What Is It About Music That You Like? (Read first post!)
 

When I read Musicnative's questionnaire, I saw he posed an interesting question. How does music make you feel and what does it mean to you?

I don't want to ask this question, but I want to ask a similar one. Similar threads exist, but I would like to be a bit more analytical. I want to ask you what your favourite genres of music are and then explain music's biggest attractions, what it is that you typically like when you listen to a song. If you listened to music before your teens, I would also like to ask if the music you listen to now is more or less the same as what you listened to before your teens. Basically, I'd like to try and figure out a bit more what it is that makes people prefer some genres than others. For someone who likes the same band as me, are we drawn to it for the same reasons or do we appreciate different things about it? Are we taught to like a certain kind of music when we are young which we stick with or do we redefine our preferences in our teens or later, only to never return to the aesthetic preferences of our childhood?

Anyways, this is getting a bit spacey and fleety and I'm usually anything but so I've come up with a questionnaire format that I encourage people to use. Just copy, paste and edit the following quoted text in your own post!


I'll post an answer after this post that you can also use as an example. Oh, and don't let the formal format of this questionnaire prevent you from (also) posting in the thread as you normally would :)

Preferred Genres
A short list of genres here. Too many and the explanatory power of your answer decreases so don't list every genre you listen to, but stick to your favs!

Symphonic Metal and Hip Hop I'm going to stick with those two even though I love so many more genres but I get the point of this post.


What attracts me to music

Overall, I use music as a way to stablize my moods from time to time. If I'm angry, I have a playlist of songs called calm that eventually will calm me down over time. If I'm feeling flirty/in love with someone I will lean more towards R&B songs to reflect my mood. If I'm feeling pretty good and not in any type of mood that sways to a specific genre, I will zone out to some Electronica. I also have a playlist of songs called fight music. Sometimes when i'm angry the whole calm thing just pisses me off more so I need some harder metal/screamo to vent the frustration of the situation. I will post a few examples of some songs that I have on my playlist called Fight Music.






Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
No way, when I was younger, I would listen and gravitate more towards just the lyrics and didn't really understand what was going on in the background with the instrumentation. Now, it's the other way around Beats and instrumentation is what I look for first then the lyrics come into play later on for me. I like to break down the guitar solos , chords and other things and say what I would have done differently in the song to spice it up some.

okay I think I did this correctly.

Preferred Genres
Jazz Rock (/fusion), progressive rock, classic rock


What attracts me to music
What attracts me most to music is when I find it beautiful to my ears. I'm a sucker for harmonies and catchy melodies. The feelings I like the most in music are happiness or melancholy/sadness. I generally do not like extreme anger/despair/aggression in music and the songs I like the most are typically comfortable to my ears.

I listen to the music I like very often (albums on repeat) and I believe I find it has more replay value if it's a little more intricate than the standard pop format with predictable verses and refrains. It's not that I always prefer the trickier or proggier music (I don't, I like pop hooks as much as the next guy), it just seems to stay with me longer. I also have a strong preference for instrumental music rather than electronic and I very much like acoustic instruments. Put all that together and it may seem natural that most of what I listen to is from the 70s.

.. And I don't think the larger portion of what I listen to could be danced to in a club. :p:



The Caravan song above showcases the kind of melody and harmony I might like in a song combined with a content, happy feeling that I definetly attract to.




This track again showcases the kind of beauty that I like in music. The haunting piano chords in the start conjure up a kind of melancholy which I love and the vocal performance is just tremendously beautiful to listen to. Intense, but comfortable track to me that I connect with emotionally.




A sung melody like this is irresistible to me and I can find myself humming or singing a song like this all day.




Beautiful melody and playing by Knopfler and a sentimentality that I instantly connect to.

Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Yes, I think I am. As a kid, I was exposed and listened to music like Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, ABBA and so on which has a lot of the qualities I look for today I believe. In my teens, I had a period where I rebelled against this somewhat and listened to more punk and noisy electronica, but I've since gravitated away from that and back to the aesthetic preferences from my childhood.


So, this does not paint the whole picture (obviously) as I do like stuff that strays from these qualities, but you know. How about you?

