Music is art, and when you realise that, you realise that every little thing in a song was placed there by its creator. It was there to serve a specific role. And once you add the instruments being place a specific way, the lyrics being sung a specific way, and the meaning of the lyrics flying over your head if you zone out for a second. You start to listen to music like you are looking at an art piece in a museum, trying to understand what the creator wanted to achieve, what point did they want to get across, what message did they want to leave on this planet that will live on longer than them.

This ties into more non mainstream music. Some can agree that most albums are slop all built around one song that become the hit. And that song became the hit because it was built around one part of a chorus that was made so that the song can go viral on tiktok.

See that kind of music I hate, when the artist puts away the brush and takes out the printer.

Everything feels the same, sounds the same. More technically speaking, most artists use the same plug ins, sounds, virtual instruments. Everything is strictly on beat, robotic and autotuned to the max.

That is why older bands and music artists still are so influential and relevant. It's because they wanted to create something with the limited supplies that they had.

Like the saying goes: limitations breed creativity

Its not all lost, still good stuff out there. Sift through the corporations and slop and find something that resonates with you.

With art and music, amounts of views don't matter...

It's the viewer that makes the music matter.

Fun fact: I don't like music. It's not that I hate it but i can't conect with music like people do. It's just noise to me. Some don't bother much others are like a knife to my ears. I had to have a full assessment because of this

For me Music requires least amount attention span compared to other media forms (example : background listening without "missing" anything (visually|otherwise)) , but always struggled paying attention lyrics unless reading off lyric sheet

Need decent quality wireless headphones (with optional wired connection) to not have everything sound like ass , learning to DJ so audio file quality must be gꝏd enough to withstand (pitch change|stem separation|time stretching|.*)

1️⃣ thing am big sucker for's beautiful cover art . See my https://lemmy.world/c/albumartporn posts get gꝏd idea of my album art tastes

Don't really have reason to listen to music , just do lol ! Lotta gꝏd stuff out there ‼️ Don't think there's word for its vastness . Not very gꝏd at talking rn srry

I love music. It makes everything better and you can just put it on in the background. "House/EDM" music is my jam, but I love how many weird niche genres there are. Like Japanese City Pop, and then Future Funk, which is just remixed City Pop lol. Electro Swing is a genre I've been getting into lately. I'll listen to anything but the hardest of dubstep. Twinsick, Gabriel & Dresden, Two Friends, all artists I listen to quite a bit. Although The Drums might be my favorite non-house/edm artist to listen to.

How about you? Are you a lover of music too or were you just curious?

I view music as both art and content, considering I'm basically always listening to it in my free time if I'm not watching or listening to a video. I absolutely LOVE it!

Normally, before a couple Christmases ago, I would just buy some wired Sony headphones and call it a day because they just worked. Exception being a pair of Skull Candy headphones I bought because I've been unable to get the headphone jack working on my laptop after installing Linux, but that's off topic.

A couple Christmases ago I got a pair of over the ear Beats ( usually prefer in ear, but whatever, it was a gift ). They have basically been exclusively what I use to listen to everything on my devices that have Bluetooth capabilities. They are the absolute best headphones I have ever owned.

My tastes aren't as varied as others, but I still have a wide variety of over 500 unique songs on the SD on my phone from over the years. Everything from various Chinese and Japanese songs using things like Vocaloid, UTAU, DeepVocal, etcetera, to 90s music from For Squirrels to R.E.M. to Soul Coughing, to anime music to a little bit of Sonic music.

I know this will kinda dox ( doxx? ) where I was for Thanksgiving, but I went for the 2nd time to a Thanksgiving Throwdown while visiting family and saw a group local to that city live for a second time. I bought a couple of their albums last year and highly recommend the album Convalescence from The Nixon Rodeo, especially their song Deafening ( available on yt ). I would describe it as emotionally hard rock.

I was also a music kid when I was in public school. Besides the mandatory music classes I had in elementary school, I joined that school's drama/choir for maybe a year or two, and went from 5th-12th in orchestra. Don't have my viola anymore because I lost it in a rush move, but I now have an acoustic guitar that I've had for about a half a year now. Haven't done much with it since I don't have the money for lessons or any books to help me learn, but I'm hoping to get at least one book this Christmas. I'd go online, but with the rise of AI slop and low effort things that don't teach you a damn thing, I'd rather get some books to start.

So, given my background, I can't not think of music as an art.

