Heard this phrase on the excellent Radiolab podcast in their Man vs Machine episode and it immediately resonated with me. A large majority of music I listen to falls in this category.
On a busy work day when I need to focus on some task without being distracted and also to stay motivated and energetic and on a “high tempo”, some Paul Kalkbrenner is perfect. Or, if I want to even skip coffee too, put on some Shpongle and it instantly transports me into a different “place”.
On a different day, I might be in a very crowded bus or metro and I want to “change the state of my mind” to peacefulness amidst chaos of the crowd around me. A bit of Emancipator or Ludovico Einaudi is just perfect for such occassions.
Is this any inferior to songs with excellent and meaningful lyrics? It may not help you find the meaning of life or to declare the depth of your passion for someone but this type of music helps me in going to a totally different place in my head and take control of whatever situation I am in at that moment.
Perhaps there should be a different name for music like this. I propose acoustic mental teleportation ;-)