How stuck in your musical comfort zone(s) are you?

you need to go out of your way *not* to hear certain types of music

I'm not sure I agree with this. I think it's really easy to avoid something you have no interest in now. There's a whole axis of modern British guitar music - Biffy Clyro, Catfish & The Bottlemen, etc - that I know isn't for me and I don't ever encounter in the wild so I remain generally unfamiliar with. I only ever hear Adele/Lewis Capaldi/Ed Sheeran in shopping centres when I take out my headphones. My Youtube and Spotify recommendations are algorithmic, based on previous listening habits, and easy to skip if unappealing.

The idea of bundled listening and exposue doesn't really exist any more. Watching the recent TOTP repeats I'm struck by how diffuse and diverse it can be - you've got dreck like Deacon Blue segueing into Italian house-pop. That made sense when there was only four channels and a limited amount of airtime for music programming. But now you can go on Youtube and listen to anything, anytime - why would you sit through something you're not interested in now? It's the same as modern radio - if you want to hear weird stuff, go to NTS, you can easily eschew the pop sounds of Radio One.

i think you're in a fortunate and rather uncommon position if you have the ability to curate your daily life such that you never have to hear (or endure) music you don't like — or indeed that you haven't chosen to listen to.

I'm pretty silo-ed off, for two big reasons:

1) Professional requirements - I need to listen to at least 20 new jazz albums every month, so that's a big bite out of my listening time right there.
2) I know what I like. I don't listen to chart pop music anymore because it's Not For Me. I don't listen to country because fuck those people. I don't listen to "indie" (however broadly you want to define it) because I never did. I don't listen to nearly as much metal as I used to because...I don't know, my enthusiasm has waned lately. (The ILM metal thread, ironically, has helped to push me away from the genre. At least 75 percent of what's discussed/plugged there these days is, again, Not For Me.) I would listen to more techno but I don't know who/where to read to find more of what I like, which is basically pounding, aggressive stuff in the vein of Paula Temple or Rødhåd. But most of the time when I'm not listening to something for work, it's likely to be something from the Seventies - classic rock or jazz fusion or something like that.

I agree that the musical makeup of public spaces has changed since the 1990s. At the very least, popular music (as opposed to just 'pop') no longer dominates our collective unconscious as utterly as it did prior to the advent of mp3s, but budo is right: there's still a relatively limited set of sounds deemed innocuous enough to withstand constant exposure, and it remains inescapable (or was pre-covid) as you do your groceries, work at a café or hit the gym. And not even the most effective noise-cancelling headphones will save you from some of that shit, especially if you listen to quieter, gentler music (metal thus remains a potent means of imposing 'silence' upon the outside world).

The ILM metal thread, ironically, has helped to push me away from the genre. At least 75 percent of what's discussed/plugged there these days is, again, Not For Me.

Tbf I think the sheer range of metal that gets discussed in that thread is what makes it worthwhile. Our (not just you) respective tastes don't appear to intersect all that often, which is interesting in its own right.

i wonder if further balkanising rolling metal into subgenres would be a good idea

i will run Rolling Avant-Metal with a glitching iron fist

it is all good except opera!

where do you find you hear music you don't like without actively choosing to engage with it? I ask because I feel like I must be overlooking something but honestly, I listen to music at home, on my headphones travelling to/from work, and in nightclubs/pubs/venues where I generally know I'm going to enjoy the music.

it remains inescapable (or was pre-covid) as you do your groceries, work at a café or hit the gym

YMMV.

TV ads, also.

it is all good except opera!

― xzanfar

Opera is also good, actually.

I’ve got reservations about opera in general but some of it is amazing, agreed.

Anyway, I don't know if I can really answer the question. Like you, I do value breadth of listening, which means that "finding new stuff" is very much part of my comfort zone. But I think I probably do stay within tighter parameters than I used to. And maybe I dismiss things more quickly, because there's always something else I could be listening to instead. Not sure, though.

maybe I dismiss things more quickly, because there's always something else I could be listening to instead

I definitely relate to this. I try to listen (even if it's just in the background) to every album that I don't outright hate at least twice, but even that feels superficial. At least I'm starting to make peace with my listening patterns (and FOMO, as well).

i think you're in a fortunate and rather uncommon position if you have the ability to curate your daily life such that you never have to hear (or endure) music you don't like — or indeed that you haven't chosen to listen to.

― budo jeru

This is a good description of what I aim for and mostly achieve day to day. Just cultivating my own little musical bubble that keeps me in my happy place.

oh one thing I have been doing for the last few years is putting 3 discs on my 3 changer in my bedroom for several days at a stretch, probably most of a week so I am at least hearing things that I am getting several times.

