Do you ever listen to a song and look out the car window, emotional, like you are in a music video? Do you have certain songs you know will make you sad the moment they start playing? Or do you have a couple of songs that instantly put you in a good mood? I would say yes to all of the above. I have playlists for every mood. I have a playlist called "the feels" that I rarely listen to, because all of the songs are sad, and it makes me emotional or makes me think about sad things I do not want to think about. I have a "Good Life" playlist that I listen to almost every day. It is full of songs that make me happy and make me feel like life is great. I have a workout playlist that gets me hyped up and pumped to get a lift in. I love music, and I love the way it makes me feel. I genuinely think music helps me be more in tune with my emotions and even amplifies them.
Why does music feel so powerful? Media Scholar Deanna Sellnow argues that the emotional power of music is not accidental, but the entire point of music. In her Illusion of Life Theory, she explains that music plays as a nondiscursive rhetoric. It persuades us without using words or logic. Music represents our emotions by "sounding the way feelings feel". Music can mirror emotions like tension, excitement, sadness, and relief. It does this through the fast tempos, changing volumes, and slower moments. The lyrics in songs give listeners a virtual experience where they have a shared emotional story they can connect with. Rather than music shutting down our thoughts, it helps us to better understand our emotions. Music gives meaning to feelings that are hard to describe and articulate.
The same emotional power that Sellnow sees as powerful is what Theodor Adorno sees as problematic. Adorno argues that popular music is very standardized and designed to encourage passive listening rather than critical thought. In some ways, I do understand this perspective. While scrolling TikTok I often see videos with popular bits of songs. Everyone remembers the catchy, short pieces of a song and only reacts to a portion of the original work. TikTok encourages you to keep scrolling, never fully settling on one video, always looking for the next quick hit of entertainment or emotion. In this way, music becomes background stimulation rather than something we actively think about, reinforcing Adorno’s concern that popular music prioritizes feeling over reflection.
I think I find myself with a mix of both perspectives. Sometimes I feel like I am intentionally listening to music and it is helping me to understand my emotions. Other times I do find myself playing music passively, not wanting to think about anything and distracting myself from deeper thoughts. Is the music you listen to helping you feel more in tune with yourself, or is it just filling the silence?
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ReplyDeleteHey Hadli, great insight and connections here, as this is similar to what I wrote about. It really asks us if we need music to cope and handle life. Like you said, some songs make us instantly sad, happy, emotional, music essentially amplifies our emotions. You make a great point that I did not cover in my blog. I agree that not only is music intentional for us to understand our past memories and emotions, but it is most certainly passive as well. Now that I think about it, I have music just to have it on probably half the time, just so it's not silent or boring. This makes music moth passive and intentional. Great perspective!
ReplyDeleteI love the image you chose, and I can hear “The Rainbow Connection” playing in my head. I am not entirely sure if that is where the image is from, but it leads me to my main point. As you mention, “music becomes background stimulation rather than something we actively think about.” As we study these ideas in pop culture, I find myself agreeing with Adorno quite often, though I digress.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy listening to music while I draw because it helps me escape the world for a time and become intensely focused on the task at hand. I cannot do this when writing or reading, but when drawing, music seems to awaken a different sensibility. Having been an artist for many years, I can often look at a piece I have drawn or painted and recall the exact song or music I was listening to while creating it.
I am not sure whether this makes me feel more in tune with myself, serves as a distraction from the busy world around me, or simply helps me connect more deeply with what I am creating. In any case, music has a way of embedding itself into the creative process in a way other forms of “entertainment” cannot. The power of the audible seems to ignite the visual, at least in the way I work.
I’ve also come to the conclusion that I find a mix of both standardization and emotional connection in music. I see the cookie-cutter mold in many popular songs, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy them. I also think that doesn’t account for emotional connections I’ve made to songs. I think you can’t be expected to focus fully on every song you listen to, but I do think it is important for us to look more critically at the music we listen to. What messages are the songs we listen to really sending us? I find that when I am an active participant in my music, I have a more emotional connection to it.
ReplyDeleteThe title of your article completely captured my attention. I agree that it is a mix of both perspectives. When I look at my Spotify playlist I tend to have something for even different types of workouts I try to do. Sometimes I need a specific type of energy like rock to push me through other times I'm more introspective and need to be in my feels to accomplish the same goal. I also find myself searching on Spotify for very specific genres to try and go with my mood. There's something to knowing that there are other people out there that find comfort in the same searches and it connects us. When I recently ran a half marathon I went back after reading your article to look at my music choices. I was very surprised to see how all over the place they were and interestingly enough there were times when I really listened during my run and then others where it was more passive in the back. I really like your perspective on how it can be both versus where I really decided to focus on Sellnow in my blog. Thank you for helping me see both sides!
ReplyDeleteBoth Sellnow’s and Adorno’s points of view are expertly balanced in your piece without being discounted. I really appreciate how you relate the Illusion of Life Theory to Common listening practices, since it demonstrates how music actively aids emotional processing rather than only providing entertainment. Playlists become emotional tools rather than background noise, which is explained by the notion that music “sounds the way feelings feel.” However, by demonstrating how platforms Break Up music into little repeating segments that deter deeper interaction, your TikTok example supports Adorno's criticism. I concur that both situations are possible; music can be passive in some situations and purposeful and significant in others. In the end, our choice of listening makes the difference. Music can enhance emotional awareness, rather than just feeling quiet when we sit with it rather than scrolling past it.
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