From a neurological point of view, there is a very good reason for this: the brain's visual centers have many orders of magnitude more cortex dedicated to them than do the aural centers. Closing your eyes (or listening in the dark) shuts down an enormous amount of neural processing, allowing your brain to spend a lot higher percentage of its energy on listening. Two other effects I've noticed from this phenomenon:
1) Music videos aren't about the music at all; they're about the video.
2) A lot of symphony-goers have never tried shutting their eyes during a performance, and when you do, they automatically assume you are sleeping. I close my eyes quite often, but never to sleep. You would be amazed how many people will ask you how your nap was.
1) Music videos aren't about the music at all; they're about the video.
2) A lot of symphony-goers have never tried shutting their eyes during a performance, and when you do, they automatically assume you are sleeping. I close my eyes quite often, but never to sleep. You would be amazed how many people will ask you how your nap was.