I used to have music playing in the front room most of the time and therefore get through at least some of a stack of downloads I was getting. Now its more likely to be podcasts I'm playing.
BUt used to have new music going while I was doing anything, including watching tv etc.

just dropping in to affirm that opera can indeed rule

I don't listen to metal or much chartpop, but I'm always up for new surprises. The big sea change for me this year has been a change in our radio station rules that allows me to play whatever I want as long as 8 songs in the 2 hours are from records released (or reissued) in the last 90 days.

This means that I am buying WAY more new stuff off Bandcamp than ever before, which has helped me find a lot of cool stuff, The Bandcamp threads here are useful as well.

In terms of listening, definitely more old country music than before

I have zero interest in making myself interested in anything I'm not interested in tbh

So nothing but "The Slow Descent" then?

I don't think of myself as stuck, more just following certain interests. Post-deconstructed club, rave music past and present, jazz (particularly spiritual jazz), ambient music, and what can fall under the aegis of "non-western" music is what I've found myself interested in for the past few years, and some of these are abiding interests.

But I've also spent time mining country music, punk past and present (particularly punk music with unusual instrumental arrangements and synths), black metal, and so on.

I think the only consistent thing for me is that outside of time in public and via memes and internet culture, I have had little to no idea what music is "popular" at most given points, and for the most part, I don't care because most of it is not very interesting.

Re this last point, when Pop Smoke was murdered, I was like, "who is this no-name rapper? who cares?" and then I looked him up and played "Dior," and was like, "oh shit, this track is hot, it's been playing out of trunks for the past few months!" But that kind of thing is the exception.

I love music

Too many notes

it remains inescapable (or was pre-covid) as you do your groceries, work at a café or hit the gym

Yeah, I still hear pop music (or 'classic' pop music) whenever I go to a store or the pool or a cafe etc. I always marvel at the claim, which I only hear on ilx, that pop music has become easy to avoid in public spaces.

Re the original question, I'm not sure. On the one hand, I reject the idea that listening to most of a Britney Spears album would push me further out of my comfort zone than working through the Xenakis oeuvre. On the other hand, I did both in the past week. I have to set limits when it comes to music in unfamiliar languages, though, since I would just end up learning the language and I don't have that kind of time.

*Britney Spears album I expect to dislike

I save time by listening to Britney Spears' recordings of the complete Xenakis.

you wanna pleiades

I'm always stretching out and trying stuff that's new to me but I very rarely stretch my way into music released in the past decade or so. I mean, I'll check out newer stuff if someone hypes something in particular or if I happen to overhear something cool in passing but I haven't done hardly any blind exploration of new material since maybe the late 2000s. So if 'the past' is my comfort zone, I guess I'm fairly well stuck.

"Toxic" video representation of being drawn into the flight path iirc

I hear snippets of stuff when I'm e.g. at the counter in Greggs but generally I have my headphones on unless it would be otherwise rude and ignorant of me

I'd listen to 'Toxikón' by Vretáni Dórata.

noodle vague otm

there’s value to being open to new experiences in general but (contrary to my ilm posts from 10+ years ago) i no longer think being an omnivorous music consumer across all genres is a bold act of existential courage

and i reject the use of terms w negative connotation like “stuck” to describe one’s patterns of consumption

Thread title passively aggressively passive

My thread, my guilt-inducing rules, yo.

Tbh I'm a little horrified that so many people seem to go around with headphones on all the time. That's super weird!

it’s definitely anti social

The only type of music I have no interest in exploring (because it literally nauseates me) is (American) musical theatre and show tunes in general, especially Broadway

Music doesn't usually occupy a foreground space in my life anymore, it plays a more supportive role- thus is corny, but sometimes like a film score. I'm much more likely nowadays to cue up an album or track that enhances my current surroundings or activity, whether or not it's "any good".

I listen to a lot less music than I used to, both in frequency and variety. In particular, I listen to a lot less "difficult" music. This has meant that I do not make it a point to stretch myself any longer, and routinely choose Happy Meals over vegetarian tasting menus.

And yet, I've fully embraced overtly emotionally manipulative music, showtunes etc, which was really like the ultimate frontier for me in a way.

It's also meant deepening my engagement in music on the ubiquity axis mentioned in the OP- hardly my comfort zone. So while I'm not as adventurous as I used to be, I have found myself in unfamiliar territory anyway as a result of being less discriminating.

I have far fewer, and possibly more conventional items on my music player now... But that includes a couple of original broadway cast recordings and a playlist of songs that I learned at the supermarket. Heh.

Speaking as a "former" or "recovering" music ovsessive, of course.

