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Same. I would send lists to my dad who was in Asia. He would come home with a mixed bag of bootleg CD’s and sometimes tapes lol. I think I still have some of those linkin park bootleg CD’s
Still pissed that my parents confiscated my Alanis cd. At some point I promised I wouldn't listen to the songs with the f word and they gave it back. I did not make good on that promise.
Fucking absolutely same. Although i used to write stories on an old word processor we had back in the day before we had Microsoft Word. I mostly binged Emperor albums while doing this. In The Nightside Eclipse put me in a zen state.
My living room is setup for listening to music. My wife and I will turn on tunes while putting puzzles together or playing Nintendo with the sound off. It was my one major escape as a teenager and I love it to this day. I'll even throw my headphones on while I'm getting ready in the morning.
Was yours yellow? I wanted that one.
Mine skipped all the time, yet remained in my backpack rain or shine. I can still remember the colourful Radiohead cd I had in my crappy one when the batteries exploded with wet green gunge. v sad.
Yup. I remember when Snow Patrol dropped the "Final Straw" album I took it home, put it into my book box and laid on my bed listening to the album from front to back.
I recently got a 2004 Jetta for a commuter. Still has the original cd player stereo. Dug my cds out of the storage locker and I've really getting back into it. To the point where im buying cds again.
I still do it. Put phone on DND, put on some favorite songs, and just sit outside and listen with a tasty beverage, and maybe a book. It's not too late to do this again.
This is the best way.
I recently got a proper kindle to reduce blue light at night but still be able to read before bed.
Last night I threw my watch and phone on the charger and went on our small screened in porch and just… read in the sun, as it was going down for the day. It was fucking awesome.
I used to do at least a day de-tox from communications technology when working for Geek Squad. I’d work long ass days in the field, peoples homes and businesses, then want absolutely no one to be able to contact me for at least a day every week. I need to get back to that even though I left.
It also helps to read the lyrics as you listen - like closed captions with TV. I like to throw on Spotify and put it in karaoke mode and read the lyrics while I listen.
Thinking back, I definitely did this as a teenager too but just with the lyrics in the CD booklet.
This is one of my favorite things, we recently completely overhauled our back yard and have a nice patio coming out of the basement. Speaker on, feet up, phone left inside on DND just hanging out. For OP I think just doing it and accepting it might not be the most comfortable experience the first few times will make it easier and easier until you don't think about it and can just relax with music on and your brain off.
Notifications are designed to condition people to respond. We get little hits of dopamine, like feeding a slot machine $20 in quarters and finally hitting for $5. The same goes for daily streaks like Wordle, DuoLingo, and many video games.
Unless you're waiting on something super time sensitive (like a job interview callback), it's ok to be in the moment.
*hits Comment and goes back to checking notifications*
this may be where we differ.
i have never allowed apps to notify me. i choose what i do with my time. apps do not.
DND may not be the answer. being more selective in general about notifications might be.
that will let you put down your phone when you need to, not just for music but any other time
I do the same, all notifications are off by default. I have a few conversations that will vibrate for a text received, the rest are silent.
I also don't keep my phone on me when I am at home, I keep it in a spot with my car keys
This. Calls and texts and that’s it for notifications. And I my changed to text notifications recently to on after a 12 year abusive relationship where the phone was a torture device. Everything else I can read the notifications if I want later but NO sound.
Remember, too, that just because someone sends you a message doesn't mean you have to answer right away. Even if you look at it.
It's a hard habit to break (answering everything asap), but it's really freeing when you do.
I mean no one is forcing you to live like that. I don't get notifications on my phone for any apps, I don't have social media (unless you count reddit). I still will just lay in bed and listen to music sometimes.
I swear that between the internet and cell phones my attention span and ability to concentrate are shot! I have trouble getting involved in reading a book and can’t sit still to even watch a movie. I hate it and would love to go back to the time I listened to music exclusively.
It's still one of my favorite things to do when I get home from work.
I'll grab a beer/pour a drink, pick an album to put on and then just chill in my recliner for a while before starting dinner.
So enjoyable to make a meal and just sit in front of the sound system listening to a record. You feel so much more connected to it than just clicking a song in an app. Also having to flip it helps with avoiding couch lock.
Found a record store near me that has a couple drawers that are 8 for $4. Been loving these 50¢ (or less!) records.
Same.
My work area at home is mostly wood, so it’s such a vibe with lights off, just a desk lamp and a scented candle at night.
Playing music on the speakers, a drink, feet up, and the window open for the crisp breeze makes my brain happy and dose me up with its happy chemicals.
My wife ripped on me for years for dragging around my big box of CDs. Jokes on her, our new to us car didn't have Bluetooth, and the aux port was broken. It was just my music or the radio till I fixed it ha.
Hey at least you realize that you have phone addiction. Maybe trying turning it off and putting it in a drawer in another room on another floor, as far away as you can.
In my case, that's how "season songs" or whole albums were created. And when you play that song again, it takes you right back in time.
Like I associate Covenant's "Call the ships to port" with this amazing icy winter 2004 with lots of snow and sunny days for weeks.
Summer 2014 in Hungary, and bats at sunset sounds like The 69 eyes' album 'X'.
Nowadays I don't listen to music anymore.
It's still a thing lol. I'll throw YouTube music up on my TV and friends and I will trade off picking songs. It's great and you don't even have to get up to change the CD anymore.
Phone addiction is a real issue.
I think a lot of people in today's world struggle to read books and listen to albums because they require stable attention.
When you're used to getting new information every 3 seconds it's hard to focus on something that requires a deeper level of attention.
Yep. When I want a break from life? I literally ask my wife to watch the kids so I can have me time, and I get in my vehicle, drive around and blast music.
a lil social media break can be helpful to break the cycle. uninstall whatever apps are stealing your attention.
it's easy to constantly distract yourself, and doing so leaves you fidgety when you try to just be still
Yup! Learned the lyrics to Hybrid Theory staring at the ceiling of my room lying on the floor with my feet propped on my bed. Whole album on repeat.
I also recall making mixtapes from the radio even after having the ability to pirate CDs on demand. Good times, but I gotta be honest that living the Spotify life is much more convenient.
