Joined
·
3,721 Posts
Something that I recognized long ago is that when I listen to music, watch a movie, or read a book, the key important factor to whether I like it or not is how it makes me feel.
When it comes to music, even though the lyrics can be important to me, the key thing is always how the song makes me feel. For example...I like pop music, what can I say. Even though the message and lyrics are usually generic and have nothing to them, I find myself singing along. I'll like a Justin Bieber song, even though I know it's ridiculous. Hell, I even got into "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus when it came out, I found myself singing along in the car. Of coruse, it's embarrassing, so I don't emphasize some of the music I like, and I don't even tell some people...I don't like coming across like a teenage girl :tongue:. But hey, I still get in the music, sing along, and it makes me happy...it makes me feel good.
Of course, this can extend to other music I like too. I can't relate to rap music at all for the most part, but I still love it and can sing a lot of the lyrics. Chiddy Bang's "Opposite of Adults" is my favorite song right now, but as a geeky white boy I can't relate to any of the lyrics, even if I can appreciate some of the cleverness. B.o.B.'s "Airplanes" is another great one. Even though the chorus is general enough that anyone can relate to it, the verses are completely separate from my life, and yet because of the emotion in his voice, I still feel like I can imagine the situation and it makes it real.
When I hear an Eminem song, I usually can't relate at all to all of the horrible things he's talking about (who can?) But, because the feeling is so strong, it's almost like I imagine him to be a villain in a movie, like the Joker in Batman. Because of that, I start getting really into the music, and it makes me imagine this fantasy world where it's fun to see him be this crazy, evil person.
So that's the thing with lyrics...it's awesome when I think they're good or can relate to them, but it's only there to enhance how I feel when I hear the song. It's like Linkin Park's lyrics...they're general enough to be relatable to me, but specific enough to tap into my emotional state. So I really get into their songs because of how they make me feel.
(My best friend, who's an INTJ, loves to make fun of me and my music...he loves to talk about stupid lyrics or un-inventive sounds. But it's fine, he usually makes me laugh at how stupid it is, and it doesn't bother me because I don't take the songs seriously anyway. We just agree to disagree...I enjoy it because of the feeling, and he just laughs at it because the songs are stupid)
It's kind of the same way with movies...I like movies because of how they make me feel. I don't need to analyze the plot, details, character development, scenery, etc...I just enjoy it.
I had always thought this was just a personal thing for me, because so much of the time in the past, when I explain to people that the feeling means the most to me, they look at me like I'm crazy. "How can you like that garbage when it's so stupid?" they ask. They wonder how I can just ignore the lyrics if the music sounds good.
So I was wondering if it might be related to type. Does me being a feeler make me seek the feeling I get from entertainment rather than getting satisfaction from it on an intellectual level? Do thinkers tend to need to be satisfied intellectually by their entertainment? I can enjoy a song when the lyrics mean absolutely nothing to me, but I wonder if thinkers have a lot more trouble doing so.
Or does sensing and intuition play into it more? As a sensor, do I value the sounds and sights more, and do they connect to my mood and feelings in a stronger way than an N would? I can't help but feel like N's have the imagination to come up with and create ideas/scenes for movies, while S's carve out the details so S's like me can escape into the world and believe it's real.
Of course, this whole thing may not be related to type at all, it may just be a personal thing for me. But I was wondering how the different combinations of SF, ST, NF and NT all take in these forms of entertainment? I didn't see how the E/I and J/P would make much of a difference. So I'm curious to hear what people say and if there's a connection at all.
When it comes to music, even though the lyrics can be important to me, the key thing is always how the song makes me feel. For example...I like pop music, what can I say. Even though the message and lyrics are usually generic and have nothing to them, I find myself singing along. I'll like a Justin Bieber song, even though I know it's ridiculous. Hell, I even got into "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus when it came out, I found myself singing along in the car. Of coruse, it's embarrassing, so I don't emphasize some of the music I like, and I don't even tell some people...I don't like coming across like a teenage girl :tongue:. But hey, I still get in the music, sing along, and it makes me happy...it makes me feel good.
Of course, this can extend to other music I like too. I can't relate to rap music at all for the most part, but I still love it and can sing a lot of the lyrics. Chiddy Bang's "Opposite of Adults" is my favorite song right now, but as a geeky white boy I can't relate to any of the lyrics, even if I can appreciate some of the cleverness. B.o.B.'s "Airplanes" is another great one. Even though the chorus is general enough that anyone can relate to it, the verses are completely separate from my life, and yet because of the emotion in his voice, I still feel like I can imagine the situation and it makes it real.
When I hear an Eminem song, I usually can't relate at all to all of the horrible things he's talking about (who can?) But, because the feeling is so strong, it's almost like I imagine him to be a villain in a movie, like the Joker in Batman. Because of that, I start getting really into the music, and it makes me imagine this fantasy world where it's fun to see him be this crazy, evil person.
So that's the thing with lyrics...it's awesome when I think they're good or can relate to them, but it's only there to enhance how I feel when I hear the song. It's like Linkin Park's lyrics...they're general enough to be relatable to me, but specific enough to tap into my emotional state. So I really get into their songs because of how they make me feel.
(My best friend, who's an INTJ, loves to make fun of me and my music...he loves to talk about stupid lyrics or un-inventive sounds. But it's fine, he usually makes me laugh at how stupid it is, and it doesn't bother me because I don't take the songs seriously anyway. We just agree to disagree...I enjoy it because of the feeling, and he just laughs at it because the songs are stupid)
It's kind of the same way with movies...I like movies because of how they make me feel. I don't need to analyze the plot, details, character development, scenery, etc...I just enjoy it.
I had always thought this was just a personal thing for me, because so much of the time in the past, when I explain to people that the feeling means the most to me, they look at me like I'm crazy. "How can you like that garbage when it's so stupid?" they ask. They wonder how I can just ignore the lyrics if the music sounds good.
So I was wondering if it might be related to type. Does me being a feeler make me seek the feeling I get from entertainment rather than getting satisfaction from it on an intellectual level? Do thinkers tend to need to be satisfied intellectually by their entertainment? I can enjoy a song when the lyrics mean absolutely nothing to me, but I wonder if thinkers have a lot more trouble doing so.
Or does sensing and intuition play into it more? As a sensor, do I value the sounds and sights more, and do they connect to my mood and feelings in a stronger way than an N would? I can't help but feel like N's have the imagination to come up with and create ideas/scenes for movies, while S's carve out the details so S's like me can escape into the world and believe it's real.
Of course, this whole thing may not be related to type at all, it may just be a personal thing for me. But I was wondering how the different combinations of SF, ST, NF and NT all take in these forms of entertainment? I didn't see how the E/I and J/P would make much of a difference. So I'm curious to hear what people say and if there's a connection at all.
I used to be ashamed of my music taste when I was very young and because I wanted to fit in, I was telling around I was listening to the popular stuff that everybody else was listening. For example, I remember being a Boyzone fan and I heard their songs for the first time 10 years later. But then I became so confident in my taste that people started to respect me because of it. You just have to shock them enough so they start to expect everything. 