Definetly :D Reading your post, I think we generally gravitate towards music for somewhat different reasons which is actually quite interesting. :)

I can definitely relate to this. When I was younger I definitely cared a lot more about lyrics than I do now. Not that I no longer enjoy good lyrics, it's just that it's no longer the focus for me.

Preferred Genres
Damn near anything Electronic, Black Metal, Post Rock, Modern Classical, Folk, World. Tons of other stuff too. There's no telling what I'll liike.

What attracts me to music
I used to listen to music as a way to sort of bring me out of the here and now. I always felt bored and dreary, so the music I listened to tended to be dramatic in one way or another. As in I listened to the saddest, angriest, happiest, calmest, music I could find. Or if it was foreign, it would almost bring me somewhere else or to another time.

I'll just post one of everything













Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Nowadays, I still enjoy music that is intense in some way. If someone posts an album and says "wow this is depressing", or "this is the saddest album I've heard", you can count on me to get it. For all the other stuff I've gotten into, like Hip Hop, I'm not sure what attracts me to it.

Don't like the labeling of genres very much, as so much of what I listen to crosses the bounds as if they aren't there, and some just can't relly ba labeled. At any rate, the genres I tend to lean to are :
Metal, R&B, Hip-hop.

First, a song must appeal to my ears, which is not very hard to do.
The next thing, and this is only necessary to love a song, it has to make me feel some emotion, either through the lyrics, or I am simply in shock from the beauty of the sound of the song that I don't even care what the lyrics are. I'm not afraid to say that some of my favorite songs are those that have made me cry. Some songs I love just to blast in the car.


Hmm... What did I listen to as a kid......
Mostly movie soundtracks from stuff like The Lion King, and for some reason I listened to the Backstreet Boys. I can't stand them now, though. Then for a while, I listened almost exclusively to country.
I'd probably still like a lot of the songs from those soundtracks, but my taste has widened very much. I still listen to some country, but much of it annoys me.

Favourite Genres
Oh god far too many and I like them all for different reasons, but for the purposes of this I'll use one of my favorites and something I've been listening to a lot of recently: harsh noise/power electronics/noisecore and the like.


What attracts me to music
Even within this subgenre I'd say there's enough variety to produce various reasons for liking different artists, but my favorite quality of a lot of it is the absolute catharsis achieved by a band like The Gerogerigegege. A lot of their music is basically just complete cacophony with unintelligible screaming. Most people can't tolerate the sound, but I love the.... rather pure emotional release, as I see it. Instruments Disorder would be the perfect example of this (and likely my favorite album ever), but it's not on Youtube. Still, here are some videos:








Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Definitely not anymore... back then I largely listened to nothing but hip hop (which I still enjoy today). I've developed a much larger appreciation for various things in music that I previously didn't have.

^Oh man, that is so far removed from what I look for in music. That in itself is cool to see though :D

Thanks, glad to see I didn't just get the usual "AAAA HOW DO YOU LISTEN TO THAT" response XD. I mean... I look for a lot of different things in different genres (trying to stay open to about any of them) so I do enjoy some of the same elements as you at times as well, but I figure harsh noise is one of the less understood genres out there, so I wanted to use it.

Favourite Genres
I like a lot of genres', but for the sake of keeping it simple I'll list a few. Psychedelic Folk, Progressive Rock, Psytrance, Drone and Hip Hop
What attracts me to music
I really like music that paints a picture in my head. That gives me a vision to what the artist is trying to convey. To put it simply something that's challenging for the ears, but stays on point.











Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?

When I was a kid starting at the age of 12 - 14 I was really into classic rock having been exposed to it by my parents. Somewhere in high school I really got into bands that took heavy influences from classic rock and made it there own. And somewhere in between I fell in love with electonic music and progressive rock. My styles have changed drastically I'm a completley different person now.

Okay, Tore, here's mine...

Preferred Genres
Jazz, metal, the art branches of the rock family tree, electronic music in it's less clubby forms, hip hop, latin music, afro-pop, noisy stuff, experimental stuff.


