»Wie wir hoeren wollen…«
What a glorious future for us music lovers. Today, thanks to new possibilities, music is available anytime and anywhere. It is constantly heard, no matter where we are or what we are doing. As incidental and as natural as our breathing. – Exactly what we had always hoped for. Or, isn’t it?
Streaming and the availability of music that comes with it are shaping an attitude in which music becomes a service that people take advantage of. Alfred Smudits, a well-known sociologist of music, coined the term “music for usage” from this, describing the phenomenon of a situational, functional and omnipresent use of music. This is embedded in everyday life according to need.
Browse through record shelves? The recommendation system takes care of that for us. Who is also supposed to find their way through this infinite offer of streaming services? Anyway, the algorithms know much better what suits our tastes.
So we sometimes forget how invigorating it can be to really take a deep breath. And to ask ourselves: When was the last time we consciously listened to music? With full attention. Without distraction and without interruption. Not in skip or shuffle mode. An album from beginning to end. Just like in the past, when it was not possible otherwise for technical reasons. The music captivates us as soon as we press the play button. Thanks to it, a fantastic mental cinema plays before our mind’s eye. This is the power of music that we usually celebrate with PLAYTIME events.
But this PLAYTIME is different. Against the backdrop of the ÜBER:MORGEN – Festival, we are listening differently for once than at the PLAYTIME events before. And ask ourselves quite specifically: How do we want to listen in the future?
Source: Kulturzentrum Dieselstrasse Esslingen