i watch a lot of reaction channels. so much so that i have my favorite reactions channels of the many that i do watch. so much so that it’s a weird and overly ridiculous waste of time at this point; time i could spend listening the music itself.
when i take a step back it seems silly to me that anyone would watch a reaction channel. it seems absolutely crazy to me that these people have any subscribers, that they have any one watching them do something so incredibly normal and seemingly uninteresting. but when i look into myself, it makes so much sense. the thing i go for when watching these videos, the feeling i’m chasing justifies the success of these channels. and as strange as it sounds, the thing i chase is: the hope that they’ll react to the music i love in a similar way, effectively reaffirming my beliefs and extending the scope of my appreciation, adding to the experience of listening to music in the first place.
i don’t watch reactions videos to album’s i’ve never heard. it is only when an album truly embeds itself into my life that i need more than just the singular listening experience. i go out and i search for a community, not because i need my opinion validated but because i am seeking a relationship through the music. in this way, we are able to see the people this music was intended for, people that appreciate it. and in a strange way this carries out one of music’s many intentions, bringing people together.
sure everyone has those songs that belongs only to them — the soundtrack to the pleasant loneliness of a dark room and introspective mind — but sometimes there is no greater experience than the opportunity to enjoy a song with other people; those moments in the car when everyone’s singing in reckless unison, or when an album becomes the companion piece to a specific era in your life because it acted as a pillar of what connected you and your friends, the soundtrack to a friend group. personally, i believe for music to truly resonate it is entirely reliant on the individual, that no opinion or confounding variable should influence how you feel about a piece of art, but…it is important to acknowledge the power in knowing that sensation was felt elsewhere.