What attracts me to music
I like music that I can lose myself in. Whether it's getting lost in the groove of Brazilian percussion, the colorful paint splash of bebop, the mathematics of IDM, the chaos of grindcore or the massive sonic wall of drone doom, I like to feel immersed when I listen to music, whatever my mood.







Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Yes and no. I think I've always looked for that immersive quality in music, but when I was young it probably more about the lyric than anything else. The older I get the more things I've found that can draw me into a song and the wider varieties of music I'v come to enjoy.

My answers might interest some people here. I know I've enjoyed what I've read so far!

Favourite Genres
Jazz, Pop, Progressive Rock

What attracts me to music
Through music, I feel I can in some ways feel the fabric of existence itself, or gain insight into experiences and feelings that may not occur normally for me in everyday life.

To be honest, I don't think people should prioritize listening to music because it's relevant to your life. Arguably, such an approach limits you and your capacity to appreciate other ideas. Rather, you should be listening to music because it lets you go beyond the confines of your day-to-day troubles. At least, those are my feelings about it. :D







Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Growing up I listened to mostly classic rock, classical and occasionally whatever was getting buzz on the radio. I wasn't too picky nor interested in music as a youngster, so I didn't care either way. I got into jazz as a teen though, and from that point onward I began to realize I had a lot more interest in music that I had thought possible.

Since then (and also thanks to MusicBanter) I can now listen to and enjoy every genre in existence, and I'm open to pretty much anything that isn't obvious garbage like Nickelback.

It's been a long journey, and I've still got a long way to go. :yeah:

I couldn't answer the first question, because I'm really only beginning to explore genres now, and haven't got a good idea of enough of them to say for sure.

Some great answers here!

I predicted people were going to pile on the genres (something I tried to prevent) and I see that's happening, so I'll rephrase and ask for the 3 favourite genres instead .. Then people can add honerable genre-mentions in addition to those if they want.

edit :

I'd say answer it if you want and if you feel different in a couple of months, you can answer again :)

It's so silly, but the beginning of this song does indeed make me wanna beat the **** out of somebody haha...

Favourite 3 Genres
My absolute favorites? Country, Doom/Sludge, and Hardcore.

What attracts me to music
Many things attract me to music. I guess I am most likely attracted to these genres because they are some extremely emotional types of music, in my opinion.
Country music is often times depressing and sometimes the cliche 'my woman left me' lyrics are annoying. However, the musicians often times express genuine heartache in their songs. Two of my favorites are the best two examples I can think of, and anyone that's read any of my posts know who I'm talking about, Hank and Townes. So I think that's why I'm drawn to country music. Simply for passion that goes into it and its often times very simplistic music with good meaning and lyrics. Both of these men write songs that are so depressing yet they manage to slide a bit of comedy in there at times too. I think country music is a genre overlooked today because everyone assumes its made by 'stupid hillbillies'. --sorry rambling--lol--.
Sludge/Doom is a genre that is often times does a good job expressing themselves. Honestly, maybe I enjoy sludge so much because I'm an angsty teenager that's pissed off at the world most of the time, lol. I truly suppose that's why I do enjoy it in the way I do. I mean I think its good musically obviously or I wouldn't listen to it. More traditional doom metal sounding bands just create music that you know that are passionate about and love making because none of them are getting rich off of it. That's what makes music for me. So the sound once again appeals to me for whatever reason, I mean I don't know how to break it down that much, lol.
Hardcore is one of those genres that while there's tons of awful stuff there's enough good bands to go around and make it a worthwhile genre. I mean honestly the sludge I love so dearly would exist without hardcore. I'm not just talking about 80s stuff though, I'm also talking about these newer bands like Coke Bust. Once more though, these dudes make music because they enjoy it. They just make pissed off music that I think anyone looking for pissed off music can dig. I mean musically they aren't that talented, but they don't need to be this is hardcore.

**I could easily include blues and folk in this list. Also black metal to an extent, too.**








Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
I'm not into the same music as I was when I was a younger child, no. I think mostly because I am no longer listening to whatever my dad did, but listening to things I find on my own. By that I mean 11 and younger when I was listening to whatever my dad did rather than thinking for myself or whatever.

