Actually i was addicted to music averaging around 5 hours per day. I almost had my earphones plugged in almost whenever i was awake.
Not listening to music/listening has given me a empty space in my head where i can think more properly. I realised the thousands of lyrics and music/tone i had memoriesed unknowingly.
This what i wrote in my journal during the intial days of no music
"What makes the humans so different is the that we can control
But even trained dogs can control themselves but they are trained for a particular purpose like treats, or the fear of there owners
But, humans they control themselves for a purpose more than basic necessities for something more the animal could understand and comprehend.
But still there are many parts of humans that still similar to the animals such as the rewards systems.
Reward systems was basically introduced to us so that we take care of ourselves and to spread our genes
The reward system then got naturally selected so most animals which have pioneered in evolution have Reward systems.
Music actually helps to reduce the anxiety which is a primal instinct towards predators.
In the last 2 3 thousand years the lifestyle of human has better but the instincts is same as that of stone age."
I recently stopped listening about a month ago. I stopped listening because music was essentially fuelling my addiction to daydreaming. Once I stopped, I felt like I gained so much time back. I was no longer entertaining the pointless fantasies I had been building around the songs I was listening to. I’m glad I made this decision, I’m not going back anytime soon.
Well put. I try to be present to my immediate surroundings much more than I used to, and that means less music. I certainly feel healthier than I did when I pumped all kinds of music into my ears for hours a day. That being said, I'm trying to reclaim music as a verb rather than a consumable. The less I passively listen, the more enriched I feel when I pick up an instrument and play, or when I sing with friends.
I still think there's a place for active listening, for treating music not as filler but as a thing to be properly attended to every once in a while. Preferably in the context of live performance, but recordings are sometimes a worthwhile substitute.
Funnily enough, even as a musician myself, I don't really listen to music. Hardly ever. I write, record, and produce music, but I don't seek it out beyond that (or very rarely, at least). I agree with you overall and have been planning to write something about this. In the past, when music wasn't available all the time, listening required us to enter something of a "sacred space" — a space where we were prepared to respect the art that we were about to experience. Now, there is no respect for the art: it's just background noise to whatever we may be doing. So, when I do listen to music, I make sure it's a very focused and intentional activity: I make sure I'm not doing anything else at the same time. I either close my eyes and listen, or I pull up a score and follow along.
Hi Joel - thank you for this. I too have reduced listening to music by probably 90%, and I’ve also reduced my “watching” to nearly 0% - TV, movies, even videos sent to me by friends. I find the proliferation of these has reduced the joy I once got from them because it’s cheapened them - they no longer have value. I work in silence, I drive in silence because it allows me to think and to live in the moment. I do a lot of hiking, and I’m mortified when I see people out in nature with EarPods, or with a speaker attached to their backpack, oblivious to the beauty of sounds of nature.
Anyway, it’s good to know I’m not alone, in a society that thinks were odd for thinking this way.
I would challenge the claim that music was reserved for the upper classes throughout much of history. The lower classes didn’t go to theaters, but music still existed. Travelling bands, tavern music, folk songs, all existed for the lower classes and the upper classes.
I thought the same as well. Every culture on earth has their own folk tunes, songs, and instruments, most of which are practiced by the common folk as much as the ruling elites. In fact, in the West, many religious hymns, patriotic songs, and even classical melodies are derived from medieval folk tunes of the 'commoners.' I'm sure it's a similar situation elsewhere in the world.
Loved this article… in my opinion, everything in life needs to be in moderation. Music, for me, is something I use occasionally, not constantly. Finding that balance can be difficult, but once you find it, it is really great. You get to enjoy your favourite music without it taking away from your day or other pleasure in life… but I also completely understand people who cut it out for good. Great article man!
I am too much addicted to music and nowadays I only listen to evergreen classics which makes me feel good. And thinking even to listen them fewer, in a specific time. I have found in myself that too much listening music is also not good for good mental health.
I often have absolutely no music days, which isn’t like I used to be. I spend that time in the morning looking out of the window at the sunshine or the rain or the bit in the middle, the birds definitely the birds so anything in my wonderful music collection just hangs on. Sometimes I do love listening to something in my collection, my choice. I adore going out and listening to the out! I certainly think I have changed as I used to listen to it more often there are reasons why I don’t listen to as much but I certainly don’t regret it and sometimes I say to myself “you haven’t listened to anything today”! I certainly think that it helps me medically though which might sound odd. So that was certainly interesting, thank you!
Listening to Swans, Godspeed you black emperor!, joy division, miles Davis etc is the most alchemical and spiritual experience you can have. Depriving yourself of this is lame as hell. Many of the great works whether that be film or literature have been inspired by music. Also put a needle on vinyl is one of the most human feelings you can have. This is anti art and anti intellectual in my opinion. There is more to music than the billboards and the personas around it.
