[Hantra]

All:

I was going to post this in the Music Circle, but after careful deliberation, I think it falls under the "why we do it" clause of the 2-Channel Circle. .

We all love music here.  Or at least the vast majority.  And I am sure more than half of us have experienced emotion at a live show.  But how many have emotional experiences with their hifi rig? Do you guys ever sit in the dark listening in your room, and you hear a song that is so intense, you have to leave the room, and can't listen anymore that night?  

Perhaps that sounds silly if you've never had the experience. . .  

I was just listening to the disc Show by the Cure.  It's a live disc, and has been one of my favorites for about ten years now.  Anyway, it's one of those discs you pop in to hear a song, and you can't listen to that one song.  You end up listening to the whole disc, kinda like Pringles.  

My intent was not to listen this late, but I listened to the entire disc up until one song that was so intense, I had to step out and take a breather.  There's a song on here called "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea", and for those of you familiar with the Cure, you know this song I am sure.  

All the emotion from this song comes through on this track.  It's a live show, and the emotion is evident when you hear it.  Everyone always says that Smith doesn't write all his songs from personal experiences, but I have to say this is one with which he seems so familiar, and the entire band seems to identify with it.  

Even back in the day listening to this in my Civic on the Discman with the car cassette adapter , I could hear the emotion.  But when you reach the point where you have a system that is capable of throwing the majority of that emotion into your room, that is something to behold. . .

I think a dedicated listening room is something that helps in this respect.  Or for those of you who are still single, and live alone, I guess it doesn't matter. . .  I just find it better to shut the door, and be isolated.  No distractions. . Just the music. . .

How many of you have experiences that are similar with your systems?

[jakepunk]

Of all the material possessions I own, the thing that gives me the most pleasure -- is not my car, or my house, or my tricked-out array of computers -- it's my stereo.  I have VMPS Tower II speakers and lowly mid-fi components, but I love the way it sounds!  I thank Brian Cheney for his contribution to my life.

My most emotional "fi" experience was listening to Rush's "Jacob's Ladder" during a major rainstorm.  I had the balcony door open so I could hear and smell the rain.  The eaves over the balcony plus the optimal wind direction were just right to keep the rain out.  Listening to that song cranked up while it was raining hard was an experience I will never forget.  For those of you who are not Rush fans, the song is about 7.5 minutes long -- mostly instrumental -- about a storm and the sun that appears afterwards.

(note: there was no lightning... i'm not dumb enough to have my stereo powered on during lightning!

[Tyson]

Yes, almost everytime I put on Joshua Bell performing the Brahms Violin Concerto, or Emil Giles in the Brahms Piano Concerto's.

[Shamrock Audio]

Well, we once had a reviewer say that he had an "out-of-body" experience when evaluating our Eire speaker. Does that count?

[BikeWNC]

Just yesterday, I found The Who - Quadrophenia in a stack of LPs that a friend had given me.  I'm familiar with most of the Who's stuff but haven't listened to any of it in a long time.  Well let me tell you I did have to leave the room on The Real Me track so that my windmill air guitar and scissor kicks didn't cause the record to skip!  I cued that track up several more times.  Last night, I played it for my wife.  I think that demonstration may have helped get me closer to that Teres TT I've wanted.  And that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Tonto Yoder]

Yes, almost everytime I put on Joshua Bell performing the Brahms Violin Concerto, or Emil Giles in the Brahms Piano Concerto's.

Off-topic, but wondered if you have any of the John Marks Records CD's??
I'm not much of a classical buff, but I've always liked the "Glass Bead Game" CD and I just recommended the "Reverie" CD's for Xmas music.

[Carlman]

Many many times... if it weren't for the emotion, I wouldn't be into hifi.  Being able to play a guitar in harmony with a good singer gets to me as well.  I have an issue with music having almost overwhelming emotion for me...  I haven't gotten over it because I haven't decided whether I want to be over it.

Once I was hanging out with a friend and we played an Elvis Costello LP.  It had the song 'I Want You'... That's a tough song to sit through.

In any case, yes, it happens to many.

[Hantra]

Once I was hanging out with a friend and we played an Elvis Costello LP. It had the song 'I Want You'... That's a tough song to sit through.