Why do that? I think for some people variety is one defining characteristics of their taste. Asking people who really don't have a favorite genre to pare it down to their favorites gives a false portrait of their relationship to music.

Favorite genres are

Sludge Metal
Hardcore Punk
Thrash Metal

Love the agression in the music and lyrics.

Favourite Genres
Rock, jazz, and classical, for the most part.


What attracts me to music
What I really like about music is how it has the power to bring people together. I like music that is easy to listen to, music that helps me work, music with both complex and simple chord structure/form, scary music, anything really!

Franz Liszt - Totentanz


Dmitri Shostakovich - Jazz Suite No. 2: VI. Waltz II


Scott Joplin - Elite Syncopations


Charles Mingus - Boogie Stop Shuffle


Miles Davis - Flamenco Sketches


R.E.M. - Half A World Away


The Tragically Hip - Fireworks


Streetlight Manifesto - Down, Down, Down to Mephisto's Cafe


Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
I study music seriously, and as a result have come to appreciate it so much more than when I was a kid, because I know how much work goes into learning an instrument or training your voice and writing songs. I also like an artist to have a certain degree of talent, it makes the music more listenable. I'm from the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys generation of the late 90's, and that was all I cared about then in regards to music. Now I look at musical qualities from a more critical point of view.

What I probably like best about music is that I can control my own emotions by just picking the right record at the right time out of my cabinet, play it and listen. It can change the world for that moment for me.
I'd be stone cold dead without the helping hand of music.

Favourite 3 Genres
What are your favourite genres? You can mention as many as you like, but try and figure out what's your one, two or three absolute favourites!

Metal...although I have plenty of other music.

What attracts me to music
What do you like? Do you use music as a way to vent anger? Do you like music that makes you happy? Do you like music that you can headbang to? Does it make you feel powerful or do you prefer music that makes you feel sad? Might require some imagination!

The thing that I love about metal, is that it gives me adrenaline, gets me off my ass and rock out, any music that does this, is in my library. Bands like Iron Maiden, Opeth, Meshuggah, Obituary, Children of Bodom, Kalmah, Death, Dio, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Diamondhead, Pantera, Dimmu Borgir, Atheist, Megadeth, Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquility, the list goes on and on. This is amazing stuff. Another thing is just that it keeps on going, with more and more people getting into metal every year. More bands springing up everyyear, metal is a botomless pit. The culture behind metal is amazing, the energy you feel at a metal concert is overwhelming. The mosh pits, the chants, the devil horns, the screams, the riffs, the growls, the howls, it all makes me want to explode and just have the best night of my life. I'm getting ****ing pumped just writing about it. From the moment I heard Iron Maiden's The Trooper, I knew that this would be the music that I would be listening to for the rest of my life. Death, Black, Technical, Viking, Progressive, whatever it is, I will give it a listen.



Some example(s) of stuff you like




Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Do you listen to music for the same reason as when you were a child? Or are you on a new path defined at some later stage in life?

When I was a child, around 4 years ago, I listened to music because it was "cool." I would listen to rap, hip hop, and other stuff because it was in at the time. I lived in a pretty mainstream community, and whatever played on the radio, is what was popular. I would say I only listened to music because it was what my friends listend to. One of the most memorable moments that I have, is one of the first metal bands I listened to has System of a Down. I remember hanging out with my friends, and playing BYOB. They were like "What the **** is this? Turn that **** off!!!" Yup, that's when I first realized that heavier music was just not accepted by the general population. When I first heard Iron Maiden, I had to decide, what path will I take, the less known road of Metal, or the popular road of the radio? I'm glad with my decision, even if it did change my life, emotionally and socially, it was worth it. I will wear my Iron Maiden shirts with pride, and won't give a damn what people think about my taste in music.

Favourite 3 Genres
This is really difficult to pinpoint precise genres, but I'll try to go for the ones I've been listening to the most lately: "Jam" / Improvisational, Abstract Hip-Hop, and Jazz.