You share a compelling idea that by listening to one’s surroundings, we can find music in the air, away from the artificial sound waves radiating from our phones. That’s something many people fail to appreciate, and music becomes a sort of immersive daily escape from reality. I also feel like it’s a matter of overconsumption—eating delicious food every single day might result in ourselves forgetting the simple joy of a good meal because we’re so used to having good food served to us. I think music is like that too, and Spotify has guaranteed that we will have all the music in the world anywhere we go.
But I think that music has something to offer in enhancing our experience of reality, and that this isn’t necessarily at competition with reality itself. I think listening to great music, like viewing a beautiful painting or reading poetry are all not direct experiences of reality. They are imitations. But they stimulate the mind to wonder to a place that reality cannot take us. There is something about these arts that touch us and our need for expression and beauty on a fundamentally different level. They might be considered artificial in the sense that they are not direct constructs of reality, but not everything that’s artificial is bad. A cathedral built by the hands of men and conceived in the heads of men, fashioned in the image of god, may not have many elements that resemble reality. We cannot find gods anywhere except through our minds, and in religious places of worship. They are artificial the same way good music is, but would you denigrate them as superficial and not worth the experience?
This isn’t really about music, it’s about multi-tasking. You listen to music the old fashioned way, by itself. This is still the best way to consume music. People have always had access to music regardless of class because people make music. Whether it’s a campfire song or an opera, we’ve had music since the beginning of civilization. It’s really more about personality type. Drake only listens to music when he’s making music or performing or at a party. Lil Yachty listens to music 24/7. It’s kind of like how some people work better in an office and some people work better at home.
Perhaps a monk-like silence would be good for many, myself included. However, the thought of abstaining from all music is one which freezes the marrow in my bones and chills my blood almost beyond hope of life. Music is a gift to us and a discipline which we are commanded to practice. To abstain from music would be to limit how we praise God.
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." - Colossians 3:16
Instant gratification should be something to avoid, but using the gifts that God gives you is far more worthwhile and righteous than ignoring them through zealousness or piety.
I love music but grateful for the few opportunities in public where I’m not being swamped in it. A huge contributor to why that’s annoying is that most people have terrible taste, and therefore in the mall or in the barbers one is being violated terribly. But in general one needs space to think and be present. Music has its place but in recent years I’ve been consuming more intentionally. Some people are cursed by being unable to go into a room without having some sound playing in the background, lest they are attacked by ghosts or something. I pity them.
It is odd that you do not listen to music. I thought everyone appreciated some song in their life. To each their own. I guess telling you to hum a happy tune would be out of the question. Smile.
Been cutting off music for about a month, truly the best decision i've ever take, it definitely makes me more present in my daily life.
Actually i was addicted to music averaging around 5 hours per day. I almost had my earphones plugged in almost whenever i was awake.
Not listening to music/listening has given me a empty space in my head where i can think more properly. I realised the thousands of lyrics and music/tone i had memoriesed unknowingly.
This what i wrote in my journal during the intial days of no music
"What makes the humans so different is the that we can control
But even trained dogs can control themselves but they are trained for a particular purpose like treats, or the fear of there owners
But, humans they control themselves for a purpose more than basic necessities for something more the animal could understand and comprehend.
But still there are many parts of humans that still similar to the animals such as the rewards systems.
Reward systems was basically introduced to us so that we take care of ourselves and to spread our genes
The reward system then got naturally selected so most animals which have pioneered in evolution have Reward systems.
Music actually helps to reduce the anxiety which is a primal instinct towards predators.
In the last 2 3 thousand years the lifestyle of human has better but the instincts is same as that of stone age."
I recently stopped listening about a month ago. I stopped listening because music was essentially fuelling my addiction to daydreaming. Once I stopped, I felt like I gained so much time back. I was no longer entertaining the pointless fantasies I had been building around the songs I was listening to. I’m glad I made this decision, I’m not going back anytime soon.
Well put. I try to be present to my immediate surroundings much more than I used to, and that means less music. I certainly feel healthier than I did when I pumped all kinds of music into my ears for hours a day. That being said, I'm trying to reclaim music as a verb rather than a consumable. The less I passively listen, the more enriched I feel when I pick up an instrument and play, or when I sing with friends.
I still think there's a place for active listening, for treating music not as filler but as a thing to be properly attended to every once in a while. Preferably in the context of live performance, but recordings are sometimes a worthwhile substitute.
Funnily enough, even as a musician myself, I don't really listen to music. Hardly ever. I write, record, and produce music, but I don't seek it out beyond that (or very rarely, at least). I agree with you overall and have been planning to write something about this. In the past, when music wasn't available all the time, listening required us to enter something of a "sacred space" — a space where we were prepared to respect the art that we were about to experience. Now, there is no respect for the art: it's just background noise to whatever we may be doing. So, when I do listen to music, I make sure it's a very focused and intentional activity: I make sure I'm not doing anything else at the same time. I either close my eyes and listen, or I pull up a score and follow along.
