In the age of unlimited listening choice...

[Magpel]

Do you have to force yourself to focus on an album in a way that used to come more easily because choices were fewer?

 

Growing up, accumulating a modest record collection of maybe a couple hundred, I would really bathe in my favorite music, daily. I mean of those couple hundred records, there were quite a few---as many as half--that didn't score with me. That sucked. You wanted total engagement out of every album you bought.

 

Hell, I'm not embarrassed to admit that as a 13-year old, I stacked Kansas' Leftoverture, Song For America, and Masque on my stackable record player every night when I went bed. For, like, a year and a half. How deeply emblazoned is that sh*t? Inescapably emblazoned, no matter how much I might protest to prefer The Clash...

 

Later it was Little Feat's Last Record Album. In college, its Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom. And on and on.

 

Now I sit at my work desk and range widely through time and space with Rhapsody, "saving" favorites but rarely backtracking. In a way, it's an age-appropriate thing. When I was young I was tuning my ears to perceive details, to learn how to really listen to ensemble arrangements, internalizing a lot. Now, I kinda have got those tools, so I don't play favorites. I am out to hear as much different stuff as possible, declaring allegiance to none of it, taking a rather light print from each, instead the almost violent, prolonged inter-penetration of self and song that I practiced when young.

 

Or is another technology thing? A not-necessarily-healthy thing, like buying a new poorly made toaster oven every year? Or whatever...is there something to be said for the days when you worked with what you had? Got more musical experience out of less source material? Or rather, the days when there was a larger gap, a higher latency if you will, between wanting to hear and hearing, between wanting and getting?

[Guitzilla]

I'm excited by what technology has brought to the table. Growing up, music access was limited to what I could buy locally (pop or country.) Now, I have bluegrass, Latin, Irish, and tons of other music from all over the world.

[the stranger]

Oh yeah, maybe perceptions are changing. I would even attribute the lack of attention to art as a cultural shift (a bad one, imo).

 

[these thoughs are just from the title, and preview line. I'll go read the post now]

[the stranger]

 

Growing up, accumulating a modest record collection of maybe a couple hundred, I would really bathe in my favorite music, daily. I mean of those couple hundred records, there were quite a few---as many as half--that didn't score with me. That sucked. You wanted total engagement out of every album you bought.

 

 

I still do it every day. Why stop? I've listened to Nancy Sinatra walking them boots probably thousands of times. And I just got hung up on that song six months ago or so.

 

And I still buy albums blind, but not like I did back in the day when something that looked cool and might have been on a good label. Where can a person even find recorded music anyway? It's sure sad to see the death of physical media.

 

Ok, I'm gonna go start a thread about the death of physical media and then I'll read the rest of this post.

[blue2blue]

Do you have to force yourself to focus on an album in a way that used to come more easily because choices were fewer? Growing up, accumulating a modest record collection of maybe a couple hundred, I would really bathe in my favorite music, daily. I mean of those couple hundred records, there were quite a few---as many as half--that didn't score with me. That sucked. You wanted total engagement out of every album you bought. Hell, I'm not embarrassed to admit that as a 13-year old, I stacked Kansas' Leftoverture , Song For America , and Masque on my stackable record player every night when I went bed. For, like, a year and a half. How deeply emblazoned is that sh*t? Inescapably emblazoned, no matter how much I might protest to prefer The Clash... Later it was Little Feat's Last Record Album . In college, its Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom . And on and on. Now I sit at my work desk and range widely through time and space with Rhapsody, "saving" favorites but rarely backtracking. In a way, it's an age-appropriate thing. When I was young I was tuning my ears to perceive details, to learn how to really listen to ensemble arrangements, internalizing a lot. Now, I kinda have got those tools, so I don't play favorites. I am out to hear as much different stuff as possible, declaring allegiance to none of it, taking a rather light print from each, instead the almost violent, prolonged inter-penetration of self and song that I practiced when young. Or is another technology thing? A not-necessarily-healthy thing, like buying a new poorly made toaster oven every year? Or whatever...is there something to be said for the days when you worked with what you had? Got more musical experience out of less source material? Or rather, the days when there was a larger gap, a higher latency if you will, between wanting to hear and hearing , between wanting and getting?