What attracts me to music
I'm attracted to music for a variety of different reasons, really. It's not necessarily any one thing that I can quite pin down. I think my love for music typically considered "jam bands" is probably one of my strongest attractions, particularly at this time in my life. The musicians playing this particular type of music tend to be very proficient with their instruments to begin with - the composed sections of their songs are often very tight and exploratory, generally drawing influences from a variety of genres and blending them seamlessly together. Then comes the "jamming" portion. When listened to with full concentration, it can be some of the most mind-blowing music you'll ever hear. The jamming is improvised, but there are two major types of jams you'll see with most acts in the scene. There are Type I Jams, which stem from the song itself. They'll be improvising around the structure of the song as it already exists, using that to base their jam around; a lot of the time, this will be with tempo changes, variations on the notes and progression, etc. - but still keeping with the song itself. Listening to a lot of Type I Jams is impressive enough to me, then you get into the real meat and potatoes of the improvisation (for me anyway): The Type II Jam. This often comes out of a Type I Jam, but in this type of jam, it's completely improvised; the notes, the chords, the progression, tempo, rhythmic changes - all done on the spot. It requires skill to do a proficient Type II jam in the first place, with a single instrument. When you bring multiple instrumentalists into the mix, and when it all really comes together...when they're feeding off of each others' energy and making this brilliant, collaborative, improvisational masterpiece seemingly out of thin air. It's really exhilarating to see or hear this, when it really does all come together. There's not a formula - not really. It's never been played before, and it will never be played again. It's really an experience and an event. Of course I'm going to use a Phish clip to illustrate this:

This is an Also Sprach Zarathustra jam > Carini which absolutely blew my mind.


Another note - when a band is able to segue one song into another...I feel like that is also an exceptional show of skill. Something I love to see.

Really, I feel like music which is really pushing the envelope is what appeals most to me. Something I've not heard before which really has the ability to challenge me as a listener. It doesn't have to be about lyrics, instruments played, who's playing it, why it was written, or anything like that.

That's probably why abstract hip-hop really appeals to me, although lyrically it can be ingenious as well. Rapping bizarre poetry over absurd time signatures is what initially drew me to Doseone, via Themselves. Any time someone asks me to put on hip-hop, I will always put this particular track in the mix. It has dropped many a jaw.



When I first heard Doseone, I felt like this is what hip-hop is going to evolve into. It's revolutionary, so ahead of its time. I guess a lot of people aren't ready for it yet. It's just so amazing to me. I can kind of feel the beats, the words, the strangeness of it all, and get in between the beats and feel fulfilled, content. All of that.

Jazz is something else which I've been listening to a bit lately. In particular, Jaco Pastorius and Charles Mingus, two ****ing phenomenal bassists.

This is why I like jazz, which is probably apparent in my love for the other types of music I'm most into.




Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Not at all, really. I guess to a certain extent, I've always been pushing on to listen to music which was more challenging to me as a listener even in my teen years, preferring such intricate compositions as "The Prophet's Song" and "Innuendo" to much of Queen's other material. Now, I'm just much more hungry for music that will blow my mind than I ever was. I want to be thrilled; I want to be surprised; I want to be challenged - I want something to affect me.

Favourite 3 Genres
Rock, Folk, Folk Rock, Country Rock, Indie Rock, Jazz, Classical (Bach, late Baroque), World (MPB, Malian), Hip-Hop

What attracts me to music
For me to really like a song, I have to connect with it emotionally on some level. It isn't necessarily a requirement for the music to evoke happy, sad, angry, or any other specific feeling, but just whatever I feel represents me. My lastfm shows a lot of depressing music (e.g. Neil Young, Townes van Zandt, Nick Drake), and there definitely is a reason for this. Embarrassingly enough, there are Neil Young songs I've actually cried to; these songs tend to be the songs I listen to the most.


Nick Drake - River Man. This song was really important in changing my outlook on life, at least I think it was. There are qualities to this song that evoke concepts from Buddhism and eastern philosophies which, in combination with other events going on at the time, led me to pursue a much simpler life and question the direction I was taking with my future.


