Individual Research- My Music Consumption

 There is no real set routine as to when and where I choose to listen to music. Listening to music to me is as natural as blinking, I have been known to totally forget that I even have my headphones in because of how comfortable I feel while wearing them. If I had to put a time on when I did listen to music, I guess it would be whenever I'm not in a lesson or doing something that requires me to listen tentatively. It is something that is constantly in the background of my life and works its way into basically everything that I do. All of the portable devices I own have some music playing capabilities.

Personally, music is both an individual experience, as well as a means of connecting with other like minded people. If I ever just feel like closing myself off from the world for a short period, all I need to do is plug in my headphones and I instantly have solitude. For me it's great, I'm always able to find a song which resonates with the way I'm feeling at the time and can therefore vent any frustrations I have or revel in any joys I feel simply by singing along to the lyrics of my chosen song. There are occasions where music becomes a very social experience for me, namely if I go to a concert. Near enough everyone is there for the same reason, to appreciate the music and use it to fully express themselves as individuals around people who have the exact same ideals and mind frame as their own. There have been numerous times where I've been at a concert and ended out making very good friends with other people there; purely because of the fact that we were able to connect with one another because we both shared a common ground.

A song from my childhood - Britney Spears "Hit Me Baby One More Time"



When I was young it was more the performance rather than the song that drew my attention to an artist and dictated the kinds of music I would listen to. It was generally the more popular songs of the time that had flashy, eye catching music videos; which fits in line with the fact that most of my music consumption as a kid was done via the television, as this is where these music videos would have been shown. While my parents did enjoy listening to music, the majority of it was store on traditional LP's and therefore had nothing visual that appealed to me.

A song from my early teens - N-Dubz "We Dance On"


It was in my early teens that I began figuring out what kind of person I was and as such, what my preferences were in terms of music, film and television. This song really spoke to me at the time, because there was an enormous pressure to follow the crowd and listen to all of the major chart topping artists and in all honesty, I had no interest in the likes of Jay-Z and Rhianna. The message of the song is that you can be an individual and go down your own path without fear, even if it means that you aren't the most popular of people; because eventually you will get noticed and your time will come.

A song that means a lot to me now - OneRepublic "Counting Stars"



Now that I am that much older, I find myself steering further and further away from mainstream charts. If a song doesn't have any real meaning behind it, then I find myself not even bothering to listen to it. OneRepublic were the ones who introduced me to the whole indie/alternative scene and I have yet to find a band that would prefer to listen to. Whereas in my younger years my music consumption was guided by the charts, now the only influence on the kinds of music I listen to is myself. There are still times when one of my friends will suggest a song to me of a different genre and I will happily listen to it to see what I think if I enjoy the song then it gets added to the list of songs in my repertoire.