He does that song he wrote with Paul McCartney called "That Day is Done", and that is a really tough one as well.  It's on the Fairfield Four disc, and I recommend it.  It's the only Elvis C. I have actually.  Sounds like I might need more. .

[byteme]

For me it's Sarah Mclachlan's Angel.  It's on one of my demo discs for listening tests and still get chills every time I hear it.  Must be something to do with the end of the movie it came from.  Rush's Red Barchetta is another one.  Great adaptation of the short story into a song and who can argue with the musicianship!  There are more, and I know them when I hear them but as others have said the answer is - Oh, hell yes!

[jqp]

For me its when I'm down on my knees thanking God I'm not a blubbering geek like you guys  

Just kidding  

I often get emotional and several CDs will really get me there. I have to just listen, go into as much of a trance like state as possible, with total focus on the music, watery eyes, increased heart rate, the whole thing. Then I think of the next CD/track I want to hear.

Quadrophenia can really do it. There is some really intense emotion on that work. I spent lots of time and about $50 locating the best recording/mix of those 2 CDs.

Also lots of classical can, and jazz, and of course acoustic guitar.

[Audiobudha]

... part of my musical experience. Outside of the love from my family there is nothing that brings out a vast array of deep emotions like music. There's nothing better to me than putting my mind in an altered state and becoming one with the music.

I recently came across a band called Zero 7 that takes me to a new and cool place. The sexy female vocals on "In the Waiting Line" just blow me away everytime I hear it.

[DVV]

Emotion is what it's all about, if you ask me. I know what Hantra meant when he asked the question, but I'd like to enlarge on it.

I have owned audio gear of varying quality ever since 1964, when I was a punk kid of 11. Early starter, I was. What drew me to music was not technology, or status, just the music. And if the music doesn't move me, I am wasting my time, or else it's just a sound screen while I'm actually working on something else altogether.

But when i sit down to listen and hear, I want emotion. All right, not every emotion is moving, I agree. I couldn't say any particular artist really moves me all of the time, but one artist I just can't help mentioning is paul Simon. Somehow, I can listen to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and if I close my eyes, "The Last Living Boy In New York" will move me. It will remind me of March 1970, when I was just a boy in New York, snow on the streets, and me just walking around, exploring.

For emotional emotion, "The Boxer" can't fail to grab me. Or Waylon Jennings with his version of "Amanda". Or Kenny Rogers and his "Ruby", always a favorite for 30 years now. Sometimes Enigma with their "1990" album, sometimes Loreena MacKennitt with her music. Always traditional Irish songs, of which I have a modest collection.

Plus a few local artists you guys never heard of.

If any type of music ever touched my soul in general, that would be Irish music. It can really move me all the way. Don't ask me why, I have no idea, it just does.

Cheers,
DVV

[cjr888]

We all love music here. Or at least the vast majority. And I am sure more than half of us have experienced emotion at a live show. But how many have emotional experiences with their hifi rig? Do you guys ever sit in the dark listening in your room, and you hear a song that is so intense, you have to leave the room, and can't listen anymore that night?

You betcha.  Under the right circumstances and mood and music, regardless of the system, music can move me, whether at home or in the car.....

There are also some songs that regardless of the situation, they can always move me -- independent of mood or environment or system..  Those are the songs that you search for, or at least part of the reason I continue to buy music -- finding more of those gems that can make you happy, console you, make you want to scream, make you cry, make you laugh -- the ones that just 'work' for you.

...But when you reach the point where you have a system that is capable of throwing the majority of that emotion into your room, that is something to behold... I think a dedicated listening room is something that helps in this respect. Or for those of you who are still single, and live alone, I guess it doesn't matter. . . I just find it better to shut the door, and be isolated. No distractions. . Just the music. . .

But like the fine live performance where you have great sound, you're up close and personal, and you have energy surrounding you, a good system can do a pretty damn good job of not neccesarily recreating the event or the experience, but can bring that energy, emotion, and feeling to you..

This is part of the reason that every attempt to 'give up' -- still have music, but have 'less' of an audio system has failed..  System may have been disassembled for some time, a component might night have been used for awhile, and as you consider getting rid of it, you put it back in for one last listen or confirmation that's its OK to send it on its way.