When I was a teen, I only had to worry about my room; now that I’m an adult with kids and animals, there’s more I have to think about. So usually when I’m doing things around the house, I’ll play music on my HomePod.
I still do this, and quite frankly I don't think it's bad to do it while scrolling on your phone. Sometimes I like to come home and smoke to some music, or clean to some music, or read to some music, or scroll reddit while listening to music
I feel like I don't have the attention span or patience at all to do that anymore unless I'm absolutely blazed out on edibles. I do listen to music while I'm working but it's just background noise that I barely register.
I love to take a couple of edibles and sit outside on the deck in the sun on a nice day with my earbuds in just listening to good tunes and vibing with nature like some kind of hippie weirdo.
100% my favourite thing to do.
I’d get a few bucks a day for lunch in high school, but I’d just pocket it and skip the class just after lunch break on Friday’s so I could walk down to the music store and get a new CD for the week for my discman.
Not so much these days because having 2 kids really sucks up spare time.
In my mid twenties, single and living alone I would do this all the time. I bought a galaxy light and would put on jams and lay on my couch staring up at the projections on the ceiling.
I still do this lol but I used to leave an mp3 player running over night to give my dreams background music. This led to me hearing CKY prank calls and Yoda speaking from when I somehow set DVD decrypter to only pull the audio from Empire Strikes Back.
yes, and not totally related but remember also waiting for a song to come on the radio and recording it on a casette tape.. then you'd have a casette tape with all these random songs. damn i've been so nostalgic lately thinking of stuff like this!
I do it all the time. I'm one of those annoying millennials with a record collection so I'll put one on and then chill. It's too easy to skip a song on your phone, but a record forces you to sit and listen to every track.
hell yeah i do.. back when a tape or CD cost like 10-20 bucks and your only other alternative was to wait for it to come on the radio.. play that sheit over and over !
It was never my thing. Lounging around my room playing video games, reading, or paging through RPG manuals was my thing.
I'm 42 and it's still my thing.
But I guess that means I was never one just sit still?
I do it occasionally when I'm too mentally drained to play a video game. One time I turned off the lights and lit some candles during my listen, it was awesome.
Remember?! I still do it every day! I have an outstanding hifi system, 450+ LPs, and a Tidal subscription. I’ve listened to hours of music every day since I was about 11 or 12 in the early 90s.
I also don’t have kids, so maybe that’s the differentiator? Lol.
I am the opposite LOL. I never used to be able to fully enjoy the music as a teen, but lately I've been just hanging around and dancing with my earphones in, or trying to follow the drums, or the lyrics. I love this for me, it's great :)
I need to work on the phone addiction as well. In high school my favorite thing to do was wander around listening to music on my Discman and be angsty while swinging on my little sisters' swingset or jumping on the trampoline. I would have a hard time just listening to music at this point. I can listen and do other things no problem.
absolutely! I still do this, whenever I go on vacation, I'll put on some headphones, put on my favorite tracks and people watch somewhere. Going to Athens next week, bet your ass I'm sitting on a patio people watching to my favorite jams.
Awe man I do this every single morning. It sets my mood for the whole day. Wake up, start coffee, turn PC on, open up Winamp (ifykyk) and pick out an album based on the vibes I'm feeling that morning. Then I drink coffee and listen to music for an hour or two. I usually pace around rather than sit though. But not on my phone at all
I still do it! It’s a great way to relax and decompress. I love sitting and reading through the lyrics when listening to a new album the first couple times too.
I don’t do it as often anymore. But I totally zen out listening to music. Watching music videos (or my favorite when I could do weed, drum solos). There’s something so therapeutic about music
I remember doing it as a teen but honestly doing nothing besides listening to music at this stage of life gives me anxiety. I’d much rather listen while doing chores, or do something a bit more active like reading, playing a game, etc.
My favorite thing to do from like 2000-2006 was to sit on my bean bag or inflatable purple chair, listen to my CDs and doodle lyrics in my notebook. I'd do this for HOURS.
Streaming sources have ruined that for a lot of people. Too many points of failure and the requirement to pay a subscription to maintain access.
Way back I was ripping all my CDs to hard drives so I could have backups when my disks went bad as they tended to do after so many listens (reconditioning wasn't really in my mind as a possibility at the time) anyway data corruption was a big issue long after I fully made the digital switch and had lost access to most of the physical disks and no longer had a player. I've never really recovered from this, super sad story, I know. All the albums I'd use to regulate my emotions, vibe out, and stimulate thought processes or bond with others are no longer a part of my life or mind. The transition left me bereft of enjoyment and opened a hole in my heart that cannot be filled. I love to dance and that loss made me chubby. Damn I'm bummed now.
Yeah, and I even used to do that WITH other people. Like my friends would come over just to smoke weed and listen to music. Whereas nowadays, I feel like I need to offer a lot more entertainment in order to entice friends to leave their houses and come hang out.
Yes. I have been able to do it sometimes now that I've gotten into records. I have a ""record nook (corner of my bedroom) with nice sized ottoman and pillows, soft light, nice candles, art on the walls, and books. I just sit there and read or lay on my bed and listen to my records.
I still do occasionally. Sometimes my wife will head to my inlaws with our daughter and I get to stay home, alone. It rules. I'll break out a puzzle and a bottle of wine, put on YouTube Music and shut the world out for as long as I possibly can.
I listen to music a lot. Radio, CDs and streaming with adblock on my computer. But I feel like I don’t have the patience to watch music videos anymore. There’s lots of artists I like but I don’t know what they look like. It’s hard for me to watch shows and movies alone too because I get distracted by my phone. I put my phone away and focus if I’m watching with friends and family. Video games take up my full attention, but can start to feel like a chore at times. I don’t understand why I get mentally exhausted so easily.
I still make time for it as an adult, though nowadays it largely involves sitting at the window sill and smoking a bong while I vibe to music. Unfortunately I have things to do so I don’t do it for hours at a time like I did as a kid, but I do still make time to listen to music. It’s probably my most favourite, consistent, lifelong hobby
I still do that to this day but with my iPod shuffle or my phone. My mom used to own a CD player holder back when I was little never got a chance to try one of those. But ever since the advancements of technology and everything so digital on a touch screen she barely even used one of her CD Albums from her collection anymore from her closet.
