up until the very end when he sang Biko, and Kate Bush showed up to sing with him. I knew his album by heart - and he was amazing. Common Rotation was another great gig - could hear the songs perfectly and they told a story. Amazing. I also found Arlo Guthrie interesting. My college boy-friend's band gigs were fun to go to, because you know, college boyfriend! As were a band that played similar songs to the Grateful Dead - and were a hoot to dance to, in college.
Worste gig: a three-way tie between Aimee Mann in 2003 (who literally has no expression on her face and looks like a robot), James Marsters Ghost in the Robot (what an embarrassment, couldn't hear the music and Marsters reminded me of a chip and dale dancer) and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon Tour in 1988 - which was crowded, noisy, and lots of special effects that looked tacky.
I prefer to go musicals, much more entertaining. Actually I prefer musical theater and watching ballet or dance to gigs, concerts, or choral concerts. Why? It tells a story, and there's dance, and it's fun to watch. It's not just watching people stand on stage singing or playing an instrument. In short, I'm not bored and checking my watch.
Musicals, I adore. All musicals. I'm really not picky. Preferably not operas...which are expensive, too long, and melodramatic...not a fan of the sentimental melodrama. Rock Operas on the other hand - I adore. Loved Jesus Christ Super Star and Evita. Also a Chorus Line.
I try to go to one or two musicals a year. Few people that I know share my love of musicals, so I tend to either go with my mom when I visit her in Hilton Head (we saw 42nd Street this year) or alone in NYC.
I also adore television and movie musicals. Will watch any of them. American Idol, the X-Factor, the Voice? Bore me - for the same reason gigs tend to. I don't understand the appeal. But the live telecast of Sound of Music, Glee, Nashville, SMASH, Mama Mia, Chicago,
etc...I loved. I feel like a little kid when I see a musical - I'm awash in joy. Pure escape. My brother is the exact opposite - he prefers live performances and gigs, and hates musicals (he's like everyone else).
And it does go back to why...and how I think when I listen to music. My Aunt told me about an exercise in a behavioral psychology course she took. The teacher played everyone in the class a piece of music, then she told them to write something about it on paper, anything, just note down what they felt or what they saw or thought of, while listening. 99% of the class either wrote colors, or musical notes. My Aunt wrote a story - she was the only one who wrote a story. When she heard the music, she saw a movie play out in her head.
When I hear music...it varies depending on the music. Sometimes I don't think at all. Sometimes I see a movie. Sometimes I dance. And it depends on the setting.
Also...how I hear it. Because we all hear it differently. I have difficulty making out certain sounds...I hear them fine, but my interpretation is always slightly off - I've learned how to compensate. But ...if there is too much background noise (which is why I can't listen to music on subways, trains or waiting for them or at gigs, where the crowd and feedback are too loud) - it will sound like white noise not music to me. I won't be able to hear the lyrics. It's hard to explain. But it is why I don't tend to like gigs - to me, a gig is usually just someone screaming on stage to a noisy crowd. The music disappears. Buzzing loud white noise remains.
Anyhow, apologies, I forgot I had an assignment for Friday, thought is was for Saturday. And I thought is was on another topic, which I'm still struggling with, so procrastinated. Thought this one was for Monday. In my defense? I have a lot of crap in my brain at the moment...I'm amazed I remember half of it.
January
1. What you like/ what do you listen to? This is a harder question to answer than one might think.
Short answer: Pretty much everything, including the kitchen sink. And What I like depends largely on my mood. I might like Mozart one day, and Lady Gaga the next. Right now, I'm on a Heart kick. Dog and Butterfly is a cool song.
What I listen to...has more to do with why I listen to music, which is the one question oursin did not ask - yet governs all the others. People listen to music for different reasons - to comfort themselves, to escape for a bit, to dance, to jump, to run, to stop thinking. I listen to music to relax, to calm my brain, and to think. I used to listen for hours in my room ...to study. In college and in high school - I used music to study to. It calms me. There was one stage in which I'd use it to put me to sleep. The soundtrack - I used was Graheam Revell's movie score to The Crow. Also used Mozart and classical - which had the side-effect of putting me to sleep whenever I listened classical music. Made going to concerts tricky.
The other reason, relaxing being the main one, is to inspire a story or to dance. I like music that tells a story or music that clears my brain and calms it.
That said, there's very little music I don't like. It's actually easier to tell you what I don't like, shorter list.