Amadou and Mariam - Je Pense a Toi. This one of the greatest love songs ever written, in my opinion. I don't even know what the lyrics mean, it just has to be about love.


Bob Dylan - Ballad of a Thin Man (wonder how quickly Columbia will get this off youtube...). This really describes how I feel at times. Depressed, worthless, postmodern, etc.


Bill Evans - My Man is Gone Now. Just amazing, don't really know what else to say.

Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Do you listen to music for the same reason as when you were a child? Or are you on a new path defined at some later stage in life?

I don't really feel like I've been an adult long enough to answer this question.

Yep, I've really been getting into Charles Mingus lately too. That man basses up a storm; his music makes me think of organized chaos, something that's pretty impossible to achieve (or at least seems like it would be). That might be why you like it so much, considering you are so into improv stuff.

Favourite 3 Genres
Shoegaze, psychedelic rock, and chill electronic. Although, I really like to explore everything. Even if there is something I don't like at first, I'll give a few artists from that genre a go to see if I can get into something.

What attracts me to music
First and foremost I want music I can get lost in. My favorite kind of music is the kind that I can focus in on, even out, and just think about how nothing can be all that bad. Of course there isn't one constant kind of music that can do that...I have to find just the right music for just the right moments. Most of the time I feel like I am on a constant hunt to figure out what I actually want to listen to. I live for the moments where I actually do figure it out and the rest of the world just doesn't exist anymore.

I like any music that makes me feel as if the person who wrote it felt just like that as they were writing it. The thing is, every genre of music has artists that have put that much passion into their work. In fact, that is what I really love about music to begin with. I like to listen to new music and see if I can figure out exactly where that musician is coming from. They saw something in those notes or chords and appreciating good music is about recognizing the same thing they did. It never gets old. Music is an entertaining artform, but it is also a form of communication. It is definitely something to be able to feel almost exactly what a musician is trying to convey.

Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
I listen to a few bands my parents used to listen to while I was little, but I definitely don't have the same taste in music that I used to. It actually took me a few years to realize that every form of music has something I can enjoy. There is so much music out there, I would be surprised if many people didn't go through the same thing. I always had an interest in music, but it feels as if it started small (at least compared to now) and all the sudden the floodgates opened.

Imo , it makes sense for the purpose of this thread to have it only be 2 or 3. This thread isn't really asking about their taste but just a few favorite genres if they were forced to pick and to discuss those 2 or 3 genres intead of a super long winded post with all of the genres in their taste.

The thread is asking what you like about music. What if your answer is "variety"? That's hard to talk about if you have to choose only a couple genres.

I just hate ambient environmental sounds and the sound of silence (not the Simon/Garfunkel song)

well if the person's answer if variety then they can state that in the second question....I don't see what's wrong with picking a couple of genres for the first one.

Favourite 3 Genres
Using as broadly defined genres as possible, probably looking at experimental, jazz and electronic. Though experimental is probably a bit too over the place as a definition, so the third would probably be hip hop.


What attracts me to music
Can't really pin it down to anything. My emotions don't really decide what I feel like listening to or anything like that. I guess it's just something I find interesting and enjoy. Although I hardly listen to it exclusively, I am always fascinated in experimental music in general, and funnily enough listening to the experimental side of things have often gotten me more into genres than listening to the 'easy' stuff first. Best example would probably be hip hop, where I've started enjoying a lot more of the mainstream type stuff after having been initiated by the experimental side of things. Not to say I enjoy one more than the other. I'm very specific in my tastes though (I'll know whether I like something or not from only a few songs), so it is often difficult to get suggestions from other people unfortunately.


Classic - The Church is one band I just can't seem to 'get over' and I keep on coming back. I saw them last month which helps no doubt. Priest = was my favourite for a long time, though I have moved to listening to Untitled 23 now as well as Seance. 23 is probably my favourite album of theirs atm.

Dead Can Dance, Amon Tobin, Nick Cave, all deserve a youtube vid, but they're easy enough to find online!


One of my favourite beatmakers at the moment. Mansbestfriend is an alternate performance name for Sole, anticon artist. The Opus is another (the producer for Rubberoom), Dabrye, DJ Krush, Sixtoo, POS all favourites.