 

Don't know how long you've been doing the subscription music thing, but for me what you're describing was kind of a phase I went through.

 

I was just so delighted to be able to hear all kinds of stuff I'd never heard -- as well as old faves I hadn't heard in decades -- I was jumping around constantly... I almost never listened to a whole album of anything.

 

But that was four years (and a couple services) ago. I'm kind of settled in and I now find myself treating Rhapsody like I used to my record collection -- except that I can shuffle and playlist in a way that transcends the physical boundaries of the record and tape playing paradigm.

 

But nowadays it's become quite common for me to put on a whole album by someone, maybe a fave, maybe someone new, and listen straight through. (Just as common, admittedly, with someone unfamilar, to grab a bunch or all their albums and scramble them, or even to grab the top 25 -- although that's often problematic as there will be a couple versions of their big hits or just greatest hits copies.)

 

One strategy that sounds cynical but holds up pretty well is, with someone unfamilar, to focus on the first two to four albums. Let's face it, a lot of bands shoot their... uh... best stuff early.

 

 

PS... What you listened to at 13 was hip compared to some of the stuff I listened to at 13. While I did get into bossa nova, folk and jazz in my jr high years, I also was listening to what was, effectively, straight up elevator music, hits of the day and standards done by outfits like the 101 Strings and Mantovani... so, you know. It is a long and winding road from Mantovani to Pere Ubu or John Zorn, but I got there.

[Jimbroni]

Its funny you mention that about early releases that is. I've found that often a Bands best album is usually their 3rd release. Not always but quite often.

 

Regarding subscriptions maybe I'm an anomaly, but I subscribe to emusic and I still download entire albums rather than tracks. In fact I have many albums, I've downloaded but not yet heard. Because I still enjoy listening to entire albums and when I hear something that moves me, I play it over and over. So I end up, not getting around to some, because next month I got 4 more in the queue.

 

I don't get into the skipping around thing, I will do the party shuffle occasionally.

[Guitzilla]

One thing I've noticed is that I'm starting to delve into an artists entire catalog. I might listen to 4-5 albums in a row by the same artist. Listening to an artist grow and change can be fascinating.

Brian

[blue2blue]

One thing I've noticed is that I'm starting to delve into an artists entire catalog. I might listen to 4-5 albums in a row by the same artist. Listening to an artist grow and change can be fascinating. Brian

I do that sometimes just because I can't get enough of an artist.

 

I'd never owned a Blossom Dearie album in my life -- I remember the first time one of my older, hipster pals played her for me, back around '71... I so did not get it.

 

 

But now... she slays me. I love that gal.

 

Lots of others, too.

 

For instance, even though I generally disdain mainstream contemporary rock, I got turned on to Modest Mouse by a couple of old coots (probably 20 years my junior, mind you) complaining about how awful they were in some SNL or other appearance -- and it sounded like just my thing. It was. I'll load up all their albums but the live one and the new one (which is hideously squashed; I've listened to it twice and I think I'd like it but it's simply just horrible to try to listen to, extremely unpleasant) and put it on scramble and let it roll until my mood changes. (One thing I like about the Rhapsody player is that it has a semi-decent shuffle and doesn't usually repeat anything unless the repeat button is on.)

[the stranger]

 

One thing I've noticed is that I'm starting to delve into an artists entire catalog. I might listen to 4-5 albums in a row by the same artist. Listening to an artist grow and change can be fascinating. Brian

 

 

I always do that, in the sense that I get hyper focused on one thing for a while, then I move on.

