Why I stopped listening to music

Excellent Christian Documentary asking some tough questions regarding the messages and influence of music.

"I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man; wine is not so noble a liquor; and think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of warm coffee, or of an evening with a dish of tea! Ah, how low I fall when I am tempted by them! Even music may be intoxicating. Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America."

Henry David Thoreau from Walden Chapter 11 Higher Laws.



 
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Without watching the video I can tell the guy's reasoning will be bullshit by the fact that:

a) he gave up on an entire medium of art because reasons

b) he posted a video of his preposterous (but totally legitimate) personal choice seeking the approval of others

Of course, maybe I'm just being a judgmental asshole... but for myself, if you take music from me you might as well take breathing next.
 
The dude William Shatnering in the video lost my interest in about 10 seconds. Not watching that shit.

I can't go a day without music. If I did I'd probably sound like a mouthbreather like that guy in the video. I wonder how much ambien he took just before he embarrassed himself on YouTube.
 
his reasoning is strange. he is deciding not to listen to music because it isn't doing anything for him, and it's a waste of his time? couldn't the same be said about anything else that one does? he says that, "you have to work when you read", but the same applies to music. music can be just as complex as a classic novel.

my dad doesn't listen to music at all. but he doesn't hate on music. he simply has other interests, such as working on cars, welding, shooting guns, etc. hell, even i haven't been listening to music as often as i did before. but it has nothing to do with the music, and everything to do with finding different hobbies and enjoyments.

i think that is happening with this guy.
 
IIIIIIII said:
his reasoning is strange. he is deciding not to listen to music because it isn't doing anything for him, and it's a waste of his time? couldn't the same be said about anything else that one does? he says that, "you have to work when you read", but the same applies to music. music can be just as complex as a classic novel.

my dad doesn't listen to music at all. but he doesn't hate on music. he simply has other interests, such as working on cars, welding, shooting guns, etc. hell, even i haven't been listening to music as often as i did before. but it has nothing to do with the music, and everything to do with finding different hobbies and enjoyments.

i think that is happening with this guy.
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You can listen to music doing ANYTHING pretty much, movies have music in them, you can read, bang, workout, weld, hike, run, have friends over and bullshit all while listening to music.
Listening to music is an activity that you need zero concentration to do.
Music usually brings up what you feel inside as opposed to what an author or movie maker is telling you about certain characters.
I put people who don't listen to music right up there with psychopaths and jared fogle.
 
Does he also have a video explaining how he got brain damage, or is he just born with it?
 
The guy doesn't appear to be obnoxiously criticizing or preaching his lifestyle choice expecting other people to follow, honestly. He's just sharing his opinion, which is a reason that site was designed for. Anyone who would get offended by this are being overly-sensitive, to take it as some attack to their personal beliefs.

Anyways, I think he's arguing that always being plugged-in to some influx of information whether it affects you on an emotional level or not can get in the way of more natural thought processes and can possibly detriment us. I agree that over-stimulating the brain in this way is not a natural state for it to be in, and is far removed from what it has adapted to throughout history. However, to stop listening to music entirely is going from one extreme to another. Music is a good tool to stimulate thoughts and emotions, but just like anything else it can be abused.

If music or other mediums of information can be balanced with quiet and contemplative activities in modern-day society, I see there being no problem. If he personally feels he doesn't need music to maintain his frame of mind, there's nothing wrong with that either, so long as the reason he's doing it is genuine and not just for the sake of being different.
 
To Athiest, that first video is about going to clubs, which is not the same as listening to music. No one goes to clubs because they like the music.

The second one is about the un-ethical message of music, which is up to the listener. If I don't want to listen to "dirty" music I don't have to. Although if people do, more power to them . . . it's not going to "destroy" them like a bug going toward a fire.

And, as a Christian, we all laugh at those "Rock-and-Roll" movies. They're absolute tripe. Somehow our parents survived rock and roll and are still fine even though apparently it brings the devil into our minds. I think we'll be fine too. Also, the Bible says to praise the Lord with music, and also drinking wine (in moderation) is part of the sacrament and totally fine.

As to Thoreau, I can give you plenty of great writers who liked music. He was an outlier who thought that every modern contrivance should be let go and that man should go back to nature.

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish here, but there's nothing wrong with music itself. It can be used incorrectly, I guess, but that's a far stretch to make to stop listening to it altogether considering all of the positives it has toward life.
 
Sdeaf said:
To Athiest, that first video is about going to clubs, which is not the same as listening to music. No one goes to clubs because they like the music. I love listening to music as much as anybody.

The second one is about the un-ethical message of music, which is up to the listener. If I don't want to listen to "dirty" music I don't have to. Although if people do, more power to them . . . it's not going to "destroy" them like a bug going toward a fire.

And, as a Christian, we all laugh at those "Rock-and-Roll" movies. They're absolute tripe. Somehow our parents survived rock and roll and are still fine even though apparently it brings the devil into our minds. I think we'll be fine too. Also, the Bible says to praise the Lord with music, and also drinking wine (in moderation) is part of the sacrament and totally fine.

