Poll: Do you ever listen to music, without also doing something else?

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

The iPhone commercial parody on YouTube with genius filmmaker David Lynch hit the mark for me. His insight about people watching movies on iPhones, I'm paraphrasing--"You think you've seen the movie after watching it on your iPhone, but you'll be cheated. You haven't seen the movie."--could also be applied to music.

Just because you were listening to music while text messaging your boy/girlfriend doesn't mean you've actually heard the music. Exposure to music, art, film, what have you, is not the same as active engagement. It's kind of like having sex while watching Lost or Law & Order, which might not necessarily be a bad thing, but it does say something about the sex.

So the question is, do you ever just listen to music--without also doing something else at the same time?

Or do you--

Read

Cook

Work

Exercise

Commute to work

Or ________

while listening to music?

And when you just listen, does it change your feelings about the music?

[bob.mcclenahan]

I will occasionally sit down in front of my speakers and listen to music. I enjoy that for a few minutes, then I remember I have to clean the cat box or something. It's a luxury I can't afford too often. Most of the time, I listen to music at the gym or in the car.

[Zen-Masta]

I do lay down and listen to music on my zune from time to time but for the most part. Everytime I'm in the car, all day during work. sometimes when I'm playing video games on my pc. I think if you listen without another distraction you can actually appreciate it. When I drive or listen at work it just helps speed up the day.

[Sugith]

Despite owning a good system and lots of media to listen to, I don't as much as I'd like to. But when I do, I remember that experience long afterwards.

Hmm... time to make some time to just listen again.

[ksturm079]

Does smoking count? Because that really makes the experience better for me.

[waldolc]

Grew up with parents that loved music in all its forms. I've got two pair of reference headphones... My friends and I have listening parties when something comes out we want to share.

[johnnysocko]

I find myself listening less as responsibilities increase. My time of listening now comes more from WATCHING & LISTENING to Austin City Limits and Soundstage, both on PBS, which I record to DVD for my collection.

I also find that I am buying and renting (Netflix has an awesome array) live music concerts on DVD.

The sound is phenomenal (I have a pretty decent Audio portion of my A/V set-up), and where else can you get old 'Dead concerts remastered in 5.1 (yeah, I'm aware of SACD/DVD-A, but can you RENT them to find out if it's worth buying that album for the second or third time???"

And of course, I don't have to sit in front of the TV to enjoy it, if I need to be doing something else.

Anybody else find themselves in this trend?

[pubmat]

I agree with Mr Guttenberg's opinions about what the definition of "listening" to music is these days. Personally, I own high end audio equipment, and I try to sit down and listen to it when I can--but at least even if I'm working around the house, I'm still getting better sound than the average iphone listening/texting dodo that cant sit still to do ANYTHING these days is. I think the problem is we multi-task too much--and in the process never get anything done it seems. We certainly dont take time to ENJOY life anymore at the very least.

[minimalist]

Did you have to turn this poll into an opportunity to soapbox about "these kids today with their stupid iPods and text messages"?

[potestasx]

Most of my music listening is done while doing other things. As with some of the other folks who have commented, it's a matter of having the time to sit and listen.

When I'm listening while doing something else, if the music is interesting enough to distract me from what I'm doing, it means one of two things: it's that good or it's that bad. The good stuff, I will dedicate some time to sit back and listen to it.

[tinybrain]

Most of the time music is an accompaniment to an activity like driving, cooking or sitting on the bus. However I do occasionally take the time to sit down and just listen. I have a good sound system and a pair of high end headphones. Usually late at night when the family is in bed I take out the headphones and lie on the sofa just listening. And yes, it changes the experience, quite a lot actually. Listening for the sake of listening is very different from listening because you like some background music. I also listen to different things depending on what I am doing. I tend to play ambient/lounge stuff for background but will grab something classical on SACD when doing the headphones thing. I listen to Tool too, usually when I am joyriding my car :-)

[hfjacinto]

Any time that I sit on the sofa and listen to any cd or music DVD on my stereo my wife *******. So I have a nice system and about the only thing that I ever hear on it are Barbie movies or High School Musical.

Life is not fair but 2 weeks ago I was home sick and I turned up the stereo to -10 (on A yamaha 0 is the loudest you can listen) and listened to whole Lorena McKennit DVD (Nights at the Alahambra) in glorious digital surround sound. The music was so loud and the bass was so smooth that I knocked some glasses onto the floor in the kitchen. But to hear every single string on the instruments it was worth it.

BTW Steve thanks for your reviews in Home Theather Mag as I generally have used your opinions to buy my gear and most of the time your recommendations are right on.

