Anticlimactic atmosphere

Recently, I went on a short trip with my parents to a forest. I usually bring CDs for car rides because I loathe radio music. I brought two Coil albums, 'Black Antlers' and 'Scatology.' I felt wrathful and disappointed because I couldn't hear 30% of the instruments (mostly during 'Black Antlers'), I was scared what my parents will think about their music (during both because I am the kind of person that cares about others' opinions especially about music) and various sounds like engine or the surface that we were driving on spoiled the experience. This leads me to the point of this post - how the environment and the way that you listen to music impacts your musical experience.

Listening to music in cars can be favorable but to some extent. It really depends what kind of music it is. If it's ambient or close to it, don't even try to think about playing this album. If it's industrial, rock or anything fairly dynamic, it could work. During the car ride, the quieter sounds become even quieter and the louder sounds... they are the same. However, I should also mention the fact that every car has different speakers, their position and quality and therefore, we can't summarize every car's audio set-up in one category.

Another adverse way to listen to music is with earphones/earbuds. They display a limited range of frequencies. The bass is barely heard, if you want to hear it, you have to turn the volume up which results in the higher frequencies being louder which is frustrating, unbearable and bad for health of your ears. Sometimes it's inevitable to use them because some people don't want to "look weird" when listening to music outside, mostly when walking around (eg.) the town. Unfortunately, I am a part of the group of such people. 

This next point isn't about how you listen to music but who you listen to music with. There are people who are very closed, they don't want to listen to any music that they aren't familiar with or the one that isn't in the field of genres that they enjoy listening to. In a Jenna Julien podcast - #105, "Conspiracy Theories Pt. 4" - Jenna mentions a quote of the author of the first theory: "Your mind is like a parachute, it works better when it's open." This quote stroke me because it fully describes this type of person on every level. If your mind isn't open and you're not respectful, it will lead you to demise. It can be interpreted in various ways and in this case, it can be interpreted music-wise. If you won't be open to new ideas and sounds, your mind will lead you to social and mental decay, so open that parachute before it's too late.

Personally, I find listening to music on (good) stereos or using on-ear headphones the best ways to encounter music. This is because of the quality and the environment that dominates during the experience.

While you listen to music on on-ear headphones, you feel enclosed, isolated and swallowed into the world of this certain album, track or playlist which you are playing. You can feel your whole body interact with what's happening in this device, even though it's solely targeted to your ears.

While you listen to music on a stereo, you feel satisfied because your ears don't feel physically exhausted as there's nothing to put on them, you can hear the music without a need to stay in one place all the time or without holding anything. You can feel the frequencies speak to and impress your whole body. The quality is at its best to present to you the favorable side of this certain release and to make the experience become as realistic as possible.

Everyone has their own preferable environment and the way that they listen to music. In today's world, we can listen to music by streaming, buying CDs and vinyls, going to concerts and even making it yourself. Some ways and environments are better than others but it's extremely important to keep the parachute open as this will lead you to be stronger socially and mentally.