Hmmmm, I seem to consistently be the outlier on these threads, so with that in mind, here's my opinion:
Music and DMT are a truly amazing combination. I have had experiences where entities have explained to me why the music is able to "come through" with us. I've had experiences where the music, while still not creating a reference point "there" that matches up "here", highlights synchronicities between the aural patterns it creates and experiences I find myself in. Music definitely has the potential to make some trips very weird (or truly enlightening) and ads another variable that can go your way or wind up as an obstacle in your path. Sometimes I find it propels me into the depths of hyperspace, other times I feel like it is my tether, keeping me from drifting too far into the celestial ocean.
The trick, I think, is to find music that is both "appropriate" or at least well-suited for tripping and also resonates with your personal being. I do not know and do not listen to psy/trance/ambient etc. I find Tool bizarre (no offense to any Tool fans, just cant really get into it) and find that much of the music I hear people talk about blasting off to is music that I do not think I would be able to smoke to (although I have had comedown revelations that once you're up in that space and have come back and seen it's all ok again, you could really put on just about anything and go back, but that's somewhat untested). As a result of this, I do not listen to those genres of music when I am smoking spice. To briefly interject, I listen to music when I trip on anything (usually I'll have at least a couple periods of silence, but music is something I expect to be present for good periods of my experiences), I listen to music when I smoke weed, I listen to music for probably 8-12 hours out of my typical 16-18 hours of wakefulness on any given day. Music is something that I have made fairly omnipresent in my life since an early age, so maybe that's why I find it so comforting or otherwise supplemental on my voyages.
Anyways, for the honeymoon period, I listened to Pink Floyd's "The Division Bell" almost exclusively. I would just start at the first track and let the album play, using song transitions and the like as markers for measuring the length and allowing the many instrumental arrangements carry me away on cosmic waves of bliss. I used to think maybe the guitar that opens the second track as the opening instrumental faded away would be too heavy, but then I experienced the transition on a massive breakthrough and could not believe what I was hearing, it was the most tremendous and cosmic vibration I could have ever imagined. There were no ominous undertones, at least not in the manner I had expected, it was amazing. Further blast-offs in the same listening session synch up with other instrumentals and beautifully emotive tracks. I have broken through listening to the title track off the Eagles "Long Road out of Eden" and literally had a female entity explain to me why the music could come through, it was such a beautiful explanation of waves and energies and vibrations, I can't even begin to think of how to type up the concepts.
I attribute smoking DMT while listening to music for my current appreciation of the Beatles. Prior to last summer I didn't like the Beatles at all, felt they released too much material (a la lil wayne) and were just contrived. A couple of spice sessions with tracks like rocky racoon and happiness is a warm gun and blackbird, and while my guitar gently weeps really changed my position on them. While I still don't like their bubblegum music, I have found their own input and take on psychedelic music to be a nice contrast to the Pink Floyd realms I havve been immersing myself in for the past seven or eight years. I've had times where I'll put on music, but will have no recollection of hearing it once I breakthrough. Sometimes after those experiences, coming down to music is quite relaxing, relatively. It has less of the "extra-terrestrial" quality that coming down in silence can.
In my opinions and experiences, whether or not to listen to music depends a lot on the user and the type of music. Music IS a drug, it causes chemical reactions and interactions in the brain as a result of you listening to it. As such, I would say it's just like taking entheogen in this context, know your body and the way you react to music and psychedlics. Personally, I have ahd incredibly deep and transformative experiences while listening to music. I have also had experiences where I needed to turn the music off and just experience whatever I was experience without the addition of music, it's hard to tell how it will be until you're in the moment. To this date, I have yet to have an experience (with just spice) that has been completely devoid of music, but as I said, that's just me and I'm a music-loving weirdo :d
peace
SB
