My Personal Music Consumption

Music has always been something that I have enjoyed. In the past few years it has become a much bigger part of my life as I have started to play instruments and listen to more music and I now spend most of my free time listening to or playing music. At the very least I will have a song stuck in my head throughout the day.


My music taste is quite broad and I enjoy different genres and styles at different times. I enjoy indie and alternative music most overall but at certain times different genres will suit the mood. For example, while revising for my AS exams I listened to a lot of jazz as background music by artists like Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. At other times I will want to listen to something more upbeat like some Disclosure or Arctic Monkeys. Late at night I like to relax with slower, more relaxed music like Belle and Sebastian, The Beatles, The XX or Radiohead. When I'm in the mood for playing drums, I will play something like Tame Impala, Queens of the Stone Age or Band of Skulls. If I want to play guitar then I'll jam along to Jimi Hendrix, Kings of Leon, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin. When I'm with my friends I like to have something light-hearted in the background like Vampire Weekend or Gorillaz. At other times I'll listen to some other things depending on what mood I'm in such as Kanye West or The Roots. If I want something a bit different I'll listen to James Blake, Fleet Foxes or Swans. Finally I enjoy some more classic albums by artists like Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Weezer and David Bowie.


Like most people, I like to listen to music while on the bus or the tube on my iPhone. When at home, I will listen to music through headphones if I am on my laptop or through my speakers if I want to lie on my bed or play along to the songs. Listening to my iPod also makes walking the dog much more bearable. I listen to XFM on the radio whenever I am in the car. Music is obviously also something that can be enjoyed with other people. I love to share songs and recommend things to my friends and I love listening to albums that people recommend to me. I discovered many of my favourite albums and artists through my friends' recommendations. I also enjoy house music and drum and bass at parties although I don't tend to listen to that by myself like I used to in year 9. I love live music. I went to Reading Festival this year and saw so many great artists from different genres. I knew some artists well and was there to see them. Others (mostly in the dance tent) were more about the atmosphere and I enjoyed them despite not knowing them well. I have also been to a few smaller gigs in Camden and am hoping to go to a few more, (Peace, Bombay Bicycle Club, Metronomy), over the next couple of months.


At home, I mostly listen to full albums through my iPod or phone. I also like to listen to singles and new music on my laptop through Youtube and Spotify. I don't listen to the radio more than once or twice a week. I have all my music on my iTunes and it all has to be well organised with all the album covers and everything. I listen to music because I really enjoy it and because it can inspire ideas for my own music. Different genres do different things for me but in general I like stuff that is new and interesting and quite unique. Some songs are really powerful and need to be listened to at a high volume. Others are upbeat and get me motivated to do stuff. I enjoy some songs a lot more because they remind me of events or places. For example, an album by Of Montreal really reminds me of when I went to New York with Kayvon, Theo and Dom because we all liked the album at the time and we listened to it while we were there a fair bit. On top of that, it's just a really good album. In general though, I enjoy music a lot more if I can share the enjoyment with others.