Do you think the music you hear/create determines your identity?

[Guifrog]

Taken the idea from here, ho ho

As some of you guys know, my music style's mostly a mix between electronica and folk from many countries. I like to listen to almost anything that sounds somewhat catchy to me, no matter the genre or the band. If I want to relax, though, I just put on a song that doesn't really have that unique feel to it, but has a very pleasant and mellow soundscape. All that can also be applied to movies and books I like.

Socially, I'm a guy that tends to get along well with 'crazy' people. I mean those whose personality's a highlight - too quiet, too loud, childish, etc. But I also very much enjoy those with a lighter talk, less attention-getting mood, and - may I say - I've even got intentions of dating someone like this. Problem is, I'm not a guy with much luck in the love subject, but I'm patient enough

Personality-wise, I sometimes get lost in my nonsense, but that can be either a virtue or a defect depending on my capacity of administrating it - and I think I can do that well enough. In other words, I can be mysterious, but I don't bite. XD

Anyway... That's just how I feel it, even though that's based on what some friends say. There may be people who see disparities between my musical taste and the way they see me. Or not. That's my opinion anyway

You?

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Taken the idea from here, ho ho

As some of you guys know, my music style's mostly a mix between electronica and folk from many countries. I like to listen to almost anything that sounds somewhat catchy to me, no matter the genre or the band. If I want to relax, though, I just put on a song that doesn't really have that unique feel to it, but has a very pleasant and mellow soundscape. All that can also be applied to movies and books I like.

Socially, I'm a guy that tends to get along well with 'crazy' people. I mean those whose personality's a highlight - too quiet, too loud, childish, etc. But I also very much enjoy those with a lighter talk, less attention-getting mood, and - may I say - I've even got intentions of dating someone like this. Problem is, I'm not a guy with much luck in the love subject, but I'm patient enough

Personality-wise, I sometimes get lost in my nonsense, but that can be either a virtue or a defect depending on my capacity of administrating it - and I think I can do that well enough. In other words, I can be mysterious, but I don't bite. XD

Anyway... That's just how I feel it, even though that's based on what some friends say. There may be people who see disparities between my musical taste and the way they see me. Or not. That's my opinion anyway

You?

I seem to recall a thread very similar to this a while back.

Anyway, though I enjoy music from all genres, I mostly listen to and create Metal music. I also do electronic, classical and pop quite a bit too. I'd say that reflects my somewhat rebellious personality. See, in Metal music, there is a lot of elitism out there. Lots of people refute any other genre. I don't. I've even been called a "fag" for doing genres other than metal =/

I think personality is pretty much everything with music. What I listen to often depends on my mood though. If I feel all mellow, I'll usually turn on some psytrance, classical or jazz music. I know that lots of people would describe their mood as "high" when they're listening to psytrance type music....I also really like mythology and fantasy artwork. So alot of those metal bands that sing about dragons and stuff are cool lol.

I'd say a big thing about my personality in music though, is that I love anything that sounds dark and haunting. I have somewhat of a dark sense of humor and all that. Music that reminds me of Vampires, Castles, Witches, etc. Especially classical music that would fit well to those themes. Castlevania music too!

That really doesn't help me fight the stereotype that Transylvanian people are all vampire crazed weirdos though. Seriously every time people ask me about my family, I tell them about how most all of my family is from Romania and they instantly start making Dracula jokes and talking in a fake accent.

[ambient]

That really doesn't help me fight the stereotype that Transylvanian people are all vampire crazed weirdos though. Seriously every time people ask me about my family, I tell them about how most all of my family is from Romania and they instantly start making Dracula jokes and talking in a fake accent.

Oh hey, here's something for you:

[Guy In Rubber Suit]

I'd say that the music I listen to helps create my identity. I'm a metalhead and I enjoy the culture of heavy metal; wearing black band shirts, long hair, boots and leather jackets. I wouldn't wear spikes outside of a Halloween or performing live setting since they are impractical and could probably get me a lot of unwanted attention, especially from authorities.