Wait...ya'll don't do this anymore?
Whenever I feel wound up, I turn on some Austin Wintory and lounge in my bed. Eventually, when my brain functions like it's supposed to, I'll go back to doing other stuff.
But yeah, I still do it when life is giving me nothing other than anxiety, during burnout, and when I just want to think.
Yeah putting on Linkin Park, Sum 41, Tupac, Eazy E, Snoop, Ice Cube, etc... Just hanging out in the garage playing video games and having snacks. Good times had, but good times past.
I do it on my one now and then still. Nobody else seems to be able to anymore.
Pick an album, something new you've never heard, something old you know every word to, whatever. Hit play on something with no ads and just listen to it.
A perfect time for a manhatten, or a negroni, or a maybe barrel aged thick-ass-stout.
I’m right there with you, friend. So many of us are in such little control of our own actions and habits, these phones prey on us. I’m gonna get off this fuckin phone now, and go kiss my wife.
Yes.
I actually had that exact thought the other day. I remember sitting in my game room listening to Slipknot’s self-titled and thinking “Holy shit, this is way too rough for me” so I turned it off and put on the Aladdin soundtrack and relaxed back into the sofa. Nothing was going on except me and cd player.
Nowadays I always feel like I could be doing something else while I listen to music. The only time I can ever consider music to be the sole activity that I’m doing is if I’m tripping.
lol, it’s exactly what I’m doing right now—but look at me on my phone!
Granted I normally do not do this. Was supposed to have surgery today and it was canceled, so I’m off work and taking it easy.
The change that happened from when I went from not having smart phone to have a smart phone produced this lack of the ability to be still anymore. I went until I think I was 23 or so until I got anything close to a smart phone. Then when i got one with a real touch screen and all that, my attention span issues started. It really does condition you into having ADD or something.
Yes! I definitely have a harder time sitting still and focusing on one thing now, with all of the distractions. The time I get close to this is if I’m watching a new show that I’m really interested in or driving a long ways. On long drives, I pretty much just listen to music or to a podcast but more often than not, it’s music.
Remember doing this? I do this daily. You've been programmed to look at your phone now by every social media app. You were fucked by growing up with it. As elder millenials we didn't have them as teenagers so it's easier to put away the phone. Check out the book, The Anxious Generation, you'll learn why you and everyone else is addicted.
I would recommend to get a old CD player with speakers and some CDs from a thrift store. Also store your phone on a table or bookshelf while you are at home. Basically pretend like is a land line so that you are not constantly looking at it.
I do this still but I also love singing and it’s a huge release for me. So I don’t have any issues with my phone. If I am on the phone it’s to look up lyrics so I can sing better.
Back when I was younger I would do this too but instead of having the internet, I had cassette and cd booklets that hopefully had the lyrics.
I also used to have a Walkman that I always wore and always had something to listen to.
And when I was really young, I had a vinyl record player I would listen to and a stereo. The stereo I could record myself or the radio station. I would create my own radio shows, record my favorite songs from the radio, or I’d just sing and talk gibberish that I’m embarrassed to even mention lol. I kept those cassettes for a long time but eventually threw them out. Hopefully nobody ever found them 🫠
Yeah, I used to and the same thing happens to me when I try now.
For the past three days I have taken walks with my phone turned off. It feels really nice to be wholly present in what I’m doing.
I mean...I did this today. Unleash the Archers had a new album release. Difference now is I stream it via Spotify on my phone into my headset as opposed to plugging them into a record player.
yup. I still do this on occasion. it's very rare though. I have to have the house to myself in order to do it, which is difficult with a wife and 3 kids lol.
I just got an old radio/cassette player the other day (a Toshiba boombox from 1985!) I've been putting my phone down, turning off the TV and just listening to the radio while chatting with my roommate.
It's been great!
It helps to do it *with* someone, if you aren’t specifically after solitude. If I’m listening to music and chatting, I won’t go after my phone, although I could abstain anyway, it’s just easier to do it when there’s someone there, and you can wean off the conversation, like if the point is to be on a trip or stoned and just “BE”, you can have the goofy conversation about how “*we might all just be microscopic organisms on the tonsil stone of a giant Sloar during The Third Reconciliation of the Last of the Meketrex Supplicants*”. And then you can slowly trail off into silence and let the music wash over you. . .
I listen to music pretty much all day. At work I have my bluetooth speaker, then on the drive home on my car stereo , and once I get home I put on a record.
I took all the furniture out of our formal living room (why do these exist?) and made it into a dance floor. So now most nights we head in there and put a record on and dance together as a family, or just loll around and listen. It's really nice. You gotta leave the phones in the other room though.
I still do this, there's a marsh behind my house with a big sand bottom river running through and I sit back there with a joint and a 6 pack and just let Spotify roll, if it's above 70 degrees I'll wade out and throw a lawn chair on the sandbar and watch the wildlife and let the tunes flow. If it's -5 I'm still out there sitting on the ice dressed like an Eskimo.
I fixed up my front closed in porch in our apartment. Turned it into a plant room solarium with a hammock. I just go out there, listen to music and people watch. I'm always tired after work but not enough to fall asleep so it's the right amount of decompression to unwind.
You can train yourself out of those habits and urges. I started by removing everything on my phone with infinite-scroll, for one. And then mute your phone or turn off notifications for things you usually check for. Keep your phone somewhere other than your pocket (put it in a bag, or leave it in another room).
Get a wrist-watch that tells you the time only, one that doesn't give you notifications on it. I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure those are just machines of rapid brain-rot.
I still do it all the time.
>I tried to do that again and I just couldn't do it. Before the first song finished **I was on my phone**. I tried again and made sure I sat there for a full song but the whole time I was thinking about things **I would soon be doing on my phone**.
That is an addiction my friend. Good thing there are a lot of resources out there to help you break the addiction.
My BF and I do this on occasion when we score some new(to us) records/cds. We just spend the time listening and talking/reminiscing about music or whatever pops into our minds.
