# How would you feel if all music completely disappeared? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935 "2010-01-14T15:04:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/21 "2010-01-14T19:03:23Z")
Human beings are naturally musical. It’s right in there with language. You can’t make all music completely disappear without mass lobotomies or something; taking music out of the brain would decimate it, and take out or screw up a lot of other functions as well. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/22 "2010-01-14T19:24:51Z")
Man, this actually happened to me recently. First my computer died. So I put all 60 gigs of my music on a work computer (yes, with permission). Then my iPod died. And before I could get another to get the music back off the work computer, I was laid off, and my boss deleted all 60 gigs. About 20 years of collecting music, gone in a few seconds. And I had ripped and sold practically all my CDs. So now I have about 60 _tracks_, as opposed to 60 gigs, and the world feels like a vacuum to me. If I thought this were permanent, I would at the very least change my medication. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/23 "2010-01-14T19:39:12Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Human beings are naturally musical. It’s right in there with language. You can’t make all music completely disappear without mass lobotomies or something; taking music out of the brain would decimate it, and take out or screw up a lot of other functions as well. Or an alien anti-music ray. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/24 "2010-01-14T20:07:17Z")
Cyanide. God, what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![beatlejuice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@beatlejuice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beatlejuice)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/25 "2010-01-14T20:09:49Z")
So, we won’t remember music, but what would happen to dance? You’d remember the moves, but to move to nothing… why that’s just not right.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/26 "2010-01-14T20:10:55Z")
Ah, the old 1920’s style deaf ray. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/27 "2010-01-14T21:05:09Z")
> [@beatlejuice](#): > > So, we won’t remember music, but what would happen to dance? I asked myself this very question, and promptly voted Good Riddance. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/28 "2010-01-14T21:09:47Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Ah, the old 1920’s style deaf ray. ::👏:: ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/29 "2010-01-14T21:10:40Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > A superior alien life form wishes to eradicate all sources of pleasure from the universe. They’ve sent us a signal that, in 1 week’s time, all music will be permanently removed from earth. Not only won’t we be able to play a record, cd or any other music delivery tool, but we won’t even be able to remember any of it. We will just remember that music existed and how we felt about it. Based on the terms of the OP, which seem to be limited to recorded music (or, to be more generous, previously existing musical pieces), I’d say, no worries. We’ll just make more. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/30 "2010-01-14T21:12:00Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > A superior alien life form wishes to eradicate all sources of pleasure from the universe. They’ve sent us a signal that, in 1 week’s time, all music will be permanently removed from earth. Not only won’t we be able to play a record, cd or any other music delivery tool, but we won’t even be able to remember any of it. We will just remember that music existed and how we felt about it. As a complete aside, this is pretty much the premise for the last level in the fantastic **Elite Beat Agents** on the Nintendo DS. Yes I’m a dork, why do you ask? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/31 "2010-01-14T21:27:26Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > It would be a profound tragedy. Music can move us like nothing else. This. And on a purely selfish level, there goes one of my major talents. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/32 "2010-01-14T21:32:39Z")
It would be like I took the Chevy to levy and the levy was dry… Somebody should write a song about it. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/33 "2010-01-14T22:25:27Z")
Bugger the cyanide - I would kill them or go down trying. To me, music _is_ life. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/34 "2010-01-14T22:27:23Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Man, this actually happened to me recently. First my computer died. So I put all 60 gigs of my music on a work computer (yes, with permission). Then my iPod died. And before I could get another to get the music back off the work computer, I was laid off, and my boss deleted all 60 gigs. About 20 years of collecting music, gone in a few seconds. And I had ripped and sold practically all my CDs. So now I have about 60 _tracks_, as opposed to 60 gigs, and the world feels like a vacuum to me. If I thought this were permanent, I would at the very least change my medication. Good God, that’s awful! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/35 "2010-01-14T22:38:14Z")
I would feel suicidal. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/36 "2010-01-15T00:13:05Z")
Completely content. I’m one of the very few people for which music does absolutely nothing for me. Whatever emotional response people get from music, I’m missing that part of my brain. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/37 "2010-01-15T00:29:53Z")
I would be cracking open my big ruby cyanide ring, and making myself some death tea. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/38 "2010-01-15T05:35:00Z")
It wouldn’t bother me tons, 'cause I can’t help but keep a beat to the windshield wipers. Music would find a way. I don’t remember dreams often, but nearly every single day I wake up with a song in my head. So…maybe THAT would stop, which wouldn’t hurt my feelings. Or maybe I’d make up some new annoying tune to get out of my head. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/39 "2010-01-15T10:12:33Z")
I’d be dissapointed, 'cos I like music a lot. But I wouldn’t off myself, because I like paintings and poetry and film and books lots too, so I’ll fill in the gap somehow. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935/40 "2010-01-15T10:53:27Z")
I’m not a fan of music, but I acknowledge its usefulness and its pleasure. It has a place in life, and contributes to its beauty. But I rarely listen to it, and prefer to sit in silence most of the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-feel-if-all-music-completely-disappeared/524935.md?page=3)