[Kendrix]

It can take time to really fall in love with a piece of music - to get intimate with it. Its quite rare these days for me to get to that point with any new material. I just dont have the time. This is completely independent of technology.

 

I shun MP3's cause I value quality over portability. Dinosaur that I am I still buy albums/CD's. However, I just don't ever get the time for repeated listening of the sort you describe from the old days. The chance of really getting to know tune #15 on a 50 minute CD is near zero. Maybe if /when I ever retire....

 

I still think the 20 minute album side is about the right amount of material for a one-sitting listen. I think 6-8 song EP's priced right could do well for the CD format- for this reason.

[Magpel]

 

It can take time to really fall in love with a piece of music - to get intimate with it.

 

 

Thank you, this is one of the things that can be lost or slighted.

 

And, by extension, I am of the mind that I was more inclined to develop a relationship with an album when music was in shorter supply.

 

I used to hold it as truth that I didn't even like most of my favorite albums on the first few listens. Something about getting past my own expectations. Also something about the wilier charms of the music I tend to go for. I need to get back there.

[Lee Knight]

This is one reason I've avoided subscription up to this point. On one hand, almost unlimited access to all music is appealing. But on the other hand it's distracting too.

 

Yesterday I bought a Chet Baker CD and the new Jonatha Brooke CD, The Works. Her music to the lyrics of Woody Guthrie. Both albums deserve repeated listening. And I owe it to myself to invest time in both of those CDs.

 

The Baker is already ingrained to a degree from the past but still, I listened through 2 1/2 times yesterday. I got more out of it on 2nd listen. I listened deeper, past his cool voice and horn to Russ Freeman's piano. Awesome.

 

The Jonatha Brooke? Well, it needs to be listened to several times. I got in 2 full listens yesterday as well. The melodies and harmony against those melodies, do not hit you over the head. But the melodies are deep and insightful. Christian McBride, Gadd, Joe Sample. This is not that different than hearing some mid period Joni Mitchell, though they sound nothing alike.

 

You listen more and more and you hear more and more. What at first sounded meandering now sounds right. A longer form perhaps, but with repeated listening, that longer arc in the melody sounds familiar and is far more rewarding than the quick sell tune. That prolonged suspension is heard now with the knowledge of where it's headed. And you enjoy the ride more. And you still hear it anew each time if it's good. The Jonatha Brookes is good by the way.

 

All that would have been lost without my personal commitment to the albums. So I do feel the easy access can be distracting and encourage you too quick of a perusal. Sometimes you need time to focus and truly soak up an artist's work. Without distraction.

[blue2blue]

I think one tends to get over the distraction thing with subscription after a while.

 

It's kind of like how if you work in an ice cream parlor they let you have anything you want so that you get sick of it right off the top.

 

Back in vinyl days, I got in the habit of almost never listening to the same album twice in one day. It started out for two reasons... when I was a kid I was extremely compulsive/obsessive and at some points in elementary school would just put my favorite single on the changer and play it over and over again automatically.

 

When I became a hi fi buff, I became obsessed with preserving my records and, of course, it was generally accepted that playing a vinyl record twice in a day led to greatly increased wear. (A common piece of advice was to let your vinyl 'rest' for at least 24-48 hours between playings.)

 

So my obsession with preserving the records actually helped me conquer my habit of obsessively playing them.

 

 

With regard to buying albums -- when I moved I had occasion to look through all of the 1600 LPs and 500 or so CDs I'd accumulated and it was really depressing how many I'd only played a few times. I got rid of a bunch and vowed to never buy stuff unless I knew I wanted it (since by then it was possbile to at least hear snips of stuff).

 

 

With regard to the sonic quality of the music on Rhapsody... it appears to be around at least 192 kbps and it's WMA, an 'advanced' codec that delivers generally better fidelity per bps than an MP3. On my regular listening rig (EQ-compensated NS10m's via a decent class A amp) these are generally all but indistinguishable from the same material on CD in a blind test for me. It's nothing like the very easy-to-hear degradation in a 128 kbps Mp3, I assure you.