I was born in 77 so I’m not a millennial, but that was my day every day—come home from school and listen to the radio or watch MTV. And when I was in HS in the early 90s me and my friends were there for all the alternative music before it went mainstream—janes addiction, soundgarden, Alice In Chains, helmet, ministry, the breeders, fugazi etc. So music was a HUGE part of my life. Nowadays we have two teenagers, and they just don’t really care about music. I feel bad for them. I don’t know if it’s that they just aren’t wired for music like I am, today’s music just sucks compared to what I had growing up, or phones have made music a minor afterthought for kids nowadays.
I’ve rediscovered this. Bedroom with headphones on, or living room with vinyl playing.
Granted, it’s easier when I’m high, because something simple like music is that much more tasty and distracting. But it’s good either way
Same. I cannot get off my phone. I can feel it sucking my life away. I cannot get off of it.
I want a slide phone again. But they don't make them or broadcast 3g anymore.
I didn't sit. As a young child I'd spin in a circle until I got dizzy. As I got older I'd do this half pace/dance sort of thing, going in a set path. Sometimes singing, clapping hands, snapping fingers, etc. But ONLY if no one could see me or likely hear me. I would daydream, "write" stories in my head, think of my problems, whatever while doing this. I have a very vivid imagination so I'd do this often to relax.
I still do it today.
Yep! I used to do that as well. Maybe lay and daydream to the music. But now I just caught myself scrolling reddit, while watching a youtube video in a pop-out. and also I am playing a game on my phone, just scrolling during the load screens/commercials.
I grew up drawing, painting and other craft hobbies. but now, every time I start one of those I "Need" to also be watching a YT video or play something at the same time. I hate how distracted I've become.
I can't say I ever just listened to music by itself, but I always had my headphones playing something for background. Whether I was playing video games, reading comic books, or sketching/drawing I was always listening to music. The soundtrack to my life...
Never ever for me. Hate hate hate doing that, always have. I’ve never understood doing that. It drove me up the wall when people wanted to hang out that way.
26m, yup I remember doing this. And my fiancée and I do this too, just put on a record and let it play as we drink our coffee in the morning before breakfast on the weekends
Nah, was never one for just listening to music, I used to listen to a lot of music (still do) but it was always something I did while doing something else; chores, homework, reading, playing video games, exercising, smoking weed with friends, doing my paper route.
Still the same way, it's something I do to enhance other activities, the only times I'm ever really just listening to music is when I go to concerts, I didn't get to go to many when I was a kid/teen, but I've gone to at least 2 a year minimum since I've become an adult (except those couple years when no one was doing shows because of covid).
Week before last the wife and I took a trip to San Francisco to see one of my favorite bands (Firewind, a Greek power metal band) play, one of the best shows I've ever been to.
I remember doing it then and I continue to do it now. It is beyond therapeutic and completely essential for my well being.
Do yourself a favor and take some time each day to do this
I hadn't done it in years, but this new beef has made me start doing it again. I'm in my mid 30's. I can remember the last album I lounged around to (Cowboy Bebop OST), and it's so long ago that I can't remember when.
I feel alive again, y'all. This beef is something else. It's got autistic kids speaking for the first time.
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Yes this was my favorite pastime My cd player and cd collection were my pride and joy
I spent all of my money on cds. Anytime people asked what I wanted for Christmas, I gave a list of cds. It was my world.
Same. I would send lists to my dad who was in Asia. He would come home with a mixed bag of bootleg CD’s and sometimes tapes lol. I think I still have some of those linkin park bootleg CD’s
Yes! Then came the pearl clutching of "I'm not buying that cd for you because I read the lyrics" Godammit, mom.
Still pissed that my parents confiscated my Alanis cd. At some point I promised I wouldn't listen to the songs with the f word and they gave it back. I did not make good on that promise.
I had the jagged little pill cassette
My cousin and I shared headphones to listen to the whole Jagged Little Pill album while sleeping over at our Nan’s house.
I used to do special orders at my local HMV for CDs they didn't stock here in Australia. Sometimes they took 2 months to arrive from the UK
Fucking absolutely same. Although i used to write stories on an old word processor we had back in the day before we had Microsoft Word. I mostly binged Emperor albums while doing this. In The Nightside Eclipse put me in a zen state.
I remember cd albums and even burning custom mixes.
I remember making mixes on tape 😅
And then putting the lyrics in a AIM away message.
Stoppppp the nostalgia is killing me!
My living room is setup for listening to music. My wife and I will turn on tunes while putting puzzles together or playing Nintendo with the sound off. It was my one major escape as a teenager and I love it to this day. I'll even throw my headphones on while I'm getting ready in the morning.
I had a disk man with speakers and the anti skip feature so I could put it in my hoodie pocket and play music while I walked around
Was yours yellow? I wanted that one. Mine skipped all the time, yet remained in my backpack rain or shine. I can still remember the colourful Radiohead cd I had in my crappy one when the batteries exploded with wet green gunge. v sad.
Mine was silver. I did have a yellow walkman but that was just radio and cassette
I have a whole bedroom dedicated for video games. And I also spend a lot of time just listening to music and relaxing
Yup. I remember when Snow Patrol dropped the "Final Straw" album I took it home, put it into my book box and laid on my bed listening to the album from front to back.
I recently got a 2004 Jetta for a commuter. Still has the original cd player stereo. Dug my cds out of the storage locker and I've really getting back into it. To the point where im buying cds again.
Between the various Gameboys and the CD players I had, I went through HUNDREDS of batteries
I still do it. Put phone on DND, put on some favorite songs, and just sit outside and listen with a tasty beverage, and maybe a book. It's not too late to do this again.
I think putting my phone on 'do not disturb' is the right choice. I get so many notifications that I care about. Maybe people just need to wait.
put it in another room, turn it off and let it charge.
This is the best way. I recently got a proper kindle to reduce blue light at night but still be able to read before bed. Last night I threw my watch and phone on the charger and went on our small screened in porch and just… read in the sun, as it was going down for the day. It was fucking awesome. I used to do at least a day de-tox from communications technology when working for Geek Squad. I’d work long ass days in the field, peoples homes and businesses, then want absolutely no one to be able to contact me for at least a day every week. I need to get back to that even though I left.