Despite the number of band shirts that I own, I have a sizable amount of video game shirts as well that reflect my love of video games and its music.

Personality-wise, I don't think music has really affected or influenced my behavior. I've always tended to be a bit of an introvert, especially in a new setting but when I'm with good friends or at least very comfortable with my surroundings, I'm pretty out going.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Oh hey, here's something for you:

LMAO

10chars

[Mirby]

YAY! I inspired a thread.

Also, I think to some extent it does. Look at all the people who have crafted their personalities based on various genres such as hip-hop and punk and emo. I think that those examples right there prove that music can determine one's identity.

As for myself, since I listen to a little bit of everything, I like to think it does. After all, my identity can easily be described as "being myself at all times." Then again, with all the video game music and remixes thereof I listen to, "nerd" is also highly applicable.

[Dissidia]

Yes, maybe not all of the music you make & listen to. But definitely a part of it.

[Majeliss]

A person may have a personality where he is a Christian but loves the sounds of anti-God Metal and would feel self conflicting.

A person may have the exact same scenario, but think nothing of it.

In General, I believe music plays no uniform part in personality; however, I do believe there is a "personality type" that one would change personality according to the music he/she listens too-for whatever reason.

[Kidd Cabbage]

Absolutely not.

Your musical taste has nothing to do with who you are. I used to buy into this - being a metalhead basically since I can remember. All through middle and high school, wearing only black clothes, whatever.

Then I grew up. I go to one of the most well-known music schools in the world and I write music for work (across ALL genres). Somewhere along the line I realized that it's all taste - and just as little as your preference to seafood or sweets or ketchup or any other food taste means about *who you are*, it matters just as much what vibrations in air pressure touching your ear drums means to your personality.

Huge run on sentence, so let me clarify that - taste: does it mean anything about your personality if you like ranch dressing over Italian dressing? Feel: does it mean anything about you if you prefer hard pillows to soft? Sight: Does is mean a goddamned thing about you if you prefer Greek sculptures over Renaissance paintings?

None of that means dick about you, so why does the noise you prefer to listen to?

I still love metal, but hey, I'm no less "hardcore" of a person if I wear a tie and button-up shirt today. My personality won't suddenly change if I decide to listen to Miles Davis all of a sudden. You can commit just as many acts of vandalism if you're wearing a Polo shirt as if you have a mohawk.

It's all just people trying to make social statements through arbitrary-ass means, when really, if I prefer the sound of a piano to the sound of a 303, it just means that I like the sound of a piano more.

[Mak Eightman]

No, 10 characters.

[AngelCityOutlaw]

Absolutely not.

Your musical taste has nothing to do with who you are. I used to buy into this - being a metalhead basically since I can remember. All through middle and high school, wearing only black clothes, whatever.

Then I grew up. I go to one of the most well-known music schools in the world and I write music for work (across ALL genres). Somewhere along the line I realized that it's all taste - and just as little as your preference to seafood or sweets or ketchup or any other food taste means about *who you are*, it matters just as much what vibrations in air pressure touching your ear drums means to your personality.

Huge run on sentence, so let me clarify that - taste: does it mean anything about your personality if you like ranch dressing over Italian dressing? Feel: does it mean anything about you if you prefer hard pillows to soft? Sight: Does is mean a goddamned thing about you if you prefer Greek sculptures over Renaissance paintings?

None of that means dick about you, so why does the noise you prefer to listen to?

I still love metal, but hey, I'm no less "hardcore" of a person if I wear a tie and button-up shirt today. My personality won't suddenly change if I decide to listen to Miles Davis all of a sudden. You can commit just as many acts of vandalism if you're wearing a Polo shirt as if you have a mohawk.

