On experiencing music

Two concepts come to mind when I think on how to answer the question "How do you experience music in your daily life?" The simpler answer comes from the literal interpretation of the questions. I experience (hear/listen to) music every day in a countless number of situations. Whether I'm driving, walking, sitting in class, eating lunch, etc. I'm always connected. It may sound cliche' but there is certainly a "soundtrack" to my life and it's almost always playing whether its low in the background or if the music is the driving force behind the scene. The truth is when it's not playing around me, it's playing in me and that's something I just can't stop...and honestly I don't want to. My mind would explode if I didn't have music to think about, hum, or flat out sing at the top of my lungs (when i'm alone) in order to protect me from my thoughts sometimes. The more complex answer is the answer to the question how does the music you listen to affect and influence you on a mental, spiritual, and according to some studies even biological level. Under this interpretation, one must understand that listening to or hearing music is not the same as experiencing it. When you hear music and it begins to evoke strong emotions or when it takes you back to a time or a place or brings up the same emotions it did when you first heard it years ago, that's a musical experience. That's how certain music makes me feel and I love being able to understand the way the music touches me even when the feelings the music brings aren't pleasant. I still just love to know that I'm alive sometimes. I mean, I know i'm living, but sometimes you just get so distant from everything and u feel so unaffected that it's great to feel something that changes you...even if it's only temporary. That's what the music does to me. It feels amazing to be able to just hear something and have it move you in a way that people talking to you or other everyday interactions just can't. That's how I experience music :)