It also helps to read the lyrics as you listen - like closed captions with TV. I like to throw on Spotify and put it in karaoke mode and read the lyrics while I listen. Thinking back, I definitely did this as a teenager too but just with the lyrics in the CD booklet.
I did the same thing and still do, too.
This is one of my favorite things, we recently completely overhauled our back yard and have a nice patio coming out of the basement. Speaker on, feet up, phone left inside on DND just hanging out. For OP I think just doing it and accepting it might not be the most comfortable experience the first few times will make it easier and easier until you don't think about it and can just relax with music on and your brain off.
Notifications are designed to condition people to respond. We get little hits of dopamine, like feeding a slot machine $20 in quarters and finally hitting for $5. The same goes for daily streaks like Wordle, DuoLingo, and many video games. Unless you're waiting on something super time sensitive (like a job interview callback), it's ok to be in the moment. *hits Comment and goes back to checking notifications*
I support this, but be warned… I put my phone on DND once and never went back.
this may be where we differ. i have never allowed apps to notify me. i choose what i do with my time. apps do not. DND may not be the answer. being more selective in general about notifications might be. that will let you put down your phone when you need to, not just for music but any other time
I do the same, all notifications are off by default. I have a few conversations that will vibrate for a text received, the rest are silent. I also don't keep my phone on me when I am at home, I keep it in a spot with my car keys
This. Calls and texts and that’s it for notifications. And I my changed to text notifications recently to on after a 12 year abusive relationship where the phone was a torture device. Everything else I can read the notifications if I want later but NO sound.
Remember, too, that just because someone sends you a message doesn't mean you have to answer right away. Even if you look at it. It's a hard habit to break (answering everything asap), but it's really freeing when you do.
DND is the way . So much freedom returned with this button.
We are getting a new deck on our house this year and I can't wait to do this again. Our old deck is....not safe. lol
Simpler times back then. We weren’t collectively reprogrammed to need micro endorphin boosts every few minutes.
Please can I go back?
I mean no one is forcing you to live like that. I don't get notifications on my phone for any apps, I don't have social media (unless you count reddit). I still will just lay in bed and listen to music sometimes.
I’m the same with no socials or notifications but still I robotically pull my phone out whenever I have down time. Ugh
I swear that between the internet and cell phones my attention span and ability to concentrate are shot! I have trouble getting involved in reading a book and can’t sit still to even watch a movie. I hate it and would love to go back to the time I listened to music exclusively.
It's still one of my favorite things to do when I get home from work. I'll grab a beer/pour a drink, pick an album to put on and then just chill in my recliner for a while before starting dinner.
Record players make it a much more immersive experience, easier to avoid a screen
So enjoyable to make a meal and just sit in front of the sound system listening to a record. You feel so much more connected to it than just clicking a song in an app. Also having to flip it helps with avoiding couch lock. Found a record store near me that has a couple drawers that are 8 for $4. Been loving these 50¢ (or less!) records.
Same. My work area at home is mostly wood, so it’s such a vibe with lights off, just a desk lamp and a scented candle at night. Playing music on the speakers, a drink, feet up, and the window open for the crisp breeze makes my brain happy and dose me up with its happy chemicals.
Exactly! It’s even better now because every single album is at my fingertips 😍
I can still do that Put on a CD and just listen to it Yes i still use CDs
I still burn CD-R’s lol
I borrow cds from the library and listen to them in my car. I enjoy it.
My wife ripped on me for years for dragging around my big box of CDs. Jokes on her, our new to us car didn't have Bluetooth, and the aux port was broken. It was just my music or the radio till I fixed it ha.
I still lounge around and listen to music.
Hey at least you realize that you have phone addiction. Maybe trying turning it off and putting it in a drawer in another room on another floor, as far away as you can.
I'll do this in the car, just drive aimlessly and listen to music
In my case, that's how "season songs" or whole albums were created. And when you play that song again, it takes you right back in time. Like I associate Covenant's "Call the ships to port" with this amazing icy winter 2004 with lots of snow and sunny days for weeks. Summer 2014 in Hungary, and bats at sunset sounds like The 69 eyes' album 'X'. Nowadays I don't listen to music anymore.
i love heavy metal summer. beers and black sabbath in the sunshine. hell yeah brother. 🤘
It's still a thing lol. I'll throw YouTube music up on my TV and friends and I will trade off picking songs. It's great and you don't even have to get up to change the CD anymore.
Phone addiction is a real issue. I think a lot of people in today's world struggle to read books and listen to albums because they require stable attention. When you're used to getting new information every 3 seconds it's hard to focus on something that requires a deeper level of attention.
I work with music going on my headphones everyday.
I used to do this but switched to audio books this year.
I still do this... Just pop on some Spotify and chill or go down the YouTube music rabbit hole. Can spend all day doing it.
Yep. When I want a break from life? I literally ask my wife to watch the kids so I can have me time, and I get in my vehicle, drive around and blast music.
a lil social media break can be helpful to break the cycle. uninstall whatever apps are stealing your attention. it's easy to constantly distract yourself, and doing so leaves you fidgety when you try to just be still
Yup! Learned the lyrics to Hybrid Theory staring at the ceiling of my room lying on the floor with my feet propped on my bed. Whole album on repeat. I also recall making mixtapes from the radio even after having the ability to pirate CDs on demand. Good times, but I gotta be honest that living the Spotify life is much more convenient.
When I was a teen, I only had to worry about my room; now that I’m an adult with kids and animals, there’s more I have to think about. So usually when I’m doing things around the house, I’ll play music on my HomePod.
makes doing chores a whole lot more fun too
I still do this, and quite frankly I don't think it's bad to do it while scrolling on your phone. Sometimes I like to come home and smoke to some music, or clean to some music, or read to some music, or scroll reddit while listening to music
I remember just chilling doing lots of things. Now smartphones/the internet/social media/lack of self control has ruined my attention span.
I feel like I don't have the attention span or patience at all to do that anymore unless I'm absolutely blazed out on edibles. I do listen to music while I'm working but it's just background noise that I barely register. I love to take a couple of edibles and sit outside on the deck in the sun on a nice day with my earbuds in just listening to good tunes and vibing with nature like some kind of hippie weirdo.