As to Thoreau, I can give you plenty of great writers who liked music. He was an outlier who thought that every modern contrivance should be let go and that man should go back to nature.

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish here, but there's nothing wrong with music itself. It can be used incorrectly, I guess, but that's a far stretch to make to stop listening to it altogether considering all of the positives it has toward life.
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I don't have any agenda. I'm just posting some examples of people who have reasons to not listen to music. I'll leave it to people to make up their own minds when it comes to the music they listen to and how they allow it to influence their lives.

Though, I do think music is one of those areas that people don't think too much about and often give a free pass when it comes to how music reflects the values of a society and negatively influences behavior. Look at how quickly people get emotional and start slinging insults as soon as their band is criticized or music in general is criticized. People are extremely influenced by music. I have a hard time believing an "artist" like Britney Spears or Katy Parry has no negative influence over young impressionable girls. I agree largely with what Allan Bloom has to say regarding popular music.

Certainly, religion comes off as hilarious when they talk about popular music, but they do make some interesting points regarding the negative influence and bizarre religious like worship that tends to come with popular music.

I'll again post that passage I posted earlier:

Picture a thirteen-year-old boy sitting in the living room of his family home doing his math assignment while wearing his Walkman headphones or watching MTV. He enjoys the liberties hard won over centuries by the alliance of philosophic genius and political heroism, consecrated by the blood of martyrs; he is provided with comfort and leisure by the most productive economy ever known to mankind; science has penetrated the secrets of nature in order to provide him with the marvelous, life like electronic sound and image reproduction he is enjoying. And in what does progress culminate? A pubescent child whose body throbs with orgasmic rhythms; whose feelings are made articulate in hymns to the joys of onanism or the killing of parents; whose ambition is to win fame and wealth in imitating the drag-queen who makes the music. In short, life is made into a nonstop, commercially prepackaged masturbational fantasy.
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Medusas Weave said:
You can listen to music doing ANYTHING pretty much, movies have music in them, you can read, bang, workout, weld, hike, run, have friends over and bullshit all while listening to music.
Listening to music is an activity that you need zero concentration to do.
Music usually brings up what you feel inside as opposed to what an author or movie maker is telling you about certain characters.
I put people who don't listen to music right up there with psychopaths and jared fogle.
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i don't agree with that at all. ask a musician, and he or she will have a completely different point of view. there is a lot more to music than simply, "feeling". take classical music, as an example. you can listen to it for the feeling-alone, but the structure and complexity of the music will completely go over your head.

you are really missing out if you only perceive music based only on feeling.
 
Atheist said:
Though, I do think music is one of those areas that people don't think too much about and often give a free pass when it comes to how music reflects the values of a society and negatively influences behavior. Look at how quickly people get emotional and start slinging insults as soon as their band is criticized or music in general is criticized. People are extremely influenced by music. I have a hard time believing an "artist" like Britney Spears or Katy Parry has no negative influence over young impressionable girls. I agree largely with what Allan Bloom has to say regarding popular music.
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All of you points are about the worst possible kind of music. And even that's not that bad. I can listen to Eminem and not hit women simply because he (sarcastically) glorifies it. I don't think you have enough faith in humanity. Certainly, some girls will hear "Blank Space" and not realize that it's a joke, but most do. Just because some people don't know how to distinguish reality from fiction doesn't mean we should stop indulging in fiction.

As toward the cult-like following some bands have, that can be gained through anything. People worship sports teams, politicians, individual fighters, and anything else they deem significant. We're naturally programmed to idolize things (whether by the evolutionary need to not contemplate existence or by a god is immaterial), and some people choose music. Once again, it's not the fault of the vast majority that a select few screw up a good thing.


Should we be wary of music? Maybe. But not listening it entirely is like never eating food again because some food is poisonous.
 
This guys an idiot in my opinion. It's not musics fault if it puts you in the mood to do something and then YOU DO NOTHING. You don't always need to have music pumped directly into your ears, take a walk and listen to the sounds of the world. Sit alone somewhere quiet from time to time and ponder your thoughts on the world. This guy probably doesn't pet cute little puppies either because they give him an emotional boner that he just can't deal with.
 
I went through a period, like about two years I think, where I barely listened to music or atleast a 10th of what I used too and barely played my instruments and just focused my spare time on watching MMA and other sports. I never stopped entirely though.

This guy seems like he's trying too hard to, do whatever it is, seem deep I guess.

Good for him if he feels it's better to live without it, but I say he's a crazy person.
 
Sdeaf said:
No one goes to clubs because they like the music.
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Absolute bullshit. I have stood in hours long line at a club because a DJ was playing there and could have went to another club with just as many hot girls and people and space with a 15 minute line.

I have to think if you like music X, that all things being equal, you would want to go to a club that played music X and not country or whatever shit you hated.
 
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