Nobody Listens to Music Anymore
I remember the days where I’d come home to my walkman, throw in a new CD, and sit there listening to it in its entirety. The albums would flow from track to track, the story each piece told made sense in context of the mood of the album, and at the end, 45 minutes later, I’d feel like I had just read a novel with my ears. I remember those days, and still do it today, though I fear the number of people who do the same are dwindling.
My biggest thing is Classical music. Honestly, Baroque, Romantic, and Renaissance as well but I’ll keep it simple. Classical music is a type of music that is usually (but not always) boring to have played in the background. Slower pieces might feel calming but can one listen to the 1812 Overture while hosting a dinner party?
When one has music playing in the background, and there’s another element in the foreground, the music is not being listened to, it’s being heard. Sort of like how a wife might tell their husband to quit hearing them and start listening. Sort of.
Anyways, music that works in the background, or music that is great to ‘hear’, is music that isn’t distracting mentally. As music has been becoming more accessible, the amount of “four-chord” songs have grown drastically. Why? They’re simple. They require little to no brain power to memorize the tune of, and can be played in the background while every once and a while you hear the chorus and hum along.
Those pieces are great for hearing, but what if you were to put on headphones, sit at the end of your bed, and listen to them. It’s hard, it’s really hard. That’s why I listen to classical music. Mind you I’m not ruling out every other genre as ‘hearing’ music, just the mainstream popular genres if you will. The reason these pieces are considered mainstream is because the majority of people are hearing their music now, and have stopped listening to it.
I believe music deserves to be listened to. It’s not right to buy a book, read the summary, and say you loved it. It’s not right to watch a trailer and then go on to write a review. Yet a lot of people I know get squirmish after sitting through one piece of music, even if its their favourite genre, without having something to take the foreground.
It’s sad to think that your market isn’t paying attention, but I feel as though its becoming truer every day. For the sake of your music library, take a day, lay in your bed, and drift off to your music.
I promise it’ll sound a whole lot different.