Not overly fond of organ music (find it grating, much to my friends chagrin), or for that matter formal and religious choral music. I tolerate it. (No, I don't enjoy listening to the Mormon Tabnernacal Choir.) Unless it's African American spirituals, Stephen Schwartz's Godspell, Broadway Show Tunes, gospel (basically the same thing as African American Spirituals), Johnny Cash, Native American spiritual songs, folk songs, Gregorian Chants or Mozart...religious music doesn't tend to work for me. Opera...never understood the appeal of frankly, and am very picky. Not a fan of high soprano. Am also ridiculously picky about Country (it can get sappy and nasally, if you aren't careful), Rap (misogynistic and hateful - lots of anger in it), Hip-Hop, and Electronica. Was never a fan of Disco - Donna Summer didn't do anything for me. And I'm admittedly not a huge fan of "Pop" - Justin Bieber makes my ears bleed, I can't stand Miley Cyrus, and never got the appeal of Rianna, Justine Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christine Aguillere, or Beyonce. Adore compilations, more so than singles or albums from one artist.
I like a variety - I get bored quickly. And I'm moody. I also binge. In some respects my musical taste is similar to my taste in books, movies, tv shows...I'm a culture junkie.
My ipod currently has over 4,000 songs and they range from Nina Simone to Pink. Mozart to Sand Sheff and Johnny Cash. Nine Inch Nails to Judy Collins. Porgy and Bess to Green Bay's American Idiot. Joan Jett to Billy Joel to Lady Gaga to Madonna to Heart to Queen and Prince.
Current favorite genres, or ones that I listen to the most at the moment, are Jazz, Americana, Alternative, Show Tunes/Musicals, Classic British Rock, Heart, Queen, and Punk.
But it varies. And I'm always open to try new styles and new things.
2.when you listen to it
This gets back to the whole Why question. I listen to calm my body and mind, and to relax, to be able to focus and think. I actually need music sometimes to do that. Not always. I rarely listen to music at home or on the train or on the way to work. I find it difficult to listen, with all the other loud noises. Also, you sort of have to pay attention.
But I do listen to it at work. All day in fact. I sort of look forward to plugging myself into my ipod/MP3 player. I work in a cubical, surrounded by conversations and people, and the only way that I can focus on my work - and block out everyone, is to listen to music. I also discovered that it calmed me. I was less likely to jump whenever a co-worker or my boss decided to wander into my cubical. It's a small cubical. When work is slow - it keeps me awake, when work is stressful, it calms me down, when work is boring - it entertains. And it blocks out those pesky conversations that I don't want to eavesdrop on, or restrain myself from responding to - then get kicked for.
Where I listen - influences what I listen to. Although weirdly not that much. I am less likely to listen to music that makes me want to dance or puts me to sleep. But sometimes I need the sleep-inducing music, like Mozart or Gershwin (love Gershwin, actually prefer Gershwin to Mozart and Beethoven...he's more lyrical and tuneful, less ponderous) - which calms me when work gets really stressful.
3. Do you go to gigs?
I'm know this will sound odd to most people reading this...and I'm probably in the minority...
Short answer: No, I don't go to gigs. Or at least not in a very long time. The last one was with ex-best friend, who loved gigs. I don't tend to like gigs. ( I know I'm in the minority on this and considered an odd duck or eccentric by more than one friend. Most of my friends adore them.) Keep in mind that this goes back to the why question - why I listen to music, either to relax or to listen to a story. Gigs don't tend to lend themselves to either one, with few exceptions.
Gigs...usually I can't hear the music due to all the feedback and background noise. It becomes more about the crowd - and I am allergic to crowds. After fifteen minutes, I start hunting the exit signs. And in the US - a gig usually involves a mob of people standing close to the stage in a throng. The other reason I don't like them - is I find them boring.
Watching someone stand up on stage and sing is dull. Does zip for me. I honestly have never understood the appeal.
Best gig? Peter Gabriel concert in 1987 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was wonderful. People sat through most of it (must be an English thing?) and didn't stand up until the very end when he sang Biko, and Kate Bush showed up to sing with him. I knew his album by heart - and he was amazing. Common Rotation was another great gig - could hear the songs perfectly and they told a story. Amazing. I also found Arlo Guthrie interesting. My college boy-friend's band gigs were fun to go to, because you know, college boyfriend! As were a band that played similar songs to the Grateful Dead - and were a hoot to dance to, in college.
Worste gig: a three-way tie between Aimee Mann in 2003 (who literally has no expression on her face and looks like a robot), James Marsters Ghost in the Robot (what an embarrassment, couldn't hear the music and Marsters reminded me of a chip and dale dancer) and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon Tour in 1988 - which was crowded, noisy, and lots of special effects that looked tacky.