Hi Joel - thank you for this. I too have reduced listening to music by probably 90%, and I’ve also reduced my “watching” to nearly 0% - TV, movies, even videos sent to me by friends. I find the proliferation of these has reduced the joy I once got from them because it’s cheapened them - they no longer have value. I work in silence, I drive in silence because it allows me to think and to live in the moment. I do a lot of hiking, and I’m mortified when I see people out in nature with EarPods, or with a speaker attached to their backpack, oblivious to the beauty of sounds of nature.
Anyway, it’s good to know I’m not alone, in a society that thinks were odd for thinking this way.
I would challenge the claim that music was reserved for the upper classes throughout much of history. The lower classes didn’t go to theaters, but music still existed. Travelling bands, tavern music, folk songs, all existed for the lower classes and the upper classes.
I thought the same as well. Every culture on earth has their own folk tunes, songs, and instruments, most of which are practiced by the common folk as much as the ruling elites. In fact, in the West, many religious hymns, patriotic songs, and even classical melodies are derived from medieval folk tunes of the 'commoners.' I'm sure it's a similar situation elsewhere in the world.
Loved this article… in my opinion, everything in life needs to be in moderation. Music, for me, is something I use occasionally, not constantly. Finding that balance can be difficult, but once you find it, it is really great. You get to enjoy your favourite music without it taking away from your day or other pleasure in life… but I also completely understand people who cut it out for good. Great article man!
I am too much addicted to music and nowadays I only listen to evergreen classics which makes me feel good. And thinking even to listen them fewer, in a specific time. I have found in myself that too much listening music is also not good for good mental health.
I often have absolutely no music days, which isn’t like I used to be. I spend that time in the morning looking out of the window at the sunshine or the rain or the bit in the middle, the birds definitely the birds so anything in my wonderful music collection just hangs on. Sometimes I do love listening to something in my collection, my choice. I adore going out and listening to the out! I certainly think I have changed as I used to listen to it more often there are reasons why I don’t listen to as much but I certainly don’t regret it and sometimes I say to myself “you haven’t listened to anything today”! I certainly think that it helps me medically though which might sound odd. So that was certainly interesting, thank you!
Listening to Swans, Godspeed you black emperor!, joy division, miles Davis etc is the most alchemical and spiritual experience you can have. Depriving yourself of this is lame as hell. Many of the great works whether that be film or literature have been inspired by music. Also put a needle on vinyl is one of the most human feelings you can have. This is anti art and anti intellectual in my opinion. There is more to music than the billboards and the personas around it.
You share a compelling idea that by listening to one’s surroundings, we can find music in the air, away from the artificial sound waves radiating from our phones. That’s something many people fail to appreciate, and music becomes a sort of immersive daily escape from reality. I also feel like it’s a matter of overconsumption—eating delicious food every single day might result in ourselves forgetting the simple joy of a good meal because we’re so used to having good food served to us. I think music is like that too, and Spotify has guaranteed that we will have all the music in the world anywhere we go.
But I think that music has something to offer in enhancing our experience of reality, and that this isn’t necessarily at competition with reality itself. I think listening to great music, like viewing a beautiful painting or reading poetry are all not direct experiences of reality. They are imitations. But they stimulate the mind to wonder to a place that reality cannot take us. There is something about these arts that touch us and our need for expression and beauty on a fundamentally different level. They might be considered artificial in the sense that they are not direct constructs of reality, but not everything that’s artificial is bad. A cathedral built by the hands of men and conceived in the heads of men, fashioned in the image of god, may not have many elements that resemble reality. We cannot find gods anywhere except through our minds, and in religious places of worship. They are artificial the same way good music is, but would you denigrate them as superficial and not worth the experience?
This isn’t really about music, it’s about multi-tasking. You listen to music the old fashioned way, by itself. This is still the best way to consume music. People have always had access to music regardless of class because people make music. Whether it’s a campfire song or an opera, we’ve had music since the beginning of civilization. It’s really more about personality type. Drake only listens to music when he’s making music or performing or at a party. Lil Yachty listens to music 24/7. It’s kind of like how some people work better in an office and some people work better at home.
Perhaps a monk-like silence would be good for many, myself included. However, the thought of abstaining from all music is one which freezes the marrow in my bones and chills my blood almost beyond hope of life. Music is a gift to us and a discipline which we are commanded to practice. To abstain from music would be to limit how we praise God.
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." - Colossians 3:16
Instant gratification should be something to avoid, but using the gifts that God gives you is far more worthwhile and righteous than ignoring them through zealousness or piety.
I love music but grateful for the few opportunities in public where I’m not being swamped in it. A huge contributor to why that’s annoying is that most people have terrible taste, and therefore in the mall or in the barbers one is being violated terribly. But in general one needs space to think and be present. Music has its place but in recent years I’ve been consuming more intentionally. Some people are cursed by being unable to go into a room without having some sound playing in the background, lest they are attacked by ghosts or something. I pity them.
It is odd that you do not listen to music. I thought everyone appreciated some song in their life. To each their own. I guess telling you to hum a happy tune would be out of the question. Smile.