Why do we listen to music?

Without becoming overly analytical, for what reason do we listen to music? I often find myself using music as my "attitude adjuster". As many of us have found, we can create a feeling or a mood with a certain type or style of music. In many cases, this can be done regardless of our state of mind or mental "well being" at that time.

Needless to say, there is nothing quite like recreating a three dimensional image of a musical performance in your living room or listening room of choice. That musical performance may reflect the way you feel at that time or how you may wish to feel.

Are we, as audiophiles, more enthralled with the musical performance itself or, are we enthralled by our music system's ability to recreate that musical performance? Is it possibly both of those factors? Have we somewhat lost sight or focus? I have to state that I cannot find fault in either approach to musical nirvana.

I guess that this may sound like some type of a reality check. Ultimately, I would be interested in reading the responses from fellow Audiogon members. Some of us may find that responding may just be a reality check in itself. Hmmm.