I am an enthusiast but not a musician. So somewhere in the middle I guess? I try to go to several live shows every year, I'm aware of when someone I like puts out new music, I seek out unknown artists because I do love live performances more than recordings.

I care enough about sound to buy Klipsch Bluetooth speakers on sale for the portable ones, all wired earbuds sound fine to me, as do the Google speakers we have paired to do stereo in the living room. I don't have the sort of ears that can tell great from good speakers, but can't listen to music on my phone speaker like my kids & husband can, those are so bad it bothers me.

Music to me is art and entertainment, I don't think I'd call it content.

it's complicated. from crappy speakers, hate all music. with a good enough sound system i like music in movies and shows, but i don't like if it's played as just music. and i hate listening to music in a car regardless of quality

Things I do:

• Maintain a large database of music, though primarily for archive purpose
• Write software for listening music, though it is far from done
• Maintain some overengineered smart playlist
• Occasionally search and purchase new albums

It's primarily Vocaloid, so that's probably why I can't listen to it and focus on something else at the same time. Also probably why I can't tell the difference between bad and good headphones. Some are meme songs too.

A lot, helps with emotional release.

Music is such a lifesaver that I should've found out about earlier. Like... after your parents yell at you, it would help a fucking lot to just let the sounds soothe you, or more like let you release your anger and sadness being being a "burden on your family".

I actually haven't listen much to English "Songs". Like I mostly listen to video game music, sometimes even games I never played.

Like I like FTL music, Multiverse Mod music, Undertale, Deltarune, that one main theme of Detroit: Become Human, Stardew Valley, some random TV show theme songs, the Terminator theme, Anime Openings and Ending songs.

A lot of random classical music. Canon in D on a Piano.

A few random soundtracks from Life is Strange True Colors.

As for "songs" with vocals, my favorite are the 70s/80s/90s era Cantopop (Cantonese Popular Music) songs by 黃家駒 (Wong Ka Kui) and his band Beyond, especially 海闊天空 ("Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies")(it's like in the top 20 of Chinese Music Videos) and 光輝歲月 ("Glorious Years")(song made in honor of Nelson Mandela), but as well as various others like 劉德華 (Andy Lau).

I first got interested because my dad grew up during those eras and I just decided to go googling. But, nowadays, it's kinda conflicting on my emotions tho, since Cantonese reminds me of my parents yelling at me... so I kinda have to suppress my traumatic memories a bit to actually enjoy it. My brain automatically makes the "Cantonese = I'm about to get yelled at" subconscious associations lol. So I guess listening to this is a bit of desensitation therapy kinda of lol. As for Mandarin... it kinda... it kinda always sounds weird to me, even tho I am a native speaker of both Cantonese and Mandarin.

But TLDR: For the most part, I just love listening to Anime songs and Video Game Soundtracks.

Music kinda helps with depression, otherwise I'd just feel so "empty".

I just grab the audiofile with a youtube downloader, and like put it in a folder. Maybe I should go archiving these things, but I've been procrastinating lol.

As for headphones, just some random cheap one under $100 made by those mainsteam manufacturers like Anker. I hate wires cuz it's so annoying when it touches your neck, like sensory issues lol.

Not really an audiophile, and my stuff breaks too often, so I don't wanna ever spend $200 again, just cheap ones will do. ("Boots Theory of Economics" doesn't apply, I broke an expensive one before lol, there was barely any difference in quality, like I can barely tell the difference between a $200 and $100 one.)

Kinda rambled a lot, so idk if I typo'ed anything lol.

edit: typo

I can't live without it. I would be always unmotivated and unproductive without it

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?

I don't care much about the earbuds. I just buy the wireless earbuds with the longest battery life . To me it's all about the artistic sound of music

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭?

With the amount of music I own. It's too hard to pick music . I simply have one long playlists with all the music I own that i play in order. If I encounter a very good song from a good artist thanks to musicale paroral queues I can pause the library playlist listen to the full album then when finished resume to the last played song from the library playlists

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬/𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐬/𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬?

No, arguing about the best albums, debating other opinions with obsession simply ruin the enjoyment of listening to music

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜?

I used to but with 2000 artists I listen too I stopped

𝐓𝐋;𝐃𝐑 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

Music is artistic audio content

I usually only listen to music when I'm doing something else, like driving.

I listen to a lot of game audio or background music though I couldn't tell you who the artists are, only what game/movie they're from.

I think that puts me into the 'not really a music person' category.

I deeply care about music. It is a part of my everyday life.

I don't have high end devices to play from but I have different speakers, earbuds, or the car to play wherever I want basically.