Mainly into the chilled stuff for electronic music atm, but won't ever complain about Aphex Twin, Tobin being chucked on.

Just a rag tag chucked in that I listen to atm. Not really listening to a tonne of music atm, and if anyone cared to see what else I've listened to normally, my journal has mroe than enough examples.

Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
I didn't care about music at all until I was about 17 years old, so I'm only 5 years old :p:. As far as I cared, music was for boredom over car drives. I still look at music the same way a tad though. Unless it is entertaining to me, I couldn't really give a damn about the nuances of the music, or its experimentalism. It's one of the reasons why I sorta carry the belief that suggesting you respect a musician whilst not enjoying them is an empty gesture.

Other than that I'm often jumping around from genre to genre in terms of what I'm enjoying at the moments. 5 months ago I had about 4-5 hip hop albums I actually cared about and now that has exploded massively to be probably my most listened genre atm. Before that I was in a huge electronic phase. I don't start disliking older genres I was into, I am just over them for the moment. Case in point, Nick Cave, who I haven't listened to for ages and don't really care to, but I would still class the Bad Seeds as one of my top few bands of all time.

Usually, the music people listen to can be defined by some genre name, even if it's an umbrella term like electronica or rock, so I don't think asking for a few genres is that difficult. Some so far have been imaginative, but that's okay.

To illustrate why less is more, here's a really banal example. Let's say you want to see if people who like to use music as a way to vent anger more often listen to hardcore while people who like music for peace and harmony listen more often to classical. Let's say only two people answer, one who appreciates aggression in music and one who likes harmonies. However, because these people have some variety in their taste, the person who likes harmony also enjoys a bit of aggression now and then and vice versa. As a result, they both put up both classical and hardcore in their genre list.

When they both put up both genres, it's harder to know what attracts them to either one. Does the hardcore guy put up classical because he likes the aggression in the music? Probably not, but if classical (and not hardcore) was his only choice, you'd know that was the case. So, when they both put up both genres, the explanatory power of those answers is actually less - they don't help you answer the questions posed in the OP as effectively.

So, it's okay if people pile on genres, but I'd like to know what their one, two, three favourites are as it makes the answer more valuable to me that way for analytical purposes.

I think the first sentence in your post is a very big assumption. As I said before, for some people variety itself is a defining characteristic of their taste. So, to use the person in your example, what if his answer to the second question was "emotional intensity". If he only says he like hardcore you'e going to read "emotional intensity" as "anger" or something similar, while if he says he likes hardcore and classical you're going to understand that when he says "emotional intensity" he means something much more complex, involving a range of strong emotions. As a result, I think the explanatory power actually increases when people answer the first question with an honest assessment of what they listen to instead of attempting to pare it down to a couple genres.

The way I see it, if someone likes variety, then I am asking them what part of the spectrum of that variety do they like the most. If they like something out of all possible genres and really appreciate everything there is to appreciate about music, then I expect that there will still be something they like the most. I'm after that most. If that takes a lot of soul searching to figure out, that's fine.

Shameless bump, but I'm really curious as to what some more members of our community would write here, so I'd love to see some more answers!

I'm a multi-genre fan myself - electronica, country, classical, metal, jazz, pop

If I had to pin down what I like the most, it's probably jazz-rock cos it's complex AND intense.

Favourite 3 Genres
This is really difficult for me, because I listen to almost every genre (with a few exceptions of course). At the moment though, the genres I enjoy listening the most to are jazz, folk and blues.


What attracts me to music
I like music that makes me think. Good lyrics are one of the most important aspects of a song; if the instrumentation is perfect and the lyrics bad, I simply won't like it. It doesn't necessarily have to be of poetic quality, but I like to be told a story. Another thing that is very important to me is atmosphere. I love instrumental music too, but it has to feel 'right'.

Some artists I really enjoy listening to at the moment:




Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Definitely not. A couple of years ago I was much more attracted to catchy melodies, and didn't care for lyrics at all.

^ Excellent three videos right there. Three of my favorites as well! :beer:

Favourite 3 Genres

Jazz-rock fusion, metal and pop.