At that point, you hear great things, but you feel great things as well -- you don't like the idea that your getting rid of something that can bring emotion to you, whether by choice or not -- whether its sadness, anger, happiness anything -- whatever the mood you need.  You have those moments -- its dark, everything around you is silent, and you have something playing that connects with you, and nothing else to distract...  

A dedicated listening room definitely does help, and also acts as a sanctuary or shrine to the music -- everything a bit more intense, a bit of solitude, and a better environment..  (Hopefully no one will reference Chuck Josephson's system due to this comment)

But its true, it is a drug, it is an experience..  Ever swap out a component that somehow sucks the emotion out of the music?  Its not that you can't still enjoy it, or that the message or emotion isn't there -- you're still happy listening in the car or on the computer...  But its like seeing your favorite performer live one night and he/she being amazing, and the next night they just don't seem into the music -- it transfers to you.  All of a sudden you aren't quite into the music either..   You know something better...  Probably why we chase the ladder, probably why we often find actual disappointment with little certain silver and black boxes...  You had the good relationship once and remember it, and want that feeling back...

Truly great recordings that aren't quite your preference played on truly great systems can do a similar thing -- provide a true "wow" factor, sometimes with, sometimes without that emotion..  If you can make any sound or music sounds _truly_ like real life, my jaw will drop regardless.... Now if I could just get the recording industry to aim for perfection and sell music more as drug than general product, I'd probably do whatever it takes to buy further audio paraphanalia and never get off the merry go round.

But it doesn't matter -- it brings me happiness, and doesn't hurt.  Often my wallet will shed a tear, or occasionally break down bawling, but that's about it.

Audiobudha - Zero 7 is good and extremely catchy stuff.

[Hantra]

its like seeing your favorite performer live one night and he/she being amazing, and the next night they just don't seem into the music -- it transfers to you

Dude, this is one of the truest statements I have read on this or any forum to date.  This is exactly how I feel about what you described.

[Fathom7]

I think Hantra nailed this one.  There are nights when I take the extra time (really only moments) optimize for and HDCD playing of For the Roses by Joni Mitchell.  Her presentation -- voice floating in air in front of me with piano beneath her and emoting on levels that touch but are not fully understood -- can be magical.  Other times, it's harder emotion out of someone like Bonnie Raitt (early stuff preferred).  Still other times there's fun to be had with performers such as Staci Kent or others that sings to what I am feeling that evening or afternoon or morning.  That's where music reaches -- to just where you are if you let it go there.  Next time you prepare to listen, try to see in yourself what emotional strings you want tugged and then make your music selection.  That's where the magic begins.  The better the reproduction, the more fully those strings are plucked.

[Carlman]

You had the good relationship once and remember it, and want that feeling back...

I agree with everything you said... especially the statement before this that Hantra quoted from you....

However, this line is what I think captures hifi enthusiasts' reason for 'the chase' to find the right sound.  Since it's emotional, the right sound is personal.  I had 'the right sound' and then I moved.  Now I have to deal with my lackluster performance after hearing perfection on every CD I play.

This sounds frighteningly similar to relationships... but, I won't touch that one at this point.

Excellent post cjr888!

[JLM]

20 years ago audio provided a cool avenue for "techno-geeks".  Since then computers, HT, etc. has blown past audio.  So we've moved more towards loving music and enjoying how well it can be reproduced at home.

Yes!!  It's about enjoyment and the emotional response.  My "weakness" is female vocalists.  The Sarahs (Brightman and McLaughlin) are 2 of my favorites, but I'd never leave Diane Krall out.  Debussy can make you cry with his beautiful compositions.  Handel takes me back to times almost ancient.  The sisters Wilson (Ann and Nancy) really hit my rock and roll buttons.  But I listen more to jazz than anything else.

Music makes me happy.

[Tonto Yoder]

Why is it then that there's so little activity in the Music Circle?? It always seems to me that audio forums generally make some statement that "Music is what it's all about" but then gear is what gets the most responses/views.   I realize that musical taste is personal and that just because I'm moved by Kronos Quartet's "Adagio for Strings" doesn't mean others WILL be too, but a speaker's sound is probably just as personal and people have no hesitation to recommend their favorite (even to relative strangers).

