Have you ever found a new appreciation for a song/album by hearing it somewhere else?

[AeonicSlumber]

I've been spinning Mike Oldfield's new album "Man on The Rocks" a lot lately. I got it on release because I always liked his stuff, and he's a legend in prog rock, so if you're not hip to his music, I highly recommend checking out this new one. Everyone knows him in some form or another because of "Tubular Bells" - but his more recent works are great as well.

However, I've been listening to Man on The Rocks a LOT more than usual lately after gaining a new appreciation for the record after a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which used the song "Nuclear". This happens to me every once in a while. I'll dig a song and pass it over, but occasionally I'll rediscover it somewhere else due to some sort of new plug - whether it's plugged in a trailer for a movie or game, or I hear it on the radio, and it just gels with me. I go from liking it, to loving it.

Does this happen to you guys? I feel like a lot of people (especially in metal) will refuse to admit this phenomena affects them because of false pretenses of "authenticity" in how they discover music. What do you think?

 

[General Zod]

Definitely. Occasionally I listen to satellite radio and purposefully do not look at the artist name. I think it's pretty easy to color your judgement with preconceived notions. For instance, I really enjoy the latest Avenged Sevenfold record. I heard "Hail to the King" without knowing it was them. I had always had this idea in my head that they were essentially a metal boyband. And while I still think their songwriting is failry derivative, they're very good at what they do and the vocals are excellent.

 

[TheLongshot]

The nice thing about going to Anime conventions and watching the AMV contest is that you get taken out of your usual comfort level for music. For example, I kinda dig Thirty Seconds To Mars' "This Is War" for that reason. It is also partially how I discovered Muse (That, and Guitar Hero).

And that Metal Gear Solid trailer also motivated me to go back and listen to King Crimson's "Epitath", because it is an awesome song.

 

[sccaldwell]

Agreed. I keep have a playlist in iTunes/iPhone called "Unlistened," which is mostly CDs I've bought, and either not listened to at all yet or only listened to once or twice (and/or as background while doing something else, aka not really paying attention). ProgPower contributes greatly to the need for this playlist.

Sometimes I'll put that on shuffle and hear an AWESOME song, look at the phone, and it'll be a CD I DID listen to a couple of times, wasn't impressed, but never took it out of the playlist. I'll give it another full listen, and be surprised at why it didn't grab me the first time or two.

As was said…preconceived notions can certain color one's listening experience...

Craig

 

[orcslayr23]

This happens to me when I see a band live. At first I wonder why the hell they'd play a certain song, but after the show i'd give it a few listens and then usually like it more than before.

 

[Charles Muller]

My son does this to me all the time. He'll fire up something from the cloud and after his reply to "Who's that?", I'll think, hell, I've got that cd! But the last time this happened to me (about a year ago) where it bug'd the crap out of me, I was gettin' some grub at the local Kroger and they had this white noise going overhead and a few days later, I couldn't remember what the hell song it was. I just knew the background brass section had a permanent gig in the center of my brain. About ten days later, I figured it out and ordered Bowie's 1984 Tonight cd. Now, the rest of that album sucks for me, but that one song Blue Jean with that bottom-end brass section just kills and damn near drove me bat-shit for two weeks.