Addicted to dopamine … music, music and music.

 

Whether it's the Beatles or Beethoven, people like music for the same reason they like eating or having sex: It makes the brain release a chemical that gives pleasure, a new study says. The brain substance is involved both in anticipating a particularly thrilling musical moment and in feeling the rush from it, researchers found.

 

MSNB.com: To Your brain, music is as enjoyable as Sex

As I write this NPR’s Morning Edition is informing us from the speakers on my laptop. At 9:00 when ME ends, I usually switch over to Rhapsody while we listen to one of several personal playlists created from chosen tracks from Rhapsody’s millions.

Depending on mood, we choose playlists from a variety of preferences – everything from an assortment of New Age instrumental music to Classical or Easy Listening ( which hovers close to elevator or mall music and rarely plays for long.)

There’s a Golden Oldies, artist specific such as David and Diane Arkentons, Neal Diamond, Sarah Brightman, Enya, Medwyn Goodall, Mary Chapin Carpenter, even WIllie Nelson.

We’ve made playlists specific to songs that go back into our personal history such as our movie soundtrack list which includes Braveheart, Gladiator, Last of Mohicans, DaVinci Code, and Dances With Wolves.

There are playlists entitled Lietta’s Painting Music, Arthur’s Writing Music,

And of course when we are feeling preference ambivalence from among the playlists of our favorite music, I made a huge master playlist by dragging all the music in my personally-constructed Rhapsody library and calling it All Music Playlist.

When out and about I usually take two stimulants: my Kindle reader and/or our iPod.

Recuperative knee therapy today will involve more than 1000 assorted exercise “reps” plus ten minutes on an exercise bike.

Much more enjoyable with the iPod while Lietta reads her own Kindle.