Finally: Why We Like Music

It’s not because of its sonority, its emotion, its excellence, or its beauty. No, forget all that; none of those messy, unscientific explanations get to the bottom of why we like music. The real truth has at last been revealed in its fulness:

Whether it’s the Beatles or Beethoven, people like music for the same reason they like eating or having sex: It makes the brain release a chemical that gives pleasure, a new study says.

[From Study: Love music? Thank a substance in your brain – Yahoo! News]

Aahh, that delightful evening in the concert hall, or that weekend afternoon in the living room listening to the stereo: isn’t life just a remarkable series of brain-based neurochemical reactions?