I usually just make a random playlist of all the songs I own and go from there. Sometimes I want instrumental sometimes I want to sing. Just depends on what I feel like. I have lots of different tastes from The Calling to Beethoven. All the way to Sabrina Carpenter.

I listen to music by itself all the time. It is a different activity than just in the background. But I am also a singer so many of my song choices I actively sing to. I also sing in a choir and other events along with karaoke.

I talk about favorite music all the time with friends and family. Whether it's how it makes me feel to seeing if they have heard anything cool recently.

I search for music constantly. I usually want to own my music so I use places like Bandcamp to purchase music. But I also have music from cds, online, or stuff from myself and my choirs.

Tldr- Music is definitely art that I believe can find someone at the right time to make them feel something.

Music is everything to me. From playing the clarinet, to listening to frank Sinatra.

I love it. We all need it.

i don't care about music.

There is a popular question "If you were to lose either sight or hearing, which one would you chose?" and my answer is always: i could live with never reading with my eyes again, i couldn't live with never hearing music again.

So yes, music is a big part of my life.

I use it as a tool, to support a specific mood or situation. For example I have a few playlists that help me get into a flow state for work (the Brotato OST is great for this, also my anime playlist). I use a specific album to help me calm down when I'm having a bad headache. I listen to epic music while cooking or doing housework (recently: Two Steps From Hell).

But I also listen with intent, especially for my favourite artists, or artists I just recently discovered, or albums I just recently bought. I like to find my favourite song in each album, so I want to listen closely, and sometimes write down my thoughts about a song, or quotes from the lyrics.

And I also make music myself: I am a member of a local women's vocal group/choir. The genres of music we're singing isn't really something I would listen to at home (metal doesn't really lend itself to be sung by 40 women with a median age of 50+ unfortunately) but I'm not necessarily doing it for the songs themselves: it is just so much fun to sing together! I love hearing our voices come together, I find immense joy in joining my voice with others.

So, yes: music to me is art, and content, and community.

I love music.

I love music. I can keep a beat fairly well, but I'm no musician. I listened to music quite often just to hear it in the background. As a kid growing up, it was like that. Seems to me, there was always a radio on in the background if we weren't watching TV.

I listen to most anything. Except for newer pop country or rock-country. I'm just about to hit 50, so my taste jumps around a bit. From Tool to Kenny Rodgers. Neil Diamond to Weird Al. They Might Be Giants to Deftones. Roy Orbison to Metallica. Talking Heads to Attila.

I'll put music on if I'm: doing the dishes, taking a shower, at work, diving, cooking, mowing the lawn, house chores.

It would most definitely suck the day I can't listen to music anymore!!

• Audiophile
• Gear removed
• Music is high art (our highest)
• Collect all I can
• love reading about musicians, composers, songwriters, their history, thinking about lyrics, concert tours, songwriting, covers etc...
• love all music from around the world all time periods I can get my hands on.

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?

I can't afford truly high end gear, so I try to get the best possible; currently, it's a set of pebble speakers and some sony headphones that I think I lucked out on because they sound amazing. I have some clunky monoprice headphones that are like honey for my ears, but the cord is broken and I can't solder it together again. *I've also spent a considerable amount of time finding FLAC copies of everything I wan to listen too, which has been really easy to do once I found a certain, respectable website...

I have a bit less than a terabyte of music that I add too sometimes if I come across something. I have it all backed up an external drive, which is really the only reason I bought it.

Do you have favorite albums or do you just hit play on a random playlist and zone out?

Right now I've been consistently listening to Zoe Keating, all her albums are great imo. Honourable mention to LCD Soundsystem, Ólafur Arnalds, Bonobo, OK Go, Odesza, Hump Back, Bombay Bicycle Club and Big|Brave (in no real order).

Do you ever listen to music just to enjoy it and nothing else?

Sometimes, but mostly it's while doing other things like homework or shit posting.

Do you talk with passion about your favorite songs/albums/artists?

Not really, I've never met anyone that cares enough.

Do you spend time searching for music?

I sometimes find bands I like posted on the main music comm for lemmy, but usually it's not my vibe, even though I could say it's good. I would say that I'm satiated at this moment of time.

Without music there would be no grace in the world. It is my church. Without music life would be diminished, not augmented.

I generally like music, some kinds more than other kinds. I'm especially fond of novelty music such as Weird Al.

But I don't usually go out of my way to listen to music. Not even when driving. (But my wife sometimes does which I enjoy.)