I prefer to go musicals, much more entertaining. Actually I prefer musical theater and watching ballet or dance to gigs, concerts, or choral concerts. Why? It tells a story, and there's dance, and it's fun to watch. It's not just watching people stand on stage singing or playing an instrument. In short, I'm not bored and checking my watch.
Musicals, I adore. All musicals. I'm really not picky. Preferably not operas...which are expensive, too long, and melodramatic...not a fan of the sentimental melodrama. Rock Operas on the other hand - I adore. Loved Jesus Christ Super Star and Evita. Also a Chorus Line.
I try to go to one or two musicals a year. Few people that I know share my love of musicals, so I tend to either go with my mom when I visit her in Hilton Head (we saw 42nd Street this year) or alone in NYC.
I also adore television and movie musicals. Will watch any of them. American Idol, the X-Factor, the Voice? Bore me - for the same reason gigs tend to. I don't understand the appeal. But the live telecast of Sound of Music, Glee, Nashville, SMASH, Mama Mia, Chicago,
etc...I loved. I feel like a little kid when I see a musical - I'm awash in joy. Pure escape. My brother is the exact opposite - he prefers live performances and gigs, and hates musicals (he's like everyone else).
And it does go back to why...and how I think when I listen to music. My Aunt told me about an exercise in a behavioral psychology course she took. The teacher played everyone in the class a piece of music, then she told them to write something about it on paper, anything, just note down what they felt or what they saw or thought of, while listening. 99% of the class either wrote colors, or musical notes. My Aunt wrote a story - she was the only one who wrote a story. When she heard the music, she saw a movie play out in her head.
When I hear music...it varies depending on the music. Sometimes I don't think at all. Sometimes I see a movie. Sometimes I dance. And it depends on the setting.
Also...how I hear it. Because we all hear it differently. I have difficulty making out certain sounds...I hear them fine, but my interpretation is always slightly off - I've learned how to compensate. But ...if there is too much background noise (which is why I can't listen to music on subways, trains or waiting for them or at gigs, where the crowd and feedback are too loud) - it will sound like white noise not music to me. I won't be able to hear the lyrics. It's hard to explain. But it is why I don't tend to like gigs - to me, a gig is usually just someone screaming on stage to a noisy crowd. The music disappears. Buzzing loud white noise remains.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-01-19 05:23 am (UTC)Whether it's their fault or the band's, I don't care. One of the last concerts I attended was way back when the Indigo Girls released their second LP, the one that got them noticed and received a fair amount of airplay. They had a concert at on of the local colleges and I was very much looking forward to it.
The sound was horrible. Much, much too loud, and because of that so distorted that I could barely make out the lyrics or follow the harmony work. Wish I could say this was the exception, but it wasn't. I just didn't expect this kind of nonsense from a basically acoustic, folky kind of performer.
Best concert I was ever at? The Grateful Dead. Great music, and the superb sound quality the band was renowned for. There were also a number of memorable concerts, including a free, impromptu performance by Dave Van Ronk at the same local college, but this time it was the inaugural performance for a new folk music society the school was starting up. It was held in a room upstairs at the student center, about 100 people crammed in, no amps or speakers, just Dave and a guitar. Magical.
Ironically, the town I live in, in my youth a veritable musical desert, is blossoming like mad with musical and other art venues in the last 5 to 10 years. We're even becoming known for it all over southeast PA and even up into NY and down to Maryland and Jersey.
But, now I'm too damn old to go to most of them. I still love a lot of contemporary music (the Triple-A radio kind, not the pop kind) but when I go to concerts, I feel totally out of place among the 20-somethings there.
~ sigh ~
Heart and Butterfly is pretty much Heart's best LP. Lovely cover art, too.
Do you have an favorite NY radio station, one that plays the tunes you like?
no subject
Date: 2014-01-19 03:16 pm (UTC)My problem with going to live concerts in the past few decades is very similar to yours, but frankly comes from an audiophile's perspective. I simply got tired of what was increasingly bad technical work by the sound people.
This explains a lot. Why Peter Gabriel's concert was amazing and Pink Floyd's sucked. One was at Wembley and the sound was clear as a bell, while Pink Floyd's was at Denver Stadium and the music was muffled and difficult to make out.
The Grateful Dead did have great sound people - because college boyfriend was a dead head and had taped all their live concerts, which for a while I had copies of - and that was clear as a bell.
Also James Marsters did the sound checking himself (I know I watched him do it) and clearly has no ear for it, I could barely hear him or his music live, while his band's album was actually really good. But you could not tell by the horrible sound mixing at the concert. One performer, I'm willing to listen to on album but never want to see in concert again.