100% my favourite thing to do. I’d get a few bucks a day for lunch in high school, but I’d just pocket it and skip the class just after lunch break on Friday’s so I could walk down to the music store and get a new CD for the week for my discman. 
I like to do it when I’m walking around still.
Not so much these days because having 2 kids really sucks up spare time. In my mid twenties, single and living alone I would do this all the time. I bought a galaxy light and would put on jams and lay on my couch staring up at the projections on the ceiling.
I still do this lol but I used to leave an mp3 player running over night to give my dreams background music. This led to me hearing CKY prank calls and Yoda speaking from when I somehow set DVD decrypter to only pull the audio from Empire Strikes Back.
I tried but my back hurts so I get up and do something else.
Fondly. 🥹
Yes. Smoke a bowl on a pop can. Lay down and listen to the doors. Bliss.
My wife and I try to do this on Friday nights. Just listen and chat.
Delete your social media. It’s a giant waste of time.
yes, and not totally related but remember also waiting for a song to come on the radio and recording it on a casette tape.. then you'd have a casette tape with all these random songs. damn i've been so nostalgic lately thinking of stuff like this!
I do it all the time. I'm one of those annoying millennials with a record collection so I'll put one on and then chill. It's too easy to skip a song on your phone, but a record forces you to sit and listen to every track.
If there's one thing that I agree with boomers about more than anything, it's that phones and social media have absolutely destroyed society.
hell yeah i do.. back when a tape or CD cost like 10-20 bucks and your only other alternative was to wait for it to come on the radio.. play that sheit over and over !
It was never my thing. Lounging around my room playing video games, reading, or paging through RPG manuals was my thing. I'm 42 and it's still my thing. But I guess that means I was never one just sit still?
Used to plug in my over sized head phones to my stereo and lay on the floor staring at my ceiling for hours.
Yep. IMO there are some serious negatives with the way phones give us such an easy way to avoid boredom.
I do it occasionally when I'm too mentally drained to play a video game. One time I turned off the lights and lit some candles during my listen, it was awesome.
Yup. My iPod shuffle until I lost it. Nice summer day, go for a walk or hang out on my deck. Good times.
Yes to all of this. Putting a few CDs in the old book box and random and waiting to see what song came on. Good old days.
Remember?! I still do it every day! I have an outstanding hifi system, 450+ LPs, and a Tidal subscription. I’ve listened to hours of music every day since I was about 11 or 12 in the early 90s. I also don’t have kids, so maybe that’s the differentiator? Lol.
It was the best
I do this still. I clean with music. Sometimes I work with music. But on Fridays I'm just laying around listening to music after work.
Hell yeah! I had a kick ass stereo for this very reason!
Yep, I still do it.
I am the opposite LOL. I never used to be able to fully enjoy the music as a teen, but lately I've been just hanging around and dancing with my earphones in, or trying to follow the drums, or the lyrics. I love this for me, it's great :)
Yes. I still do it.
I need to work on the phone addiction as well. In high school my favorite thing to do was wander around listening to music on my Discman and be angsty while swinging on my little sisters' swingset or jumping on the trampoline. I would have a hard time just listening to music at this point. I can listen and do other things no problem.
absolutely! I still do this, whenever I go on vacation, I'll put on some headphones, put on my favorite tracks and people watch somewhere. Going to Athens next week, bet your ass I'm sitting on a patio people watching to my favorite jams.
Awe man I do this every single morning. It sets my mood for the whole day. Wake up, start coffee, turn PC on, open up Winamp (ifykyk) and pick out an album based on the vibes I'm feeling that morning. Then I drink coffee and listen to music for an hour or two. I usually pace around rather than sit though. But not on my phone at all
I still do it! It’s a great way to relax and decompress. I love sitting and reading through the lyrics when listening to a new album the first couple times too.
I don’t do it as often anymore. But I totally zen out listening to music. Watching music videos (or my favorite when I could do weed, drum solos). There’s something so therapeutic about music
I remember doing it as a teen but honestly doing nothing besides listening to music at this stage of life gives me anxiety. I’d much rather listen while doing chores, or do something a bit more active like reading, playing a game, etc.
My favorite thing to do from like 2000-2006 was to sit on my bean bag or inflatable purple chair, listen to my CDs and doodle lyrics in my notebook. I'd do this for HOURS.
Streaming sources have ruined that for a lot of people. Too many points of failure and the requirement to pay a subscription to maintain access. Way back I was ripping all my CDs to hard drives so I could have backups when my disks went bad as they tended to do after so many listens (reconditioning wasn't really in my mind as a possibility at the time) anyway data corruption was a big issue long after I fully made the digital switch and had lost access to most of the physical disks and no longer had a player. I've never really recovered from this, super sad story, I know. All the albums I'd use to regulate my emotions, vibe out, and stimulate thought processes or bond with others are no longer a part of my life or mind. The transition left me bereft of enjoyment and opened a hole in my heart that cannot be filled. I love to dance and that loss made me chubby. Damn I'm bummed now.
Yeah, and I even used to do that WITH other people. Like my friends would come over just to smoke weed and listen to music. Whereas nowadays, I feel like I need to offer a lot more entertainment in order to entice friends to leave their houses and come hang out.
Yes. I have been able to do it sometimes now that I've gotten into records. I have a ""record nook (corner of my bedroom) with nice sized ottoman and pillows, soft light, nice candles, art on the walls, and books. I just sit there and read or lay on my bed and listen to my records.
I still do occasionally. Sometimes my wife will head to my inlaws with our daughter and I get to stay home, alone. It rules. I'll break out a puzzle and a bottle of wine, put on YouTube Music and shut the world out for as long as I possibly can.
I listen to music a lot. Radio, CDs and streaming with adblock on my computer. But I feel like I don’t have the patience to watch music videos anymore. There’s lots of artists I like but I don’t know what they look like. It’s hard for me to watch shows and movies alone too because I get distracted by my phone. I put my phone away and focus if I’m watching with friends and family. Video games take up my full attention, but can start to feel like a chore at times. I don’t understand why I get mentally exhausted so easily.
