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People's Reactions to Music

Hoplite

Hoplite

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Something I've always been interested in is people's reactions to different situations.

Over the last few months, I've been driving to work. My commute is about 2 hours (total) and I love music. I play music almost all the time, especially in my car. I do play music loud and I play it with my windows down, I dont do it to show off, I like very loud music.

Anyways, when I first started driving to work, I got yelled at a couple of times by people in other cars, usually at stoplights. The first few times I kinda waved it off "Eh, asshole, he's only gotta deal with me for 20 seconds." After that, I started to get sort of curious, was it the band in particular? Was it the car? Was it me?

So over the last few months I've been testing it gradually.

The bands I play most commonly are Motorhead and an assortment of punk that can be pretty well represented by someone like Dropkick Murphys but I have a VERY broad assortment of music.

I've been testing various genres of music and it seems to be that certain genres get worse reactions by more people than others.

For example, one one of my favorite songs by Motorhead is Rock Out. It's a hard, fast, thunder in the guts kind of song. However, I tried playing a different song by Motorhead, Whorehouse Blues, which is a MUCH slower and lower sort of songs, almost but not quite blues.

Both songs played at high volume elicited extremely negative reactions MUCH more frequently than other types of music.

I also tested punk music. With Dropkick Murphys, Tomorrow's Industry got an equally bad reaction from people as Boys on the Docks. With Rise Against, Prayer of a Refugee got equally bad reactions as Re-Education Through Labor.

Even in languages people (generally) couldnt understand, Glittertind's Rolandskvadet and Arkona's Pokrovi Nebesnogo Startsa (A personal favorite) all got more negative reactions than other genres of music that I played, even though the average American generally wont understand the lyrics.

I considered the volume, some people may just not like loud music. But the increase in negative reactions were greater with metal and punk than other genres I played, even when they were played LOWER than the comparison genres.

I think it's interesting to see if genre has an impact on the reaction of the people listening to it. I wonder if there is any real research in this area. :)

 
I can't stand when people play thumping music loud in their cars. It drives me crazy and I consider it very inconsiderate of anyone. It generally is because such music drowns out what I am trying to listen to or affects the volume of my conversation with the person who is in the car with me (since I don't have a driver's license, there is always someone in the car with me to talk to). Now I have noticed that I can tolerate it when someone is listening to country music that I can hear from their car when the car I'm in pulls up next to them. Country music coming from someone else's car doesn't seem to drown out whatever I'm listening too (although granted, I am most likely listening to country also), but it also doesn't seem to make me have to adjust my conversation volume. I don't know if I've noticed any other music coming from other cars besides strong bass music or country music.
 
That's why I went to headphones. Better sound quality at less price than regular speakers. More personal, more analytical, and you can more easily separate yourself from "booom booom" **** speakers and subwoofers that everyone likes and think sounds amazing.

*Listens to the 9th Symphony with a sub* "Wow, I think I can hear a violen somewhere in there!". Realistically speaking the 9th would sound like this: "Boooooooooooom booooooooooooooooooooom *faint sound of a choir* booooooooooooooooom"
 
Fiddytree said:
That's why I went to headphones. Better sound quality at less price than regular speakers. More personal, more analytical, and you can more easily separate yourself from "booom booom" **** speakers and subwoofers that everyone likes and think sounds amazing.

*Listens to the 9th Symphony with a sub* "Wow, I think I can hear a violen somewhere in there!". Realistically speaking the 9th would sound like this: "Boooooooooooom booooooooooooooooooooom *faint sound of a choir* booooooooooooooooom"
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spud_meister said:
I hate the people that seem to be driving a sub-woofer with wheels.
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I tolerate people who do that, but ultimately, I think it shows a lack of class.
 
