Them perfessers have been at it again -
Downloads, iPods make music more 'disposable':
A University of Leicester psychologist has concluded that modern listeners don't value music as much as their 19th-century counterparts did - and he blames the iPod and music downloading.
Wait, let me turn down the volume a little. OK, tell me more.
A team of researchers from Leicester, Surrey and York universities, led by Leicester School of Psychology's Dr Adrian North, questioned 346 mobile-phone users by text message. Over a 14-day period, they were daily asked to report back on music they had heard in the previous 24 hours.
The goal of the study was to prove "people's experiences of music in naturalistic, everyday circumstances", said Dr North.
Apparently the Doc and his pals never thought that perhaps surveying "mobile-phone users by text message" might skew the results. Kind of the way the MSM surveys mostly Democrats before issuing their policy pronouncements disguised as poll results. Well, sure enough:
The results: participants are highly exposed to music; they listen to more pop than classical, jazz or other forms; they tend to listen when they're on their own; they tend to hear more music at home than in public; music was usually experienced during the course of some activity other than deliberate music listening, and - guess what - "liking for the music varied depending on who the participant was with, where they were, and whether they had chosen to be able to hear music".
All of which, we're sure, anyone could have told the researchers. Still, it's good to have it down in black and white, all statistically verified and everything. And it keeps academics off the streets.
A consummation devoutly to be wished. There's more of the Doc's blather by following the link, but here's a gem:
In conclusion, Dr North notes: "In the 19th century, music was seen as a highly valued treasure with fundamental and near-mystical powers of human communication... Because so much music of different styles and genres is now so widely available via portable MP3 players and the internet, it is arguable that people now actively use music in everyday listening contexts to a much greater extent than hitherto.
Sheesh, someone get me a grant! I'm going to discover elevator music.
