The experience of being lost in music.

Seligman et al (2009) posit that positive emotion and becoming fully engaged in an experience, e.g. "getting lost in the music", are opposite to one another. This is due to there being a total lack of any feeling present when absorbed in something , even if said experience is subsequently evaluated as "fun" or something synonymous.

After giving it some thought, I find this statement to be accurate. Now, I do enjoy listening to music, but I could probably count the number of times I've been so fully engrossed in the experience that I lose my orientation and sense of being on both my hands. Of course, the first time this happened was when I listened to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon through for the first time. It was straight out of my mobile with the stock IEMs (GT-i9000), no recreational drugs were involved, promise

Maybe I'm just predisposed to being overly self-conscious, or perhaps adopting a mindset of evaluating the gear I'm listening to has become second habit (even if it's my comfortable own), but I wish I were able to go on sound trips, for lack of a better term, more often. I don't necessarily think one needs superlative gear to achieve that experience as well, as I first experienced it with something so laughably base. Maybe it's just grad school getting to me, but I miss the feeling of riding waves of melodies and having such raw emotion evoked. Booze is about the only illicit substance apart from chocolate I allow myself; maybe I'll have some of that next time I give it a shot.

Might make for a good talking point. When was the last time you completely lost yourself in music? What were you listening to and what gear was used? Also, what are your thoughts on true engagement being at odds with the experience of positive emotion?

 

A lot of songs that still pull me into the moment are tied to fond memories I've had. It sounds very small-time and cheesy, but these are moments that I will treasure till the end of my days-- and just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine.

The first concert my parents didn't drag me to, my first needle drop. At the radio station I volunteer at; where we have literally tons of albums from thousands of small-time artists trying to make it big in the world. Who are kind enough to donate their life's work in hopes of being played even once on the radio. It's a wonderful feeling being able to share that same passion and energy the artist poured into their work with thousands of other people all across the world.

 

Arvo Pärt gives me fluctuating sessions of being lost and engaged over course of one track. I think he did this intentionally.
First time I ever listened A.Pärt Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten for strings and bells I got disoriented of it, but not consciously thrilled.
Symphony 3. for example does this fluctuating thing.

There are others, don't laugh but some psy electronica also qualifies (Haujobb Sensor).
Radiohead does that with some tracks as well.

As far as gear I don't think there is a threshold minimum level. First memories of these things come from various sources and places from crappy speakers to live performances.

 

My first memories of getting "lost in music" include plenty of Radiohead... "Street Spirit" did it to me every time.
U2 had that effect on me at times as well, as a kid "Zooropa" had a couple tracks that really took me away... the 2nd half of "Lemon" and "The first time". Oh, and "Violator" is fantastic in this respect as well... "waiting for the night"!

Great thread topic!

 

Interesting stories, and heck, I think I just came across some really good music recommendations to boot, haha.

Come to think of it, it'd slipped my mind as I was writing the OP that there were genres specifically designed to induce trancelike states, if not simply lend themselves to inducing the same. Not really my cup of tea (unless the occasional prog rock marathon counts) so I can't speak with certainty, but it wouldn't surprise me if the blank, in-the-moment state I'd described earlier happened more often with tracks like that.

As for tracks with sentimental value invoking old memories... yeah, I can see how that'd happen. As someone who was born in the middle of the Walkman boom and then grew up as digital music was really finding its place in the world, it seems to me that lots of people have come to develop their own soundtracks, so to speak. Landmark events are coded into our memories, and our myriad senses (read: more than five) serves as something of a recall function, allowing us to see the same sights, smell the air, and even hear whatever music might have been playing at the time.

... That might explain why there are some tracks I love that I can't bear listening to nowadays. They remind me too much of people I don't talk to anymore. Gah.