Do your music genre choices change w/ the seasons?


Many of us have a wide range of music genre tastes. I'm sure not many of us are just jazz buffs, restricted to rock, or constantly classical. But do your listening habits change with the seasons?

A recent post on my system thread about adding an air conditioning unit to my attic space got me thinking that although in any given month you will find a wide assortment of music in my cd player or on my turntable, my listening habits tend to be concentrated on different types of music at different seasons.

Here are some of my thoughts on my seasonal choices:

My dedicated listening space is in a coverted attic. And living in Atlanta, it does get hot up there in the summer, even though I havecentral AC. I still sometimes need to add a fan to cool it too. That's when I play my louder music (the pieces without quiet passages) to offset the fan and AC noise.

Summer: Summer is about road trips, outdoor live music, and late-night parties. In summer I crank up rock and roll/punk and late night bebop/hard bop/free jazz with a ice cold pale ale or a dry reisling in hand.

Fall: With my AC and fans shut down, and more family-oriented time I find fall is for acoustic singer/song writers, small group jazz with vocalists, or a chamber orcestra accompanied by an octoberfest special or a syrah.

Winter: In winter I am inside, more reflective, often reading a good novel in the evenings. That's when I opt more for electronica/ambient music, solo classical guitar, and when the heter kicks in I turn up full orchestral music and sip a guiness or a pinot grigio.

Spring is renewal for me. I start working in my garden and feel the urge to hear that old timey bluegrass, indie country, or folk music. When a warm day finally busts out I celebrate with some R&B/Funk and break out an IPA or a cabernet.

What are your seasonal listening tastes?
thomasedison
I dont know if I really change, except when it gets wram in late spring I play more rock....windows open fresh breeze and upbeat music but other than that I listen to everything except Opera and Rap all the time.
Mine doesn't. Whatever appeals to me at a given moment, I listen to--winter, spring, summer, or fall.
Excellent observations. I never realized it until I read your post but yes, my choices change. They even change depending on whether it's day or night. Night or winter is, as with you, more introspective music.
More rock and especially jam bands as the season warms up. Also, my wife travels frequently; the music gets louder when she's out of town.
Well, I listen to Christmas music at that time of year. But other than that, I notice no pattern with the season or the phase of the moon, or whether Jupiter is aligned with Mars.

I definitely change when the wife is out. That's when I crank up the old rock and roll from my youth, things like Alice Cooper or AC/DC. I don't have to pretend to be sophisticated or cultured when nobody else is around. And when nobody is home, I definitely sing along. :)
A lot of times it depends upon whom I'm talking to. Or maybe if I'm watching a movie that has a familiar sound track. Sometimes I listen to "summer" songs in the winter to perk me up. Like "Its a beautiful morning" by the Rascals for example.
Now after a long break with my guitar I took it again and I try to pick Steely Dan, Chris Rea, some Pink Floyd and the other light stuff.

Normally I'd listen to the more complexed music but picking it on guitar I guess should be after a number of practicing with the above mentioned artists that would substantially take my leisure time before I start playing anything more serious such as Can, King Crimson or Genesis.

The piano, saxofone, classics had been temporarely suspended for long time (I guess) since the only thing that I need to listen for now is basic guitar. Beatles, Doors are too basic -->suspend:-)

I've never followed my listening tastes to a particular season but my set-up is biamped off summer with VTL MB100 tube monoblocks for top and durring summer I use only SS amp for obvious reasons.
Great replies. I initiated this post with how tastes may change during different seasons, but I am enjoying hear how other factors influence your listening habits, such as whether the wife is home or not, day vs. night, car vs. home, and playing summer songs in winter, music simiar to a recent movie soudtrack heard, and playing music that you are trying to learn on guitar.

Marakanetz's playing tubes in winter and solid state in summer is also interesting. I wonder if that influences your listening habits (more vocals and acoustic with the tube amp, more rock or 'bass' heavy music with the ss).