I'm a bit old fashioned in that I love FM radio. I have my CDs, I have a Pandora account and iTunes, I've even got an iPod (somewhere...). But FM radio in the car is where it's at. And at work I use iHeart radio to stream a station from Colorado, because I grew up listening to it and still love the DJs
Part of it is that I like not necessarily knowing which song comes next. When the station has good DJs, I also like learning bits of trivia about a song or artist. Good DJs can also put together nice sets of songs that play off each other.
On longer road trips (like DC to Pittsburgh, which I do somewhat regularly) I still use the scan button to flip through radio stations and get a bit of local flavor. It's also a good way for me to stumble across music I haven't heard in a long time. Or that I wouldn't necessarily think to put on.
I have 6 stations programmed in to my car so I can keep music playing when I'm driving. But at home, I usually just have one station on when I'm cooking or cleaning. I like hearing about events going on in my area. I discovered a local wine festival this way, and am occasionally reminded of events or places I'd like to go to. You don't get the same sense of your community listening to iTunes or CDs
A reasonable set of headphones (i.e. over the ear, not buds, with a decent enough element to give a little base, not noise cancelling) and music off my computer. Loud enough that I don't get distracted by noises, not so loud that I'm dead to the world. Also either a little buzzed or with some clear tasking/work to power through.
ReplyDeleteMy prefered way to listen to music changes based on the situation. In the car I love the radio, unless I'm on a long drive or listening to Harry Potter Audiobooks I am listening to the radio. At home I prefer full albums played on my lovely speakers. When I'm somewhere else but have control I like to use Pandora. But my favorite way to listen to music by far is live. I have seen hundreds of bands live over the years, I attend as many concerts are convenient/affordable, and in many of the years I have lived concert going accounted for the largest non-essential expenditure I had. If I like a musician and they perform poorly live it has a serious affect on my enjoyment of their recorded music; likewise, if I am interested in a musician but don't know them that well and they are amazing live then I am immediately more drawn to their recorded music. I think the main reason I love Daft Punk and Girl Talk so much is that their recorded music evokes memories of their live shows, which are among the best on the planet.
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