[philbo]

I used to listen to later Beatles stuff, early Pink Floyd and the Mothers of Invention for a several dozen hours a week during my 'head candy' days, around '66 to '76...

 

Now (many years later) I still tend to burn a few albums into my head by repeated listening. Recently: Alan Parsons 'On Air', Todd Rundgrens first 'Utopia' album, the album Eric & JJ Cale made together a couple years ago, and most of the Steely Dan catalog, various Jazz albums, Bela Flecks '3 Flew over the Cuckoos Nest', and a few others.

 

Something very special in the music has to trip my attention for me to add it to this list. I don't know how to define it; it's something different for each artist. Very very few make the cut...

[Tusks]

I think the variety of choices, we have, coupled with the contexts in which we listen (we are frequently multi-tasking) must result in us selecting different kinds of music to listen to. A piece of music, to be successful, must grab our attention, and touch us as deeply as it can. Otherwise, we will never come back for a second date.

 

I can't imagine the music is either better or worse. We have made the societal choices that make certain kinds of culture successful. I do think the pendulum will swing back toward forms of community musical experience. And that will be good for society. Of course music that everyone can understand, and everyone can sing is often .........

 

 

Jerry

[Ernest Buckley]

 

Do you have to force yourself to focus on an album in a way that used to come more easily because choices were fewer? Growing up, accumulating a modest record collection of maybe a couple hundred, I would really bathe in my favorite music, daily. I mean of those couple hundred records, there were quite a few---as many as half--that didn't score with me. That sucked. You wanted total engagement out of every album you bought. Hell, I'm not embarrassed to admit that as a 13-year old, I stacked Kansas' Leftoverture , Song For America , and Masque on my stackable record player every night when I went bed. For, like, a year and a half. How deeply emblazoned is that sh*t? Inescapably emblazoned, no matter how much I might protest to prefer The Clash... Later it was Little Feat's Last Record Album . In college, its Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom . And on and on. Now I sit at my work desk and range widely through time and space with Rhapsody, "saving" favorites but rarely backtracking. In a way, it's an age-appropriate thing. When I was young I was tuning my ears to perceive details, to learn how to really listen to ensemble arrangements, internalizing a lot. Now, I kinda have got those tools, so I don't play favorites. I am out to hear as much different stuff as possible, declaring allegiance to none of it, taking a rather light print from each, instead the almost violent, prolonged inter-penetration of self and song that I practiced when young. Or is another technology thing? A not-necessarily-healthy thing, like buying a new poorly made toaster oven every year? Or whatever...is there something to be said for the days when you worked with what you had? Got more musical experience out of less source material? Or rather, the days when there was a larger gap, a higher latency if you will, between wanting to hear and hearing , between wanting and getting?

 

 

Yes, with technology I have changed how I listen. I buy records from iTunes and if I love it, I`ll buy the CD. I still listen to records all the way through and live with them for a few days to a few weeks before judging them, then I`ll move on but I usually just buy songs these days unless its an artist I`m a fan of.

 

I have changed why I listen to records too. I used to listen for the pure pleasure, now I listen more to study different techniques from writing to production. I`ll throw my favorite tunes on my iPod and listen to the same thing for months.

 

Now for pleasure and peace, I usually shut all noise off.

[NewAquarius]

 

Now (many years later) I still tend to burn a few albums into my head by repeated listening. Recently: Alan Parsons 'On Air', Todd Rundgrens first 'Utopia' album, the album Eric & JJ Cale made together a couple years ago, and most of the Steely Dan catalog, various Jazz albums, Bela Flecks '3 Flew over the Cuckoos Nest', and a few others.

 

 

"City in my head..." That's what I'm talkin' about.