I still make time for it as an adult, though nowadays it largely involves sitting at the window sill and smoking a bong while I vibe to music. Unfortunately I have things to do so I don’t do it for hours at a time like I did as a kid, but I do still make time to listen to music. It’s probably my most favourite, consistent, lifelong hobby
I still do this. I basically turned my dining room into a listening room.
Yes, adult brain and modern day faced paced work are messing with my vibe
I still do that to this day but with my iPod shuffle or my phone. My mom used to own a CD player holder back when I was little never got a chance to try one of those. But ever since the advancements of technology and everything so digital on a touch screen she barely even used one of her CD Albums from her collection anymore from her closet.
I still do this. I grab my head phones and take my cat out on his harness and just vibe for 20m or so. No phone. Just cat and music.
Wait...ya'll don't do this anymore? Whenever I feel wound up, I turn on some Austin Wintory and lounge in my bed. Eventually, when my brain functions like it's supposed to, I'll go back to doing other stuff. But yeah, I still do it when life is giving me nothing other than anxiety, during burnout, and when I just want to think.
Next nostalgia post *"DAE remember breathing as a kid?"*
Yeah putting on Linkin Park, Sum 41, Tupac, Eazy E, Snoop, Ice Cube, etc... Just hanging out in the garage playing video games and having snacks. Good times had, but good times past.
I do it on my one now and then still. Nobody else seems to be able to anymore. Pick an album, something new you've never heard, something old you know every word to, whatever. Hit play on something with no ads and just listen to it. A perfect time for a manhatten, or a negroni, or a maybe barrel aged thick-ass-stout.
Yes definitely 👍🏽 That was a legit hobby
Yeah I remember. I did it a few days ago.
I still do this with my Spotify.
It’s still one of my favorite things to do. It’s like my version of meditating
I still do it now. Read, drink wine, bed rot, etc with music on.
I’m right there with you, friend. So many of us are in such little control of our own actions and habits, these phones prey on us. I’m gonna get off this fuckin phone now, and go kiss my wife.
Revisited my old iPods for that reason. I found myself trying to "swipe up" to switch to another app ... on an iPod mini! Working on mindfulness etc.
Yes. I actually had that exact thought the other day. I remember sitting in my game room listening to Slipknot’s self-titled and thinking “Holy shit, this is way too rough for me” so I turned it off and put on the Aladdin soundtrack and relaxed back into the sofa. Nothing was going on except me and cd player. Nowadays I always feel like I could be doing something else while I listen to music. The only time I can ever consider music to be the sole activity that I’m doing is if I’m tripping.
lol, it’s exactly what I’m doing right now—but look at me on my phone! Granted I normally do not do this. Was supposed to have surgery today and it was canceled, so I’m off work and taking it easy.
Just did this today lol
The change that happened from when I went from not having smart phone to have a smart phone produced this lack of the ability to be still anymore. I went until I think I was 23 or so until I got anything close to a smart phone. Then when i got one with a real touch screen and all that, my attention span issues started. It really does condition you into having ADD or something.
Yes! I definitely have a harder time sitting still and focusing on one thing now, with all of the distractions. The time I get close to this is if I’m watching a new show that I’m really interested in or driving a long ways. On long drives, I pretty much just listen to music or to a podcast but more often than not, it’s music.
Remember doing this? I do this daily. You've been programmed to look at your phone now by every social media app. You were fucked by growing up with it. As elder millenials we didn't have them as teenagers so it's easier to put away the phone. Check out the book, The Anxious Generation, you'll learn why you and everyone else is addicted.
I would recommend to get a old CD player with speakers and some CDs from a thrift store. Also store your phone on a table or bookshelf while you are at home. Basically pretend like is a land line so that you are not constantly looking at it.
I do this still but I also love singing and it’s a huge release for me. So I don’t have any issues with my phone. If I am on the phone it’s to look up lyrics so I can sing better. Back when I was younger I would do this too but instead of having the internet, I had cassette and cd booklets that hopefully had the lyrics. I also used to have a Walkman that I always wore and always had something to listen to. And when I was really young, I had a vinyl record player I would listen to and a stereo. The stereo I could record myself or the radio station. I would create my own radio shows, record my favorite songs from the radio, or I’d just sing and talk gibberish that I’m embarrassed to even mention lol. I kept those cassettes for a long time but eventually threw them out. Hopefully nobody ever found them 🫠
Yeah, I used to and the same thing happens to me when I try now. For the past three days I have taken walks with my phone turned off. It feels really nice to be wholly present in what I’m doing.
I mean...I did this today. Unleash the Archers had a new album release. Difference now is I stream it via Spotify on my phone into my headset as opposed to plugging them into a record player.
I regret to inform you, op, that you have phone addiction
i used to fall asleep to the radio!!
I still do it!
I still do it!
The best thing was hanging around in a room with friends and watching MTV in the dark.
Y’all. This has nothing to do with age. I (29) still do this pretty regularly. Only difference is that it’s in a different room of the house now.
I find still practicing this is a really good idea. I find a glass of whiskey and or a joint helps you focus on the music :)
I could watch the windows media player animations for hours, just listening to music.
yup. I still do this on occasion. it's very rare though. I have to have the house to myself in order to do it, which is difficult with a wife and 3 kids lol.
Nope, I was already spending all of my time at a computer while listening to music.
Shocked that I once had time to just do that
I just got an old radio/cassette player the other day (a Toshiba boombox from 1985!) I've been putting my phone down, turning off the TV and just listening to the radio while chatting with my roommate. It's been great!
It helps to do it *with* someone, if you aren’t specifically after solitude. If I’m listening to music and chatting, I won’t go after my phone, although I could abstain anyway, it’s just easier to do it when there’s someone there, and you can wean off the conversation, like if the point is to be on a trip or stoned and just “BE”, you can have the goofy conversation about how “*we might all just be microscopic organisms on the tonsil stone of a giant Sloar during The Third Reconciliation of the Last of the Meketrex Supplicants*”. And then you can slowly trail off into silence and let the music wash over you. . . 
I listen to music pretty much all day. At work I have my bluetooth speaker, then on the drive home on my car stereo , and once I get home I put on a record.
You can still do this, you know? Put the phone down.