BTW, Jane Siberry's "The Taxi Ride" is one of the most involving pieces for me; her performance of "Love is Everything" on the Sessions at West 54th DVD might be a close second.

[Zero]

I have never been able to capture the purity of a musical experience through the process of audio reproduction.  

The very soul and essence of feeling stem's from those moments when I am at the keyboard.  Those times when you put your soul into the music that you play.

[cjr888]

Yes!!  It's about enjoyment and the emotional response.  My "weakness" is female vocalists.  The Sarahs (Brightman and McLaughlin) are 2 of my favorites, but I'd never leave Diane Krall out.  

I listen to just about everything with the exception of modern country music, and I'd have to agree -- I'm a sucker for certain female vocals, and for truly great piano, especially when not accompanied by anything else.  Probably why anything done by Tori Amos when it basically just her and a piano, without all her computer work, draws me in so much.  With plenty of empty space around -- pauses of silence, alternating between a captivating voice, silence, and a piano melody, its usually a guaranteed recipe to suck me in, especially if the vocals, piano, or both are a bit on the dark side.  

Certain old blues artists and folky artists do the same when its just a vocal and a piano or guitar -- its the combination of everything as well as the vocals and instrumentals seperately...

...but only having a couple instruments or vocals, keeping things sparse always fits a darker tune, and often its almost like the pauses, the intermitent silence act as its own instrument.

Sometimes this is part of the environmental connection for me -- and with the sparser recordings, I think it connects with my brain more in 'fooling it'.  The music itself can move you, but when its just a guy and a guitar, and the system and recording provide more of a "they are here" (in the room) environment vs. a "you are there" (recreating event), its a bit more real to my head, and thus it thinks even less and gets sucked in more.  Whether on my own system, anyone else's, or dealers -- no matter how good, my head is never going to get over the fact that there are walls in the room, and you aren't fitting an orchestra in there.  You get the emotion, you get a really cool representation of the event, but hearing a female vocal and nothing else project in the room from a point in space has a bit more possibility in feeling 'real' if that makes any sense...  If I happened to have a small concert hall in my home as listening room with massive speakers, I'd probably think even less, and get sucked in even further with larger scale music that involves instruments that are supposed to be loud, and that involve many people.  Anyone want to sponsor my curiousity to prove a point?  

I've always like 'darker' music in general, whether you consider it by sound, or by lyrics, or pace, but especially so when listening at home.  I think this is also a 'match the mood' type scenario -- if I'm really listening to music, its by myself, with the lights out, often late at night -- usually at a time when I'm looking for that connection in solitude, that something personal and introspective.  The environment, time, and need end up matching the music.  Possibly just looking to relax, or be introspective, or get sucked in.

There are times when Jane's Addiction, or Zeppelin, or anything much more high energy ends up in the stereo, but they are more likely to be played in the car -- the connection is different there -- I'm usually looking for something to pick me up, or something that makes you want to put the foot on the gas, rather than zone out, be introspective....and accidentally run red lights..

Why is it then that there's so little activity in the Music Circle?? It always seems to me that audio forums generally make some statement that "Music is what it's all about" but then gear is what gets the most responses/views.

I think most of the lack of activity, myself included is innocent.  A lot of people are always on the hunt for other's viewpoints to get more out of systems, and they also find it easier to talk about and describe equipment than music.  Outside of "I really like it" or "the guitar sounds terrific", since music is more emotional I personally find it harded to describe, though more satisfying to write about when it is possible.

Much easier to speak about things more tangible -- parts, components, the little change that this brought, comparing one item to the next...    

I greatly appreciate people's reccomendations of music more than anything, but for a lot of music, you want to listen to it more than discuss it.  If you already have it, you're happy.  If you don't you're curious.  If you're curious enough, you go get it, and you are happy too, so outside of an initial reaction to it, may run out of things to say after a post or two...  So it ends up that you'll hear a lot of recommendations and thank you's, but not as many discussions or in depth viewpoints.  Just an opinion....