Why do we tend to listen to a new song that we like over and over again and then we can’t stand hearing it anymore?
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I’d attest it to a small internal self control issue. Most people don’t make a habit of denying themselves something that they think is good, and they don’t give thought to the possibility of consuming that thing until it isn’t good anymore.
Makes me think of a child who will eat an entire jar of cookies until they get sick. It usually is a very long time before they will want a cookie again.
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The law of diminishing marginal utility – for instance say you love chocolate – and someone gives you a giant jar of m&ms – the first time you eat it you will eat a lot of it. But as you continue to eat m&ms your desire to eat them (demand) decreases until eventually you become sick of m&ms.
Now apply it to music – you are constantly craving new music – when you find something you like you will consume it (listen to it) as much as you can but each time you consume it your demand to hear it again drops a little bit until your minds demand for the song is low and you don’t want to listen to it as much.
For me it’s cuz my type of music (rock/metal), at least the stuff I like, there isn’t a lot of it. So when I finally hear something I like I tend to over so it till I don’t like it anymore. Then go thru a lul of nothing good. Till I hear something and so it again.
Music taps heavily into the pattern recognition centers of the brain. Basically our brain loves trying to predict the next note, next verse, when the chorus will hit, etc. and the brain releases endorphins (feel good signals) every time it either guesses a new pattern correctly or is pleasantly surprised by a brand new sound.
The more we listen to a song, especially on repeat, the less surprises the song will hold and easier the patterns are to predict or remember.
Fun fact: this is also why if you get a song stuck in your head listening to the entire song 2-3 times in a row will usually get it out of your head.
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Music perception is a huge field that includes physics, math and psychology / biologists amongst others. One explained it to me like this (Im sure this is a simplification): Music has a tension between repetition and dissonance. Repetition makes the music accessible, catchy and fun. Dissonance makes it thoughtful, interesting and deep. Some music tilts strongly in one direction: repetitive dance music, others in a different direction: like experimental jazz. As you get more and more familiar with a genre, some of the repetition and patterns “unlock” for you and become accessible in a way that they may not be to a novice. If you COMPLETELY process the information it will likely bore you. However if you dont “Get IT” youll likely dismiss the song as inaccessible and offputting. This tension explains both why albums and songs get better with age and why some dont. It also explains in part why some complex music (jazz and classical or even metal and hiphop) have die hard fans while others seem to hate it or just not get it. It turns out some of musical appreciation is actually tied to exposure. The best songs “grow” with you, looping in to patterns you can already access and then “unlocking” different more involved ones as you go. If you add a layer of emotional tie during that process (ahem – first kiss, birth of a child, loss of a loved one) this adds another layer that may or may not actually interact with all of the above. Perception is awesome!
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It’s probably something that those of us who are more prone to addiction tend to do. No research (that I know of) to back it up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true.
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