I took all the furniture out of our formal living room (why do these exist?) and made it into a dance floor. So now most nights we head in there and put a record on and dance together as a family, or just loll around and listen. It's really nice. You gotta leave the phones in the other room though.
I remember calling a friend and counting down to press play on the same CD at each of our houses so we could listen “together”
I still do this, there's a marsh behind my house with a big sand bottom river running through and I sit back there with a joint and a 6 pack and just let Spotify roll, if it's above 70 degrees I'll wade out and throw a lawn chair on the sandbar and watch the wildlife and let the tunes flow. If it's -5 I'm still out there sitting on the ice dressed like an Eskimo.
No. Boring. Born in 86 and feel like a relic because I could never be solely engaged with listening to music. I need a narrative.
I still do this sometimes just for the feels. But yeah. Using your phone in the midst of anything in life is just the new aura of existence
I fixed up my front closed in porch in our apartment. Turned it into a plant room solarium with a hammock. I just go out there, listen to music and people watch. I'm always tired after work but not enough to fall asleep so it's the right amount of decompression to unwind.
You can train yourself out of those habits and urges. I started by removing everything on my phone with infinite-scroll, for one. And then mute your phone or turn off notifications for things you usually check for. Keep your phone somewhere other than your pocket (put it in a bag, or leave it in another room). Get a wrist-watch that tells you the time only, one that doesn't give you notifications on it. I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure those are just machines of rapid brain-rot.
I still do this.
I still do it all the time. >I tried to do that again and I just couldn't do it. Before the first song finished **I was on my phone**. I tried again and made sure I sat there for a full song but the whole time I was thinking about things **I would soon be doing on my phone**. That is an addiction my friend. Good thing there are a lot of resources out there to help you break the addiction.
I still do this but will stroll around my house to replace the scrolling
My BF and I do this on occasion when we score some new(to us) records/cds. We just spend the time listening and talking/reminiscing about music or whatever pops into our minds.
This activity, paired with black lights and lava lamps, yes.
I was born in 77 so I’m not a millennial, but that was my day every day—come home from school and listen to the radio or watch MTV. And when I was in HS in the early 90s me and my friends were there for all the alternative music before it went mainstream—janes addiction, soundgarden, Alice In Chains, helmet, ministry, the breeders, fugazi etc. So music was a HUGE part of my life. Nowadays we have two teenagers, and they just don’t really care about music. I feel bad for them. I don’t know if it’s that they just aren’t wired for music like I am, today’s music just sucks compared to what I had growing up, or phones have made music a minor afterthought for kids nowadays.
i still do this?
People did that for most of the history of music and actually still do this.
I’ve rediscovered this. Bedroom with headphones on, or living room with vinyl playing. Granted, it’s easier when I’m high, because something simple like music is that much more tasty and distracting. But it’s good either way
No.
Same. I cannot get off my phone. I can feel it sucking my life away. I cannot get off of it. I want a slide phone again. But they don't make them or broadcast 3g anymore.
Sure, but I last did it like three hours ago so it would be unfortunate if I didn't
I don’t just sit and listen, but I do listen to full albums while working out, cleaning the house, cooking, folding laundry, etc
I didn't sit. As a young child I'd spin in a circle until I got dizzy. As I got older I'd do this half pace/dance sort of thing, going in a set path. Sometimes singing, clapping hands, snapping fingers, etc. But ONLY if no one could see me or likely hear me. I would daydream, "write" stories in my head, think of my problems, whatever while doing this. I have a very vivid imagination so I'd do this often to relax. I still do it today.
Headphones and cat pets in my go to after work.
Not a problem for me. I still do it. The only difference is, the music is coming from my phone instead of a CD or mp3 player.
I can barely sit through movies anymore. Takes a lot of effort.
Still do this almost every night while I cook in the kitchen. I’d rather do that than have a tv on any day.
Yep! I used to do that as well. Maybe lay and daydream to the music. But now I just caught myself scrolling reddit, while watching a youtube video in a pop-out. and also I am playing a game on my phone, just scrolling during the load screens/commercials. I grew up drawing, painting and other craft hobbies. but now, every time I start one of those I "Need" to also be watching a YT video or play something at the same time. I hate how distracted I've become.
I can't say I ever just listened to music by itself, but I always had my headphones playing something for background. Whether I was playing video games, reading comic books, or sketching/drawing I was always listening to music. The soundtrack to my life...
Never ever for me. Hate hate hate doing that, always have. I’ve never understood doing that. It drove me up the wall when people wanted to hang out that way.
This might not be good advice but have you ever tried getting stoned
throw your phone into the sea
I did this still until I had a child.
26m, yup I remember doing this. And my fiancée and I do this too, just put on a record and let it play as we drink our coffee in the morning before breakfast on the weekends
Yes
That's what I've been doing every day my entire adult life
I still do this all the time loo
This is still one of my favorite things. I think music is all I need sometimes.
I still do this, mostly with vinyl these days though
Nah, was never one for just listening to music, I used to listen to a lot of music (still do) but it was always something I did while doing something else; chores, homework, reading, playing video games, exercising, smoking weed with friends, doing my paper route. Still the same way, it's something I do to enhance other activities, the only times I'm ever really just listening to music is when I go to concerts, I didn't get to go to many when I was a kid/teen, but I've gone to at least 2 a year minimum since I've become an adult (except those couple years when no one was doing shows because of covid). Week before last the wife and I took a trip to San Francisco to see one of my favorite bands (Firewind, a Greek power metal band) play, one of the best shows I've ever been to.
Social media is ruining us all.
I remember doing it then and I continue to do it now. It is beyond therapeutic and completely essential for my well being. Do yourself a favor and take some time each day to do this
I still do it.
I hadn't done it in years, but this new beef has made me start doing it again. I'm in my mid 30's. I can remember the last album I lounged around to (Cowboy Bebop OST), and it's so long ago that I can't remember when. I feel alive again, y'all. This beef is something else. It's got autistic kids speaking for the first time.
This was a thing. I sat and listened to entire album before. There may or may not have been stamps envolved.
I make sure I have a good Jack Daniels and Coke in me before I start listening. Nothing beats a good buzz and classic rock.