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Who are you? Who am I? | Week 40

October | Music and Art | Week 40 | 10/8/2023
Describe your music affinities 

As I have evolved as an individual so to has my propensity to seek out and enjoy music. Propensity lead to discovery. Discovery lead to affinity. Affinity lead to diversity; the archiving of a plethora of music, stratified by the various moods they induce and compliment. Diversity lead to particularity; emergent as music became connected to emotion. Like any artistic appreciation, generality gets wider and specificity gets deeper. I'll make mention to six specific genres/artists/moods and the context with which I appreciate them. 

[1] Lifting -> Dopamine+ -> $uicide Boy$
Entrenched in the vigor and intensity of weightlifting, nothing feeds my aggression and fuels my drive like $uicide Boy$. I discovered this band and the genre which has formed around them about a year after I left college, as my focus on weightlifting became an obsession. Regular rap was too boisterous. Metal was too cognitively inhibiting. But this was perfectly attuned for the needs of the context. The boys from New Orleans know how to convey a dark message over a hardcore beat, which spikes my dopamine and makes effort feel good. It's very hard to convince oneself to put 350 lbs. on their back and squat down, but this music can create the drive like nothing else. 

[2] Study/Work/Thinking -> Serotonin+ -> Anjunadeep
The complete opposite of the above mood and context, is one in which I need serotonin to flow in abundance to relax me and put me in a state of focus. Nothing can induce that focus and energy more than the artists springing out of Anjunadeep: Lane 8, Le Youth, Sultan and Shepard, Ben Bohmer, Marsh and a dozen others. The mixes that come from these artists on YouTube have been a god-send these last few years during heavy excel modeling, email writing, and strategizing. The beats are not dubstep or trance or even house music. They're far more melodic, less upbeat, more consistent. The lack of lyrics, lack of rapidly changing sounds, and presence of melody, allow me to think clearly. 

[3] Golfing/Boating -> Serotonin+Dopamine Daytime -> Country Pop
There is a very particular state of mind to be entered whilst golfing, boating, washing cars, or playing cornhole with friends. The mood is casual but not too excited. Those are days that feel like a marathon and not a sprint. It's a mixture of serotonin and dopamine and I find the perfect music for being outside with friends during a day is country pop; Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Florida Georgia Line. Perhaps being from the south, this music feels relatable, but it's also the subject matter of the songs (not too heavy or sad) and the pace of the music which allows for one to match the energy of the day. 

[4] Hanging out/Pregaming -> Serotonin+Dopamine Nighttime -> Mike.
In a similar way to the above mood, I find the best late night hang out sessions are complimented by a mixture of serotonin and dopamine, but with a slightly heavier index on dopamine than the day time. The ideal music for me to induce that mood is a specific version of hip hop that both allows my brain to relax and also encourages openness to experience. My favorite artist in this genre is Mike. Post Malone, Drake, and Mac Miller fill their respective spots as well.  

[5] Running -> Dopamine+Serotonin Daytime -> Knuckle Puck 
In recent years, since I picked back up running, I have searched and searched for the right music to run to. To my surprise, the music I enjoyed weightlifting didn't translate well to running. There is almost no serotonin demand in weightlifting but in running there is. I need more meaningful lyrics, more thought provocation, but yet the tempo has to be high. Even more nuanced, during the beginning and middle miles of the run I need more serotonin than dopamine but towards the end I need the music to be a bit more aggressive, loud and upbeat. My ideal genre here is a form of punk rock and my favorite band is Knuckle Puck. They remind me of my youth listening to Sum 41 and Blink 182 but they also have harder undertones that echo the sounds of Linkin Park and A Day to Remember. Occasionally they can even be grungy and sound more like POD, Staind and Saliva. 

[6] Partying -> Dopamine+Serotonin Nighttime -> Future
The final and least particular of my moods is the partying atmosphere. Probably due to the high novelty and alcohol, I'm the least picky here but there is an artist I appreciate the most; Future. The state of mind partying is mostly dopamine with a kick of serotonin, similar to running, but instead of effort which the dopamine encourages, it's liveliness. I prefer harder rap, throwback hip hop, and the occasional EDM set at night while out on the town or at a house party. 





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