When Do You Most Enjoy Music?

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

Hello. I find that my enjoyment of music is affected heavily by the enviroment which I listen to it in. The time of day, place, and even how the music is being played can change how much I enjoy an album or song. So basically the idea of this thread is to find out how you all get the most out of the music you listen to and why it is that listening to a certain bit of music in a certain way increases your enjoyment. I'm not sure if I'm going to count live music though, this is more about listening to recorded music. Here's a few examples of when I most enjoy listening to music:
At night, before I go to sleep, with my headphones on and all the lights turned out. Every night before I go to sleep I tend to just lie on my bed, put my headphones on and listen to whatever music tickles my fancy at that particular moment. I enjoy music so much when I do this, I'm not sure why. All my attention is on it, the day is over so I don't have anything else to think or stress about and I find that it's just so relaxing. I can take in the music so much better than I can when I'm on the internet and just have some tunes on in the background or something.
I also like listening to music while travelling. I love sitting and staring out of the window of the car, bus, or train while I've got my headphones on. Staring out of windows is a fun hobby of mine anyway but with music it's even better. The lyrics of the songs always tend to connect to what's going on outside and, again, I just find it so relaxing.
When I was at school and I was revising for exams in my family's dining room there was a record player right next to the table I used to sit at. After I had done an hour or two of work I would have a little break and this break would normally consist of me having a browse through all the records in the room, deciding which one I wanted to play, putting it in the player and just sitting and listening to it, escaping all the stress of the revision and exams. I love listening to records, it just seems different to listening to mp3s or cds or whatever. I remember reading an interview with someone (I think it was Jack White) who talked about the whole ceremony you have to go through when listening to an LP, of taking it out of the sleeve, being excessively careful not to scratch it, selecting the speed, putting the needle in place etc, and that this almost enhances the listening experience. I'm not trying to be really snobbish or anything, I rarely listen to vinyl anymore and I know there's probably no real difference but still. I find when I listen to an mp3 of a song which I originally always used to listen to on vinyl it just doesn't seem the same. It's like that for me with a lot of Beatles stuff, I was brought up next to the LPs and used to love listening to them but they somehow sound different on a cd player, that's just me being stupid I'm sure.
Anyway, I've probably bored you all to death now. This is a stupid idea for a thread but I thought I might as well make it anyway. When do you most enjoy music?

[Identity Crisis Ahoy!]

When I'm drinking, or hung over. Not when I'm drunk because I normally don't pay attention to it.

I dig it all the time though.

[mayer]

When I'm drunk on the tube with my mp3 player.

[dot]

15 in a park, listening to a walkman in the dark, swinging on a swing, incesticide on one side and never loved elvis on the other.

[gazzyk1ns]

15 in a park, listening to a walkman in the dark, swinging on a swing, incesticide on one side

Heh, that's better than most "poetry" I've ever read.

[Dirty Boy]

Late night walks with a personal stereo and some suitable atmospheric vibes

Lying in bed at night with stereo headphones in and the bass whacked up

Getting pissed at the local and playing a shitload of rockin shite for your mates (a few places have those internet jukeboxes now, have you seen those?, type in the name of the band and you can get preety much any song ever recorded.Plenty of Cardiacs and Dead Kennedys choonage down our way i tells ya )

Also, listening to stuff when you really want to as opposed to just being bored and sticking something in randomly, then just sitting/lying back and taking it all in instead of getting restless and wanting to skip tracks.

[butnut]

I maybe old fashioned - but in a concert hall! There's nothing better than hearing a really good piece of music live.

[smoker]

when i'm making lurve, to a very special lady

[morgs]

Driving.

Plus nearly all of the above.  I must be getting old butnut becasue I am not enjoying the live experience as much recently...  Too much hassle.  With the notable exception of Ben Folds at Southampton who was rather fabulous!

[butnut]

Yeah that's the thing with live performances - I'd say over 90% are anything between dull and absolutely rubbish - but when it is brilliant, there's nothing better in the world, so I keep going.

[Dirty Boy]

when i'm making lurve, to a very special lady

Oh yeah that too....i'd forgotton about that ;-l

[Labian Quest]

I seem to enjoy music more at night, with the lights off; there aren't as many visual distractions.

[Darrell]

Another vote for the night-headphones-dark combination.

Some LPs can't be fully appreciated any other way.

[Frinky]

Empty trains on a rainy winter's mid-morning.

Ideally, on a tuesday.

[Banana Woofwoof]

Walking through London feeling invincible

After midnight with headphones on and lights off

Lying next to somebody in silence

[rjd2]

Late at night on my own free from distractions such as people and silly conversation.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

When I'm drunk on the tube with my mp3 player.

Were you sitting next to me this morning? If so, you can tssssss off.

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

I can't do other things while listening to music, so:

1) On headphones late at night, at a low volume.

2) Loud c/o a pub jukebox when I'm slightly pissed. (Only works with songs I like, obviously.)

3) Loud and on headphones while on a long walk.

[Clinton Morgan]

Sitting on my double bed and my brain is empty of stress.

[Sam]

At night in bed, headphones on full volume. This is usually when I listen to something in the most detail so it's usually a symphony or jazz or something which deserves your full attention. However if I'm very tired/stoned when I'm in bed I'll go for something a little more ambient like Four Tet or Susumo Yokota.

Listening to music when stoned is interesting. A friend and I once listened to the whole of A Love Supreme when wasted and it was very bizzare....the whole thing seemed to go by in a few minutes and aftererwards I was left with a very strange mix of disorientation tinged with joy. I don't agree whatsoever that drugs "enhance" your experience of the music; it just gives you a different, alternate experience of it, equally valid but perhaps no better. Luckily, I've never got to the point where I feel I have to be stoned to fully enjoy something.

Listening on headphones at night, especially when I'm down the beach or on the cliffs with a nice sunset:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/SamMoore3/9.jpg


And listening while gazing out of a train window is great, too, as others have said.

[Hoogstraten'sSmilingUlcer]

I quite like listening to music in the car, especially on looong car journeys. Admittedly, people who have drum & bass or garage BOOMING as they race down the street in their Golfs should be arrested, but music makes journeys go shorter, particularly if the scenery is dull and there's no pile ups. Actually, if you're in a traffic jam on the M40, it's really fun to play Beethoven's Ninth very, very loudly, because people find it really disconcerting to hear classical music on a motorway.

Other times - the usual. Listening to Brian Eno or Sigor Ros at dawn is cool

[Paul Dee]

Walking around town or in empty fields with my minidisc player.  I was so sad when it decided to die on me though, I can't believe how different it feels walking anywhere without music on.