What attracts me to music

Mostly it just enhances my mood and it depends on what mood I'm in really. Metal when I'm really stressed. Canto-pop when I'm Lovey dovey.

the following is an example of evoking my memories about a transsexual I dated and also my bisexual feelings (Tat Ming Pair's Forget Her Is Him):-



and when I'm angry, nothing beats this:-



Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?

Yeah. I listen for some different out-there things. I go from phase to phase but usually I tie all together at some stage in life and give everything I used to like the same attention as I did.

Favourite 3 Genres
Ok well ive read the details and think its an excellent way to find the driving force behind musicians ambitions. So ill give it a shot myself. My favorite 3 genres would consist of Blues,Country, and Classic Rock. That being said I also enjoy Grunge,Rap. and your every day standard Rock and Roll of course.
What attracts me to music
For me music is a feeling of sharing emotion with the artist. The importance of lyrics is very much as important as it was when I was young. I like the song to deliver a message I can understand and or relate to. There are exceptions though...Like when you have a song that the guitar work just does the talking for you. Im prodominantly more appreciative and clingy to sad songs than anything else. Whether im in love or not is of no importance. In fact you can feel more alone with someone sometimes than actually being alone. Which music does a great job of describing for me. The Blues are a therapeutic escape through others shared sorrow for me. Somehow giving comfort through acoustic or stratocaster cries. Country is what I grew up hearing but dont lean on as much as I use to. Also I certainly enjoyed some of the passionate vocals of early to mid 90's grunge bands. For the more aggressive getting your point across music. Or rap can also serve this purpose to. Also I enjoy some r&b music every now and then. Theres to many to list each one and defining reasons for them all so ill just leave it wiht the dominant ones ive already listed.

Ok so this would be a perfect example of a song not needing any words, and just encapsulating all the emotion in the guitar cries. It has that dreary sad sound I love so much. Its a cover of a song but this guy does it better than the original and paints the picture in your mind with his unparalled guitar work.


Next would be my tribute to the almighty himself...Mr. Hendrix. The older I get the more I appreciate this wizzard of musical mastery. Heres the first song I ever heard from him and was enough for me to be a fan for life.



This would be what im speaking of when im just looking for a good hook in a song. Along with its catchy but simplistic guitar work it reamains one of my favorite examples. Of being able to relate to lyrics and just relying on personal experiences and passion to get ya through a song.



And finally if im just in a feel good wanna hear something exciting while im driving or something. Id throw in something like this and just let loose a little. Not aggressive or pissed just pumped up.



Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
I tend to still like to have a message of sorts in my music I listen to. I always prefer a catchy melody and great lyrics put the icing on the cake. Difference is now that im older I can appreciate music I didnt use to. From a pioneering aspect and things of that nature. As a child all I ever heard was country and I still like it but Blues is my passion. I ventured that route on my own and havent looked back. I played guitar from an early age and just liked the challenge of trying to get my guitar to sing for me. I go for what I relate to and compare it to my own songs.Embelishing the many different styles ive grown to love and developing them along with my own. While incorporating all my own feelings and thoughts and saying the same thing a million different ways. I hope this was along the lines of what you were looking for in a reply Tore. Anyways thats my take on it.

Favourite 3 Genres
My favorite genres are progressive rock, jazz and sweet soul music!

What attracts me to music
This really got me thinking, 'cause I've never actually thought of what exactly it is that makes me like music as much as I do. This girl I know keeps saying that she has to be able to relate to the lyrics in order to really like a song - but that definitely doesn't go for me. I can listen to some seriously heartbreaking love songs (though I'm not heartbroken), I can listen to songs with abstract lyrics and I can listen to "songs" without any lyrics at all! So I guess I pay more attention the instrumentation and harmonies than I do to the lyrics. If I first fall in love with song lyrics, though, they are usually melancholic/depressing.


Progressive rock.

Jazz.

Soul!


Are you attracted to the same musical qualities now as then?
Haha, no, when I was younger I listened to happy music I could dance to usually. xD Man, I've changed as a person too.