Ask Lemmy

I like to play games while I listen to music

I do it. I miss having linear, defined "playlists" we used to call listening to an album. So, duh, you can still do it. I play curated playlists when I'm driving. If something catches my attention, I go to that song's album (please don't be a single, please don't be a single). If the album plays through well, I'll probably give it a go at home.

Granted, sitting still is not my strong suit, so it's not all that common. Video games are my main TV/couch thing if solo. I always have some other chore or project nagging me. But damn, is it relaxing to lightly hit a thc vape and play deadmau5

Honestly, people judging how you consume anything is weird. Personally, i do the same as you, and i lay down to.listen to some music, and honestly, i've had the best musical experiences that way. Laid down, eyes closed. That way your imagination can go wild and sometimes (sometimes) cook you up some wild stuff xD But all in all? Extremely normal if you ask me.

Sometimes but never in headphones. In the living room right in the stereo spot on the couch. Mostly I listen and do, but sometimes just listen.

I do the same, but with my turntable

Have to do something else. I mostly listen to new albums when doing cardio at the gym, or when playing multiplayer vidya.

All the time. Its wonderful.

I do, since I have a dedicated listening setup, always have, even in small apartments.

Sometimes I read while listening. Usually I'm more engaged in the music.

Having an engaging stereo setup definitely helps. Am i sitting doing nothing listening on crappy airpods? Definitely not.

Also people saying its werid must be zoomers or alphas. This is literally how we have enjoyed music for the past century. Do they know what a typewriter is? Or even a desktop computer nowadays I suppose. Man.

I do it sometimes, but mainly for music I really enjoy or have a keen interest in. Technically I also did it for a music competition a few months ago but that probably doesn't count...

There is research on this btw! I had to dig a bit, but this is a 2011 research article (might be paywalled, I can try & help if anyone is really interested in) on why people (psych undergrads, but still) listen to music. They identified 6 mostly independent factors, one of which ("personal identity") may be more linked to ppl listening just for enjoyment; one of their experiments showed that 75.66% of participants listen to music as "background noise". So music as primary activity is probably relatively uncommon (but not non-existent). Funnily enough I rarely use music as background distraction these days

I wouldn't say weird. You can enjoy your music however you want.

Personally i wouldn't be able to do it, having ADHD and sitting still doesn't really go together.

If I'm just a passenger in a vehicle, I don't mind sitting back and just listening to music. Otherwise, I'm so used to doing something else while listening that it feels kinda weird to not have it as background when I'm working, when appropriate.

I thought that's exactly what we pretentious audiophiles do.

...you've made me realise I actually havent done this in so long

Does vaping weed count as "doing something else"?

I “metaltate” several times a week. Dark room, closed eyes, focus on breathing, and headphones with black metal.

One of my earliest memories of listening to music was in exactly this style.

Our family inherited a mobile trailer that was parked in our front yard for a while. I was a young kid and would use the trailer as “my house”.

I distinctly remember plopping down a boombox on the “kitchen table”, which was just a fold out table with a chair on either side.

I popped in Dr. Dre’s Da Chronic into the cassette deck of the boombox and hit play. Listening to the whole album while sitting on the chair.

Fun times. Stop worrying about how other people consume entertainment and just do what feels good to you.

I think everyone should try to only listen, at least sometimes. We've been trained to need input constantly and we're not built for it. People can't just watch TV any more either, need more screens!

Doing something as in having a coffee or not doing anything at all ? I'll have a coffee or a drink and listen, at most eat a light meal.

I'm weird in that I can't listen to music and do something else because I can't.. listen I mean, it's just noise in the background, like elevator music, so why bother? and listening while running, walking or cycling is beyond me as there's so much going on and you need so much situational awareness when engaged in those avtivities.

I do this if I get sleepy but it's too early to go to bed. Put my noice cancelling headphones on, close my eyes, and usually nod off.

I wish I could just meditate like you, but my mind is always racing if I'm not sleeping or focused on something.

I just think you're lucky to be able to tune everything out, not weird.

That’s not weird at all. It’s very enjoyable.

No I do this also

For me listening to music and dancing are a joint experience. Setting still while listening feels offensive somehow. My body just kinda moves on is own.

I do this sometimes, especially when I am stressed out and just need time to relax and forget everything for a while by immersing myself in whatever I'm listening to. Same with just sitting on public transport. Sometimes, I just stare out the window, and everything I hear is just sound because I'm just in the moment. I'd otherwise be on my phone like everyone else.

No, you're not weird.

It's the best way to analyze a track or just let my brain juices flow and just think or plan or just drift into the aether.

depends. I have music on like 90% of the time. Sometimes I like to put headphones or quality speakers on and close my eyes and really pay attention to the music. Otherwise it's daily activities or kareoke

I do both but I'm usually doing something because of ADHD. Sometimes it's something mindless. My favorite time to listen to music is while walking around the city

I do, but not with headphones. If it's headphones, it's second to something else. If the activity is specifically listening to music, I'm doing it on the good speakers.

reading this thread made me realize why music visualizers were so popular

I quite rarely listen to music but sometimes I just want to hear one or two songs and then I often just sit and listen.

I love music so much I have it on almost all of the time, but I admit, I'm almost always doing something else too.

Thanks for the replies, all. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who does this! I find it very therapeutic, and I enjoy being able to really focus on the lyrics and the music itself. My high school band teacher taught us that music is not a spectator sport - if you're only hearing sounds, you're missing out on half the experience. :)

I listen to a lot of music while I'm doing things as background, but when I get a moment for it focused listening is a great experience. I don't listen to the same type of music for both, though there's definitely some overlap. But I'm not listening to funeral doom at work or Lightning Bolt sitting in bed before I go to sleep. I think both experiences are equally valid ways to enjoy and appreciate music.

The gym has given me an interesting middle ground as it is something that requires some planning and thinking at times, but at some point my body knows the movements well enough to do it more or less on its own. So the music I listen to ends up being the most diverse. It can either fade into the background while I'm setting up, making notes, etc. or be the main thing I'm focusing on toward the last reps of a movement I know well.

I dance and/or sing while listening to music because I'm not dead. 👍

People experience music differently. If I'm going to listen to music, I have to sit there and actively listen to it. If music is playing when I'm trying to work on something, I have to turn it off, it's too distracting.

Depends. If it's "normal" music, I'm doing something else while it plays in the background. If it's some avante garde prog concept album, I can just sit and focus on the music and experience the complex subtleties.