@chrislhayes.bsky.social Per the concerns you raise in "The Sirens' Call," I thought you might want to see this letter (responding to an article about Spotify) from the March issue of Harper's.
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The People's Music Project is a flash drive with 12,000 songs by more than 1000 artists. It is being passed hand to hand in order to distribute to over a million people. This is to save the music from the corporate overlords.
As someone who grew up in the 60/70s this is deeply saddening. There are so many talented poets and musicians out there. We need their voice and sound especially in these days.
This is really interesting. I see some of that behavior in myself—a considerably older music educator. First thing I do is flip on Spotify and I have Bluetooth speakers in every room.
Amen.
Music is going before the coffee is ready more days than not.
Music has been so central to my life I basically wake up with a song in my head, and the genre is all over the map.
From Adele to ZZ Top, and anything in between…
Ever since I was quite young I’ve used background music to help me focus … I find silence and irregular noise equally distracting. Listening to my favourite music keeps what I call my lizard brain occupied so I can get work done. I do my best thinking while “on music” :)
I can't say I've never treated music as background music, but I also engage in what's been called "critical listening." See my comment about Mahler that I just posted a moment ago.
I almost feel like there should be mandatory meditation classes for students. Not “mindfulness” or vipassana or marathon sessions, but something simple encouraging them to take five minutes here and there to just sit silently, and not be afraid of their thoughts/feelings. To relax and just be…
Something. I'm reminded of a Gahan Wilson cartoon that shows a bunch of monks meditating. One of them is on a cell phone and looks stricken: "None of this seems to be doing me any good at all!" So if students are "meditating," I can imagine some of them thinking, "Can we hurry up already?"
As someone who listens to music almost continuously, silence is important. Whether you call it meditation, prayer, introspection, or whatever, humans need it.
Humans are social animals , maybe some fear that to be alone is dangerous . Possible to feel alone in a crowd of strangers .
Music can reassure and distract
Deeper than fear of being alone with our own thoughts is fear of being alone with our deepest feelings. We forget what we knew as children- let the hidden feeling emerge & flow thru to the end and it will dissipate, returning to our natural state of confidence & peace we were missing.
Good insight! Introspection should be a good thing. Where you organize your thoughts and definitions of what one should do and be. Can a constant avoidance of introspection be healthy?
I don't think it's always a fear of being alone with your thoughts. I think some people are just used to stimulation and perhaps fear being lonely/isolated
I live in NYC, and I often take walks around the reservoir. I see people with headphones on while thumbing away on their portable computers. Don't you want to hear the wind in the trees, the birds chirping, and the lapping of water? Don't you just want to...think? These people apparently do not.
This is pretty eye opening actually. I love music but i do find that when im not working or spending time with other people, i have to have music, movie/show going on or at least in the bground at almost all times. I do enjoy it, but it probably is a means to avoid my own thoughts if im being honest
This could also be a neurodivergent trait. As someone with adhd and ocd, my brain never stops and I need to distract it sometimes. At that age I didn’t understand myself enough and I was undiagnosed. So I was depressed a lot
I second this. I listen to lofi+ambience and game and movie soundtracks while working. It keeps my chase-the-squirrel mind busy so the rest of my mind can focus.
There’s also the benefit of drowning out ambient noise, especially while walking around shopping centres or busy streets.
How interesting! I was a voice major/church organist beginning at age twelve. Although there were no headphones sixty years ago, I escaped into practice alone hours at a time. Still escape into writing and painting. Is it the times or the psychology of artists?
I had to learn the skill of embracing solitude. It doesn’t always come naturally, but now I often prefer it to the company of others just to avoid being alone.
Nothing is more valuable to me than my solitude. I used to be quite social throughout my life, but when I reached 50, it all changed, practically immediately. Now I want nothing else than to be left alone...in person, with only my social media exchanges, and texts/ chats with those who reach out.
I’m a singer and have many early memories of music. My experience is that good music demands my attention. It triggers thought. Does it make me sad, happy, bring up good or bad memories?Sometimes I need to turn it off. I can’t drive with music playing in the car.
Comments
Music is going before the coffee is ready more days than not.
Music has been so central to my life I basically wake up with a song in my head, and the genre is all over the map.
From Adele to ZZ Top, and anything in between…
We also need music and art.
Music can reassure and distract
There’s also the benefit of drowning out ambient noise, especially while walking around shopping centres or busy streets.
We all need to learn how to be alone with our thoughts, even the disquieting ones. Maybe even especially those!
I had to learn the skill of embracing solitude. It doesn’t always come naturally, but now I often prefer it to the company of others just to avoid being alone.