[johnnysocko]

Thanks for the heads-up on the LM @ Alhambra DVD. Just put it in queue at Netflix. Awaiting patiently. Any other DVD concerts you'd recommend? Last one I ordered was Los Lonely Boys from Austin, just smokin', Oh and try to catch Jewel @ the Rialto(Joliet, IL) on Soundstage (pbs). Changed the way I felt about Jewel, talented lady, pretty easy on the eyes as well.

[hfjacinto]

Johnny,

The problem with most concerts is that they are recorded in SD which makes for crappy viewing on a 46 inch LCD TV. REM's concert sucked for both picture and sound. Madonna's concert was really good picture wise but she is better when her music is heavily mastered, in concert she just sounds like someone from American Idol singing her songs. The concerts I liked on DVD have been: Duran Duran live in London, I found it on Amazon, but it was an import. Sting soul cages remaster, not the cheap copy which is SD quality, they have a 2006 remaster which while only stereo was upgrade to 480P, video has some artifacts, but I just close my eyes and listen to the sound. But LM was the best concert in a while.

I am waiting for the police to release a DVD of last year's tour.

BTW thanks for the recommendations, I will see if I can find Jewell on DVD.

[pioneer_167]

Occasionally I'll be listening to music while doing homework or something but when I really want to enjoy it, I throw on the vinyl and listen to that alone. I just found an original copy of Led Zeppelin IV so that's what I've been playing most lately. I would definitely say that when you really listen to music without doing anything else, it's easy to tell the difference between good stuff and noise. There are certain albums that I think must be actively listened to: Pink Floyd's Echoes, Rush's 2112 and Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick just to name a few. Also pretty much anything by Tangerine Dream. Stuff that is easier to have as background noise would be shorter songs. Lots of Beatles stuff, The Kinks...that kind of music.

[shomie911]

I won't lie, the majority of the time I'm listening to music, I'm also surfing the internet.

Atleast I use some decent monitors while I'm surfing. (No cheap computer speakers for me.)

But, I do occasionally sit down and just enjoy an album, start to finish.

But thats probably because I'd feel guilty for spending so much money on loudspeakers and headphones if I didn't.

[mikeoregon]

Some music is so intensely emotional that it can only be experienced by engaging with full awareness.

It's risky because the music may get past your usual avoidances and tap into emotions you didn't even know you had, thought were long buried.

Sometimes I think that's why people "listen" to music in the background. They avoid having to deal with the emotional effects of really listening.

Sometimes really listening to music is an unforgettable peak experience.

[Mr_Fishy]

I have just sat down and listened to my Zune 30, but I will admit to All of the above

[minimalist]

This is a bunk comparison. Video requires your full attention. Audio does not. You can cook and listen to music quite easily without losing sight of the music. You can't do the same while watching a movie.

But its still a matter of degrees. Some activities are more or less automatic and free up the mind to listen more closely (driving long distances, using a treadmill, etc). Listening to music in these circumstances is nowhere near the same the same as "having sex while watching Lost".

I mostly listen to music while at work and since I do creative work that comes from repetition and body memory (similar to driving) I can focus on what I am listening to. Music is like fuel to creativity.

[brianooomac]

When I turn on my equipment I make sure that I have a nice grace period in order to sit down take a half hour to an hour listening and being very analytical about my sound system criticing the music and enjoying every moment of it, but other times when I must do something else I might sit down and draw or maybe go on the computer or read a book, I do take my ipod all around with me all the time and listen to that most of my free time as well, but to get to the point yes I do sit down and listen to my stereo very often.

[2channellives]

My favorite thing after a long and stressful day is to just sit and listen. This is an experience i have enjoy from age 8 till my ripe age of 44. I truly feel this is part of what is wrong with our lives, we try to multi task without slowing down to enjoy what life has to offer.

So, i challenge everyone to select 2-3 of their favorite cuts, grab a glass of your favorite beverage, dim the lights, sit back and enjoy. The quote below says it all....

I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George Eliot
novelist (1819 - 1880)

[chrestme]

It's amazing the difference just stopping and listening to music can really make. I used to always multi-task while listening to music (work, cook, exercise, etc.) and never really thought about it. But then I sat down one day with an album and my stereo system and just listened, and the difference was incredible. I noticed nuances in the music that I would have never perceived if I was trying to do something else.
I think that's one of the differences between pop and other genres of music. Pop lets you kind of tune-out but still enjoy the music, you don't necessarily need to sit and listen closely, it's just typically not that deep. Other genres often require more from the listener, some commitment. Sure you could listen to it while doing something else and probably enjoy it, but not nearly as much as if you really thought about what you were listening to.
Unfortunately, I don't often get to just sit and listen. I have to make an effort as I think we as a society have been conditioned to constantly multi-task, and the luxury of just listening to music is perceived as a waste of time. Though, for some reason, this isn't true with TV or movies.