It's all just people trying to make social statements through arbitrary-ass means, when really, if I prefer the sound of a piano to the sound of a 303, it just means that I like the sound of a piano more.

I don't really think music "determines" an identity. To say that music has no reflection of who you are at all? I don't really think that's true.

When asked to describe his band, Stephan Forte replied, "If I had to dedicate my life to create one, and only one painting. It would be a black and glossy painting, describing a detailed scene of the apocalypse. With beauty, passion and above all a strong dramatic dimension. The particularity of this painting is that it would have a size increasing constantly, each time getting deeper and wider.”

[Kidd Cabbage]

So those are his tastes.

However, what reflection can you make about my personality change now that I prefer Mahler, Coltraine, or Bassnectar more than Metallica? It doesn't mean a damned thing about me.

If I only had one meal for the rest of my life, it'd be spaghetti. Does that mean that I'm loud, arrogant, fat, and Italian?

[Mak Eightman]

If I only had one meal for the rest of my life, it'd be spaghetti. Does that mean that I'm loud, arrogant, fat, and Italian?

Agree. Most of musicians write music, which makes money.

Or which they can write or make, because of their music education for example.

[Kanjika]

Well I'm wearing a Job For a Cowboy shirt. Most people still ask me about my orchestral work. I make dance music now.

I think this question can be answered this way. Do you LET the music you hear / create determine your identity? As others have stated I don't think it inherently does, but certainly if you like a certain type of music and then buy into all related culture surrounding it, then yes absolutely.

I'm going thru a phase now where I'm determining how much I like music just by the vibrations entering my ears. That's why I posted the first sentence. I see nowadays that along with liking or being partial to a certain style / genre, lots of people blindly buy into everything else associated with it when they start to get into it. I can't say it's easy to avoid when you become that far into a certain niche. I've gone through phases of complete obsession with lots of types of music and I only feel recently like I know who I am enough to let these things affect me less. Music is just sound. Do you like said sound? Maybe you do like said sound but current social surroundings would present an embarassing situation if you show it....I now digress from just the core topic of "music", but it's difficult to relate to identity at all when you break it down to just sound.

So conclusively that almost would be a no from me, but complex issue. I'm tempted to say just like lots of other things..."depends on the person".

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

That really doesn't help me fight the stereotype that Transylvanian people are all vampire crazed weirdos though. Seriously every time people ask me about my family, I tell them about how most all of my family is from Romania and they instantly start making Dracula jokes and talking in a fake accent.

At first I was going to make a joke about far the American school system has come if people know enough about Romania to make fun of you for it in that fashion.

Then I saw your location and promptly made a frown face, since I could no longer make my joke.

[Kidd Cabbage]

Agree.

You like spaghetti, too??

[Watarimono]

Hmmm, well, I can't argue too much... It's hard to visualize halc and not think of a 16-bit sprite... >u<

[Chernabogue]

Then I'd be completely schizophrenic. (Thanks to Google for the right spelling of the word schizophrenic.)

[Sir_NutS]

No, unless you let it. And if you let it, your personality isn't very strong to begin with, which is why we see teenagers identifying or adopting a music scene as their lifestyle.

I used to be a metalhead in my teens, and I still love metal and rock and it's what i listen to the most. But then you look at the music I make, and it's all electronica. Which I love as well. But music hasn't had any significant influence on my personality for more than a decade.

TL;DR answer: No.

[Mak Eightman]

You like spaghetti, too??

Yes. And I wanted to be fat all of my life.

[Cerrax]

I like heavy metal and oontiss because I am hyperactive and I love teh fast beatz.

I like classical and film scores because Star Wars was a cool movie.

I like classic rock because I grew up around it and it makes me all nostalgic and stuff.

This list could go on for every genre (except country ). Music doesn't define you, but you certainly have certain predispositions because of your personality and experiences.

[PROTO·DOME]

Agree.

I'm with Kid Cabbage on this too.

See? I agreed with you, will you love me now?