When listening to music do you prefer audio only or do you like music videos ?

[jetsam]

Simple visuals here. Cartoons, record sleeves, still shots or lightly animated. Sometimes game stuff or retro pixel artwork. Whatever, really. As long as the music has more dramatic "weight" than the video, I'm happy.

Audio only is fine, but it's just a bit austere for my taste in the YouTube/4G Internet era.

For examples, I'm lovin' this:
Nighttime Ramen 🍜 [jazzy beats / lofi hip hop mix]

and likin' this:
Zelda & Chill

This a bit much for my taste:
Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It (Official Video)


Cheers...

[disabled20191124]

I prefer audio; music is for the mind and eyes are trickier than ears. Of course, there is the opera but sometimes they are best enjoyed in audio only.

[mclark2145]

Music only unless there is a specific interest in the performer(s), such as 9yo girl drummer Yoyoka Soma. I cannot recall the last time I saw an artist so in tune with their instrument. Her dream is to play at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic... count on her being there. Plug for this amazing young lady: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i9Mqo99fKE

Even more impressive is her cover of Zep's Good Times, Bad Times, complete with bass drum triplets. She's one very impressive little lady.

[Skaperen]

to answer the original question:

it depends on what i am doing. if i am doing something like coding or reading a forum or writing a post on a forum, i listen to audio only. that way i can keep attention on what i am doing. i run pulseaudio in system mode so that i can hear the same audio between users. that lets me play music by running firefox in a different user, which is one totally dedicated to doing things on YouTube, and hearing it (not seeing it) when i switch to any user (to do things).

there are times i relax and watch videos on YouTube. more often i watch technical videos like math, physics, astronomy, photography, and home construction. but sometimes i watch music videos like Aurora, Heilung, Faun, and Wardruna. i also have local music downloaded from magnatune.com with a lifetime account i bought many years ago. what i listen to in audio only is basically the same as what i watch when watching videos, except for some music from Magnatune that has no video content.

[mclark2145]

I only watch music videos to be entertained. I don't see how anyone can have videos going and do meaningful work.

I don't listen to anything if I'm writing (particularly in a creative mode) or anything that involves a lot of concentration and reasoning/calculation skills, because outside input competes for mental resources.

I actually find it very hard to make use of online streaming sites such as Pandora or Spotify because no matter how hard I have tried, they never play music I enjoy listening to, or that I was interested in listening to at that moment.

[bernard010]

Audio only. I am usually doing something else at the same time. Or have other web pages covering the video or minimized to the tool bar while I am just listening to the music.

[wolftrax]

I collect CDs and listen to CDs when I want to listen to my music , if I watch youtube and there is a music video I will try download it with youtube-dl because I like music videos as well but when I lsiten to music its either because I want to sit down and really listen to it (I have studio monitors and have had a small audio recording set up) to get to know it and just listen to all details. better audio quality on CDs and nothing to distract me.

sometimes I just put on a CD and do some strenght trainng or whatever activity I might fell up to and when I have guest its also just CDs but if I am bored and alone and have nothing else to do I can find music videos on youtube I like and I enjoy that as well.

there is a time and place for everything so to speak.

[marokah]

Audio will do for me

[bunny9000]

Sometimes when videos use animation it can be fun. I liked the daft punks interstellar 555. Music wasn't the best, but the animation and the story really made it worth watching. That's similar to the beatles yellow submarine. I can probably think of more if I trawl the archives though.

Generally I prefer the music only. Too often the video ruins the images I create in my minds eye when I listen to the music and like most people I'm usually doing something else.

I remember being a fan of the offsprings song the kids aren't alright. When I finally saw the video - - what's this garbage video. Especially compared to what I had in mind.

[CorporateMonkey]

Some music videos can be very entertaining though.