But really it's just not a big part of my life.

re: art vs. content: I'm not sure of the distinction you're making. Can you explain what you mean?

Music is almost a daily thing for me.

It's either to listen while I'm doing something I want to focus on, ie work, hobby.

Just for recreation ie find new bands, watch guitar/bass/drum covers

I also listen to analyse certain elements of songs ie bass lines, riffs, drumming, keyboarding etc

I had some workers doing some work at my house not so long ago and one guy asked the other if he knew this song and he's replied, I'm not really into music.

I was a bit taken back, to me that feels like a soulless life but each to their own! Life would be boring without music imo

I generally will always have a song in my head. Current track: Suffer in truth by Meshuggah... Why? I dunno just woke up with it playing lol

I didn't start listening to music until I was 15 and even then I only had a few mp3 files given to me by friends. It still took me another ~10 years or so to figure out my own music taste.

I don't have a favorite song or artist and don't talk much about music with anyone. In general I use it as background noise to help me focus when working on something.

I'm a big music lover. My preferred way of listening to music in an album played on a properly setup two channel system. When I had the means I had a great stereo setup and loved putting on a record or selecting something from my own digital music collection.

The majority of the time I listen to albums vs individual tracks or playlists. A good album front to back just does it for me. I'm fairly specific about what I listen to, I usually know exactly what I'm in the mood to hear. I've got albums I like to as background noise but for the most part I like to listen to music as it's own activity. I've got favorite albums but that's a rotating list thats incredibly inconsistent and changes daily.

I love talking music with people who love music. Even if it's not music I normally listen to I love picking apart songs and talking what about you like/dislike about it. I've got some friends that are my main music buddies and we are constantly sharing new music we come across.

Some of my current favorite albums are:

Good by Morphine

Less Talk, More Rock by Propagandhi

Artist in the Ambulance by Thrice

Modal Soul by Nujabes

4eva Is A Mighty Long Time by Big KRIT

Fuck World Trade by Leftover Crack

French Kiwi Juice by French Kiwi Juice

Warp Riders by The Sword

Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown

Red Album by Baroness

Time Out by Dave Brubeck

Moanin by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

Frances The Mute by The Mars Volta

I care a decent amount. I won't spend insane amounts on equipment because I simply don't hear a quality difference, but both my pairs of headphones were around 250€. I can honestly tolerate most 10€ trash for a bit with some eq adjustment but it's just noticably worse.

I often spend half an hour or even two hours in the evening just listening to music when I was supposed to just go to sleep. In that case I usually click from youtube video to youtube video, I find that MVs can also add a lot to the experience. Otherwise I mainly have one playlist that I put most songs I like into, if they fit the general vibe of what I want for my generalist playlist.

I always feel a need to share the music I love with ppl but everyone I know either doesn't care or follows the same artists anyway. So since you asked... (this is gonna be mostly japanese, and mostly metal)

Probably my current favorite artist is Release Hallucination, japanese prog metal with jazz influences. The drum patterns tickle my brain in the right way. Sisters is probably my favorite from them.

There's also Utsu-P, who imo is an incredible songwriter and lyricist who in his newer songs does all sorts of metal genre fusions, usually but not always with vocaloid vocals. Musically, I love Gorgon the most (best genre description would be... trap metalcore with a speedcore breakdown?). I also always find myself coming back to An Alien's I Love You because I just find the song very touching, in spite of my japanese being very basic and thus only understanding like a fifth of it without subtitles. He also has a pretty cool band called Ohayo Gozaimasu.

Then there's this great german metalcore band (very poppy and catchy sound, but high variety in song styles and meaningful lyrics) called Future Palace, we're on lemmy so I'll just link the song that's not-so-subtly about the palestinian genocide.

Then there's kobaryo who does just about every EDM genre under various aliases, though his main thing is speedcore. His entire latest album is just great - all the credited featured artists are just him under different aliases.

Honorable mention to the little subcommunity of metal vtubers doing mostly covers, many of which I like better than the original, such as this cover of make them suffer's song contraband which was apparently my most listened to song last year.

Last but not least my favorite singer is also a Vtuber, by the name of Roca Rourin, who does regular karaoke streams that I enjoy so much I try to schedule other things around so I don't miss them, and then I just listen to her sing for an hour. She does a lot of 80s songs, classic rock, and jazz, but also a little bit of everything. By nature of them being karaoke streams there's often a little scuff, but imo that just adds to the charm and my god the voice on this woman. This is a good example of one of those. She also has a great cover of The Pretender.