It's incredibly common and has been for years. Nothing weird about it at this stage (anti-social tho, yes).

xp

To me that isn't the horrifying part. It's that there is a vast world of sound that exists, and being in that world is as important and clarifying as being in the more organized sound-world of music. There's a great Bloomsbury Object Lesson book on the personal stereo that has a lot of interesting philosophical and social thought around this issue, but that's just my two cents.

Like, I never wear headphones in public unless I'm on the subway. Ever.

Very Cage-ian of you. I agree for the most part, unless the ambient sounds happen to be more or less the same, day in, day out, as you go about your mundane business.

I never wear headphones walking in the hills but often do (did) in cities - partly because I find the stimulation knackers me out after while and partly because music enhances cities somehow, in a way it can't hope to compete with the natural ambience of the countryside. Nature fash, there.

My two cents is that I'm suggestible and a dilettante and am always curious about people's responses to things - particularly with certain friends and you knowledgeable and experienced folk on here. It does mean I skim way too many things though.

I want to shut out the crowded sounds of the city, though. Too much sensory input everywhere. The only issue is you're also shutting out some potentially important cues (e.g. a lorry reversing noise, someone shouting that you dropped something, etc).

Also yeah, another plus for headphones is that it can be great to have your own personal soundtrack to moving through places.

I only ever listen to music in headphones now. My home system died years ago, and at first I couldn't afford to replace it but I rarely want to listen to music at home these days. Never considered how this affects my preferences, but it probably rules out a lot of stuff that requires very attentive, active listening most of the time.

Not because of the headphones, obv. Because I'm always moving through places when i listen

18 years ago, when I first started exploring the rabbit hole of music fandom (thanks, in part, to this very board) I was I felt compelled to develop the broadest taste possible (or at least what I thought of as broad then). Part of this was because everything new also felt v. exciting, and part of it was just the hipster status game of knowing the most niche stuff. Of course, my tastes ended up being shallow as they were wide.

Somewhere around 2008 I just got exhausted with the prospect of trying to hear everything. Since then, I try to take pleasure in simply knowing what I like. I still try to broaden my horizons, but as soon as it feels like homework, I nope out.

I'm still very motivated to keep up with new music in my niche areas (which are mostly non-bobbins dance music ala the Reconstructed Club thread, and jazz). And part of that is feeling involved on some level as a musician.

But I don't really feel obliged to keep up with rap or pop anymore, I'm happy to hear whatever randomly comes my way via Twitter/ILX/radio/life. I guess that goes for vocal music in general, beyond keeping up with bands I already like and the occasional new discovery.

I have been trying to branch out more into genres I like but am not 100% on but today I'm wallowing in Big Black and Atari Teenage Riot, so *shrug*

There were decades when I tried to keep up with stuff - at one point the Pazz and Jop winners, at another point whatever Other Music was pushing. In recent pre-pandemic times my way of keeping up was to go to live shows. Mostly jazz (Latin or otherwise) and opera at this point, although I mainly listen to other stuff when I stream. Part of keeping up always had a social aspect: this is what my friends are listening to. Then that flipped: if I go to the jazz show, I will see the rather small set of jazz peoples and socialize with
them.

Also, most recent posts on the money, especially Josefa, Sund4r and Jordan.

Even with respect to ILX, I am much more likely to revisit or expand upon something that I used to like for a poll then to chase down something new that somebody recommends, no offense intended.

If I look at P&J winners from those decades when I was following closely, most of those records are still part of a deep imprint, whereas with Other Music, apart from the bigger hits and more obvious stuff (and I kind of got off the bus when their “own” bands started to break), some of my eclecticism ended up being skin deep.

Nowadays I am kind of a Slave to the Algorithm. If something pops up that I like, I will check it out and dig into the ILM archives to see what people say.

Surprised I haven't seen much (any?) mention of this from a stated musicians perspective. I'm not a musician but if I was I would feel more obligation to broaden my horizons. I think creative people generally need to keep soaking up new things, which wouldn't necessarily have to be something in your own medium of expression but it probably is an advantage.

I used to think I would get familiar with a bit of everything, but since I've still only scratched the surface of genres I started on 15 years ago, I see that is now unrealistic.

I probably should broaden a little bit more, in the spirit of trying to live life to the fullest (without mortal danger; wearing headphones out and about sounds scary to me, I need all my wits for dodging cars).

The response to that is "everyone is different, there is no 'one size fits all' methodology for people write and/or perform music"

Some of the best musicians I know listen to the least amount of music, especially new music. :/ Partly that might have to do with not wanting to listen to music in their 'off' time, or not being able to enjoy it anymore without analyzing it. Also depression.

It's the djs who listen to the most music (although that might be more functional-style listening than for pure pleasure).

Right. It is a different thing to listen to music for enjoyment as opposed to for the purpose of performing it.