[Frantag]

 

Hell, I'm not embarrassed to admit that as a 13-year old, I stacked Kansas' Leftoverture , Song For America , and Masque on my stackable record player every night when I went bed. For, like, a year and a half. How deeply emblazoned is that sh*t? Inescapably emblazoned, no matter how much I might protest to prefer The Clash... Later it was Little Feat's Last Record Album . In college, its Elvis Costello's Imperial Bedroom . And on and on. Now I sit at my work desk and range widely through time and space with Rhapsody, "saving" favorites but rarely backtracking.

 

 

The thing I like about Rhapsody is the ability to tailor make channels based on other music. So take all the above and a channel will be created that makes a mix of artists and music that represent the crossections. If I have a whole day, I like to line up as many albums as I can listen to from one artist in the playlist. Then there was the time I put "Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie and listened to it for two solid hours on repeat. I like the flexibility that the subscriptions offer for different kinds of listening.

 

What I can't wait for is the music genome from Pandora being available to the subscription services. That will allow a lot of depth in playlist creation that we don't have now.

[MichaelSaulnier]

I believe a bit of what you're describing is based on changes that occur during childhood development.

 

Comparing my own development and interest in music with my adult perception of my two, now teenage children, I've noticed many differences in what, when, how, and how much music has impacted them at different ages.

 

For example, little kids, (under three), really like simplicity and repetition. There's a reason nursery rhymes are what they are. This is not a big surprise, you expect kids to like "kids" music. I was not expecting how intolerant my kids would be to "adult" music. They really objected to music other than theirs, and this would often result in no music at all if theirs wasn't available or appropriate. And they could listen to the same stuff for hours and hours on end... boredom seemed to have no place in their listening habits.

 

As they grew into pre-teens, they were heavily influenced by both popular culture and peers. In fact, it became very clear that both reinforced the others... to the extent that "outside" music, particularly "old people" music was not tolerated.

 

Now that they are in their teen years, I see a slowly growing exploration of music they would not have spent one second listening to before. My oldest, now 15 has found the fun in reggae... and 60 and 70's soul music has also become a growing part of her listening tastes.

 

I would expect, as I found in my own life, that as time moves forward her tastes will continue to expand as she finds the value and joy of more and more styles of music... while still retaining a preference for the music of her generation.

 

Now I don't want to make sweeping generalizations about everyone, but it seems rational to believe that music tastes evolve, and while fundamental tastes in music are deeply imprinted in the mid-teens to early 20's... it's not uncommon for many people to expand well beyond that as their mind and their tastes develop.

 

I also think as a person matures they often aren't as impacted by peer pressure as teens are... it's ok for an adult to like BOTH Sinatra and Metallica... but for a 16 year old... that doesn't compute.

 

I know quite a few former "metal-head" teens who have a fondness for that genre, but are no longer limiting themselves strictly to that music.

 

M

[eeglug]

We have Rhapsody at work pumping out over speakers for all to hear. I agree that it can tend to encourage you to pick & nibble like you're at a buffet table as opposed to communing with an album over a concentrated period of time. It's just too easy to abandon something based on a bad first impression and go in search of an ever-elusive instant gratification fix.

 

I also subscribe to emusic and find with all the music I am bombarded with at work, I don't feel like listening to music at home or even on my commute to and from work. At home, I'd rather work on my own music or just have silence while I do other things. So I have a backlog of stuff that I've downloaded from emusic that I need to get to.

 

One interesting thing regards my coworkers. I'm the oldest one (42) at this company - everyone else is closer to 25 or younger. Despite the near-infinite choice they have with Rhapsody, they each pick songs from a very narrow palate - to the point that we can all say "Oh Ryan put that song in the queue". In some cases they are picking the same set of songs to play everyday. So the young guys are voluntarily narrowing their choices in a way that we were forced to do when we were younger.

 

And they are most happy when they find a good band who is able to deliver an entire album of good stuff, as opposed to cherry-picking good songs from all over the place.