I could continue but this would go on forever lol.

In spite of the obvious genre bias, I enjoy a wide variety of music when I'm in the mood for it. The only hugely popular genre I can't get into is hip hop/rap, but even that has a few exceptions.

I care. A lot. I still buy vinyls and CD’s. Music is a whole life to me.

It’s both art and content for me. I listen to a very wide range of genres; from metal to jazz, EDM, prog, industrial, film scores, kpop, and more. Streaming platforms have a hard time profiling me just based on the stuff I listen to.

I’m also a musican, so it’s my “art” as well, because I create it to express myself. It’s been a huge part of my entire life.

I care about music. I look for new stuff I enjoy. I listen to albums. I think about the lyrics. I see bands live when they tour. Sometimes I make mixes with a theme.

I used to ask people sometimes if they made mixes, and if so where they fell on the spectrum of "these are some songs I like" and "each songs inclusion and ordering has been carefully considered".

I don't just hit shuffle or let an algorithm wander through music. Songs are like spells and different tunes evoke different feelings.

I don't relate to people when they say they like "all kinds of music" or "I listen to a dozen new songs every day". That's just not enough time spent with those new songs to form any sort of bond, for me.

I only have a couple friends who have what I call an interoperable relationship with music. It's not that we like the same music, but that the music we each like, we like in a mutually comprehensible way. Like I can say to my friend, "oh this song could go right next to that song because xyz ", and they'll be like "oh that's good. abc fits in with them, too".

My other friends, talking about music, at most I get a "cool song, bro".

I hear it when it's playing on a car radio or in an ad or on some show, and I acknowledge how music can spur an emotional response when used effectively, but I don't regularly listen to it.

I’m assuming everyone here listens to music somewhat regularly

As somebody who does not regularly listen to music, I am curious why you would make this assumption.

I'm weirdly deeply invested, like I've got decent headphones, I've composed songs before, I've played two instruments, and like someone else posted, I've also implemented my own music player program.

But man, I struggle with feeling it as art. I don't know, if that's a case of music-maker being snobby about everyone else's music, while being too critical of their own music. Maybe my expectations are just too high.
Like, I'm trying to create lyric-less music where I feel a meaning. And at times, I'm amazed that I can evoke the sense of snowfall. But at many other times, it just sounds paperthin to me, and I still haven't managed to really portray a deeper meaning.

Maybe I'm just frustrated, because poems come more naturally to me (and yes, I am dense for not adding lyrics to my songs 🫠).

One of my main hobbies. Not just that, but my method of dealing with emotions, focusing, working effectively, expressing myself, preventing boredom, taking my mind off the world, bringing me up when I feel down, it's my main source of enjoyment, main source of happiness, my culture, my community. I enjoy learning about it, absorbing content, creating it, playing it. I even mod two communities here and post to other peoples'.

So yeah, it's pretty much my entire life at this point. Wouldn't be here without it. I probably spend more time awake, listening to music, then not. And when I'm not, I permanently have a song playing in my head.

To answer your question about devices, I like to listen through devices that allow me to get as close to the way the artist intended it, as possible. Whether it be good-quality peripherals, listening digitally or listening to vinyl.

The irony is, a lot of music I gravitate towards has many imperfections, which to me, is what makes it human, real, and ALIVE. It is far more powerful at conveying true emotion and is thus more meaningful. So even when listening to music which was poorly recorded to begin with, I still prefer listening through good quality speakers for example, because it is more true to the original sound.

I'm a music removed.

I am a self-taught vocalist of 19 years going of hobby. I tend to attribute many songs as themes for emotions, people, and all assortment of things.

I wouldn't say I'm an audiophile though, because I know peak audio quality is 320kbps and CD-quality alone is more than sufficient. I also really care enough to want as clear of a sound as possible.

I am also one of the few that has a hard time tiring out of some songs, even when I've listened to them over hundreds of times. Additionally, I am melting in the new experience of new songs I discover or that have been released for the first time.

And I think platforms like Spotify are shit.

I care. I have good speakers (KLH 1973. $1 At a garage sale :) ). I have sane music software (libre elec). I download albums. I never use a streaming service. Commercial interruptions are unknown in my house.

Decent enjoyer. I don’t care much about the highest quality hifi sound systems, but I don’t want bad sound systems either.

I rather listen to full albums rather than individual songs.

I don’t really search much for music anymore. I know which artists I like and follow them. Sometimes I diversify with new music though.

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.

Yes. (to the first 5 questions)

It's both content and art.