I think it displays a lack of a dick, on a guy.
No balls to listen to music like it was actually supposed to sound and instead wants to walk around with a prosthetic penis in the form of a subwoofer. It's not as good as the real thing.
 
well, Hoplite.
I'm in your boat - I guess we're horrid people together. :) Oh boo

I listen to a variety of slammin tunes - everything from 'O Fortuna' to 'Burn the Witch' - whatever it is, I like it loud enough to drown out everything else.
I like all types of music, now. I use to hate rap and hate country music. But now I listen to some country. I don't listen to rap but ti doesn't actually irritate me just to hear it - take it or leave it. Some rap songs are good, though. Panzer Ag, Carl Orff, Helmet, Skinny Puppy, Type o Negative, Leonard Cohen, Rodney Adkins, Pucifer, When in Rome, Muse, Nancy Sinatra. . . it's all good, all loud, all the time - even hwen I'm at home (extreme benefit of living in the country with no neighbors - there's no one to complain! Crank up the stereo! It's night time!)

Now - if I'm in traffic for a while I'll turn it down a bit. I don't strive to really get on people's nerves. At the same time, though, I turn it UP when others have theirs up and it's clashing with my rockin-jockin tunes.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
I tolerate people who do that, but ultimately, I think it shows a lack of class.
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There's a few lines from a song that describes exactly how I feel about subwoofers on wheels --- it goes:

Teenage bitches
Blaring crap
Out the window of an SUV

Noise pollution
Makes me mad
I could roll them so easily

More lyrics: Juliana Hatfield Lyrics
 
When someone is playing music too loudly I just remember how much fun I have playing music loudly and sort of deal with it.
I tend to be polite with my volume tho.
 
Ah - there you go. Here I was all proud of myself for liking all kinds of music but, really, I don't.

I don't like female singers who try to do 'heavy' lyrics - some (very few) are ok but the female voice is, well, just lyrical and not gutteral or heavy - or forceful, those things required to appease my tastes.

:shrug:

But it doesn't annoy or anger me - it just doesn't suit me.

I do like Nancy Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Shirley Bassey, Enya. Their voices go well with their sound. But those of the ilk of Juliana Hatfield clash with their music repertoire when they sing and sound out of place.
 
Aunt Spiker said:
But those of the ilk of Juliana Hatfield clash with their music repertoire when they sing and sound out of place.
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That's just you boxing them into a genre.... Total System Failure which that song came from was a love it or hate it deal. I love it obviously.
 
Ockham said:
That's just you boxing them into a genre.... Total System Failure which that song came from was a love it or hate it deal. I love it obviously.
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I simply don't like the blend of the two.

Portished and the Pierces pull it off pretty well, though.
 
It's really simple, turn down the bass, turn up the trebble.
 
I play my music super loud with the windows down. There's nothing better than driving down the highway at midnight with the windows down and the music blasting.

Hoplite said:
The bands I play most commonly are Motorhead and an assortment of punk that can be pretty well represented by someone like Dropkick Murphys but I have a VERY broad assortment of music.
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BARF.

Try this and see how people react:



Or this:



Or this:



Mmmmm, real hardcore.
 
Khayembii Communique said:
I play my music super loud with the windows down. There's nothing better than driving down the highway at midnight with the windows down and the music blasting.



BARF.

Try this and see how people react:

Mmmmm, real hardcore.
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Ugh, I cant stand the scream-o stuff. I like there to be actual rhythm.
 
Minor Threat isnt usually scream-o
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It's about as "scream-o" as pg.99 or Majority Rule. I just find it funny that you would post some punk/hardcore stuff and then complain about rhythm.
 
If it's loud enough to annoy anyone, then it isn't music, but noise pollution.
 
Khayembii Communique said:
I play my music super loud with the windows down. There's nothing better than driving down the highway at midnight with the windows down and the music blasting.



BARF.

Try this and see how people react:



Or this:



Or this:



Mmmmm, real hardcore.
Click to expand...


I just listened to all three of these simultaneously, the cacophony was simply amazing (and did not sound all that different than listening to them independently).
 
I am a metal and thrash music lover myself. I like it loud and proud.... however... I don't play it that loud around town. If I'm on the freeway, then it's blaring. If I'm at a stoplight, I turn it down considerably.

Where I live, if the police can hear your music with their windows up, they will ticket you. The ticket runs 250.00... city ordinance... which I don't think is inappropriate.
 
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