I listened to “Over Here” by partynextdoor 15 times in a row the other day. When first arriving on the scene, partynextdoor’s sound (and affiliation) was regularly compared to The Weeknd, but the careful ear strongly disagrees. In light of the comparisons, I find myself listening in situations that I could also apply to moods and mindsets that would be fulfilled by the falsetto croons and spacey production of Yung Abel.
During a recent discussion with my friend Pat, it was pointed out that we compare artists because of the feeling or emotions that their music inspires in us. Sounds and lyrical content trigger similar responses causing us to say one artist sounds comparable to another, but in actuality, we should be saying “feels like” rather than “sounds like”. We categorize artists into a genre, but the genre itself is based on the idea of an anticipated range of emotions, lyrics, and sounds. We tend to listen to these artists that we, in an almost innate fashion, try to relate to others.
So what makes people favor the moods of music that they do? Do they choose to listen because they want to experience a particular reaction?
Let’s look at this idea from two different perspectives. When we feel a certain way, we tend to resort to a specific genre of music. We want to relate to what the song is saying and know that someone else might understand us. This is why we put artists into categories so that we can go to a genre and know these artists are going to embody the emotions that we may already be experiencing. You don’t go to a club and expect to hear depressing music.
Aside from capturing and empowering an existing emotion, our genres of choice can completely change our emotional state, helping to get us from one end of a spectrum to the other, more desirable end. You’ve been feeling sad and no longer want to feel that way, so you listen to a more upbeat genre to change the way that you feel. You are wanting to avoid an emotion and change your current state of mind. How many times have you skipped a sad song because you knew it was going to entail a flood of associated emotions and memories?
The significant difference is between the initial and desired emotion. The way we feel as a response to the music becomes a matter of control. Music is a relationship of the mind and it’s relative emotional responses via sonic design/lyrical content. Music is a powerful influence. However, there is no Yin without Yang. Our emotions fuel the empowerment of music by acting as its receptors and its creators. Understand a bit of the music, understand a bit of yourself.
- Mel