What makes you listen to songs again and again? Options

[*mipadi*]

My question is loosely inspired by the "what song can you listen to over and over, and never get tired of it?" thread, which raised an interesting point: What makes you listen to a song again and again? What draws you into a song and makes it one of your favorites?

For me, it's hard to tell. Some songs have a really good melody, or rhythm perhaps. I'm a seasoned bassist for a number of bands, so I'm especially attracted to songs with an engaging bass rhythm.

But I don't think any of these things make a song my favorite. A quick analysis of my favorite music (made easy by my "Most Played" smart list in iTunes--very cool feature, by the way) shows that almost all of the songs I listen to a lot have some sort of connection to an event in my life, a person close to me, or some aspect of my personality.

For example, my favorite song is "Tyler" by the Toadies. The song has a great vocal track, awesome guitar melody and harmony, and a sweet bass line. But I think what sucks me in is the fact that I first heard it around the time I started playing bass (way back in The Day about seven years ago or so) and it was the first song I learned to play well on the bass. It has an emotional attachment to my life, because it reminds me of my early forays into the music scene.

There's a song by Jonathan Coulton called "Code Monkey" that is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. The song is about a guy that reminds me of, well, me, and my life, and it's fun to listen to because on some level, it makes me feel more comfortable to be me (as cheesy as that sounds). Likewise, the song "So Much Drama in the Ph.D." is cool because it's funny, and it's written by a comp sci student using a lot of comp sci terminoloy, which serves greatly to remind me of my place in this world.

I also like the song "Fett's 'Vette" by MC Chris, because it is about my favorite Star Wars character, Boba Fett. Boba Fett pretty much made me want to become a galaxy-trotting bounty hunter when I was a kid.

And although it's not one of my favorite songs, I used to listen to the song "1985" by Bowling For Soup a lot because, at the time, I was dating a girl who was in love with the 80s, and it reminded me of her.

So I guess overall, my favorite music serves to remind me of me, my life, and those around me. It keeps me grounded; it reminds me of who I am and who I was. Doesn't all this make sense? Music is meant to evoke an emotional response, so shouldn't the music you like the most be the music that evokes the most powerful emotional response? And how can a song evoke a powerful response if it doesn't have some sort of significance to your life?

[viugiufgjhfhjfhg...]

The main reasons why I get attached to a particular song are either purely musical, or else because the song make me evoke a specific moment in life that held some specific significance for whatever reason. Although I also cling to songs because they are capable of inspiring emotions in me out of nowhere, with no link to any event that may have happened in my life.

I love the sound of all the Pavement albums, and they are guilty for getting me interested in lo-fi pop rock. Their sound is simple at the first hearing (some songs are recorded on 4 tracks, even) yet they manage to come with incredibly original song structures without resorting to crazy instrumentation or production effects.

Theirs are songs to which I can listen to for hours and I still enjoy them like it was the first time around; I am literally addicted to the song Carrot Rope.

The songs that make me recall moments in life tend to be the most random group, and also the most wider. But that's just because as I grow old I go through more experiences that later on can be brought back by a song. As an example, Ottis Redding songs make me think of my late grandfather, since I used to listen to him practice them in an annex room to the house because his wife wouldn't let him play the keyboard at home ._.

As per the later group, I would list songs like This is a goodbye, by SNFU. Which despite being not so great musically and having no specific memories attached to it manages to get me in the mood to get things done immediately. Also classical pieces fit in this category, since I think their lack of vocal parts make it easier for me to let my feelings flow one way or another more freely.

In a certain way, all three cases inspire an emotional response in me. As Mike said, it serves a reminder of who and how I am but also does please my wish for acquiring musical knowledge and does help me when I want to feel whatever comes from within.

Music is an great discovery (since it's always been there in one way or another) capable of inspiring the most diverse and sometimes intense feelings amongst its audience. That's why there's funeral marches, why do gyms play the Rocky OST every now and then, or why do couples have their song.

Music is definetly one of my reasons why.

O_o