I know a number of artists in different mediums who isolate themselves creatively when working on a project and make a point not to consume stuff from that medium when creating, for fear of having it mess with their inspiration or influence them in ways they dont want.

Now that I think about it, among the unscientific sample of 'working artists i know', the ratio of those who dont seem to bother keeping up with new stuff in their medium vs those who do is probably 2:1 or higher

If you work in music, a lot of music reminds you of "work" so it doesn't hit the pleasure centres. I listen to maybe four-to-six albums a week on average.

Also, deriving inspiration from other artist's music (or work from other genres) doesn't require immersion. The inspiration is often instantaneous. I once went to see a band, they played a new song as their first song, I loved the chord progression so much that I immediately left the show and went home and wrote a song with a similar chord progression

DJP - that's true but I wanted to hear what works for you guys or have any special philosophies and paths about it.

But I'd quibble that sometimes you can tell quickly from some musicians that they need to listen to more kinds of things. Perhaps more than any other type of artist I think visual artists (particularly comics, anime, commercial illustrators) are in dire need of more influences or just studying life.

flamboyant goon tie included - Is that 4 to 6 different albums played regularly or 4 to 6 albums listened to in total?

lol fgti, I love the idea of you trying to convince them later that you walked out because you loved it. But I've had similar experiences, it can just be a little spark from hearing a random moment.

I'm with fgti above. I spend weeks with familiar stuff and others trying new stuff.

On headphones/earphones I can really recommend the Cambridge Audio in-ear wireless. Amazing sound for a low price and long battery life. I rarely leave the house without them.

In lockdown I've been going for long walks - about 10-15 miles thru the city three or four times a week. Which has been great for getting to know new stuff and revisit neglected albums.

lol I can just picture table FP’ing every single pro-headphone post.

@ Robert, 4 to 6 albums total. Today I am planning to listen to Can "Delay" while I make an overnight bolognese with Beyond Ground Beef

As for headphones, seeing as I generally work cans-on I seldom use them recreationally.

lol I can just picture table FP’ing every single pro-headphone post.

― pomenitul, Monday, November 23, 2020 2:13 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

jfc how many times do i need to acknowledge/clarify that my anti-headphone stance is very personal and insane.

haha

speaking of musical comfort zones in that context, boy do I hate hearing someone blasting those bluetooth speakers as I walk the dog through nature

is "beyond ground beef" when you just keep grinding it?

I would say "laab" but technically that is minced not ground

I'm working on perfecting a vegetarian version of the sauce for a friend I'm bubbled with

Beyond Beef does sound like a nice state of being tho

do you really notice that an overnight simmer has an effect on the chemical structure in a way that's discernible from, say, three hours — in a way that pork or beef would surely break down more ?

#onethread

lol, and yes

comfort zones, hm ... well, I am listening to a "new" downtempo album released because someone found a DAT from 1995 in a box somewhere, thinking to myself "this is the best shit" ... so ...

is that the new kruder and dorfmeister?!?

you know the answer already

:-D

It's pretty good, not quite on par with their best, but it makes me hanker after new material.

Ugh, reviewing old Pazz and Jop polls there is definitely a Before and After point when I stopped caring. Or maybe I was still keeping up but in retrospect I don’t care so much.

the only new albums i have bought in 2020 are :
Cabaret Voltaire, The Black Dog, Gorillaz, Kompakt Total 20, and the African Head Charge boxset.
therefore, i would say that my answer to this question is : Very stuck in my comfort zone.
of course when charity shops are open then my listening can be dictated by the random finds, but that's a different story.

Send me your address and I'll post you my annual compilation, Mark.

I'd been pondering what we mean by "comfort zone" and I don't think listening to one genre is necessarily sticking in a comfort zone.

that's very kind of you djh.
my ile email is still valid if its a digital release ?

i should clarify - those albums i listed are new 2020 releases i have actually bought.
for some strange reason, i am still on a few record label digital mailing lists, so have heard quite a bit more, but to be honest, nothing has hit me as much as diving into the extensive On-U/Kompakt/CV/tBD back catalogues.
(during the summer i also hit my acid jazz/talkin' loud/mo'wax archives hard as well, but that stuff only works for me when the sun is out)

hence my answer to the thread is : yes, i am stuck in my comfort zone, and given the shitstorm of 2020, i have no problem with that, as it been a really enjoyable experience.

Oh, I could just post a link on ILXOR somewhere. I was thinking a CD-R because that's my comfort zone.

In fact, here you go:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/22k5Bz4p7K82ViTpJJ4eid

May change between now and Xmas.

do you really notice that an overnight simmer has an effect on the chemical structure in a way that's discernible from, say, three hours — in a way that pork or beef would surely break down more ?

In general I prefer the original lineup but I'm willing to listen to certain side-projects