have you forgotten how to listen to music?

[JayKeeley]

Do you collect more than you listen? I think I now limit my buys to about 15 albums per year max. Beyond that, I don't know how I could dedicate any real commitment to listening.

I'm still digesting several albums from last year. Take Negura Bunget's "OM" for example. This will take years before I fully appreciate it.

I remember the old days when you'd buy an album, fall in love with it, and listen to it over and over until you knew every single nuance. [/oldman]

 

[lurch70]

I remember the old days when you'd buy an album, fall in love with it, and listen to it over and over until you knew every single nuance.

that's because in the old days bands weren't trying to create from the head but rather from the heart ... everything was easier to digest.

I think I bought 6 cd's this year ... heard a lot more than that but nothing that made me realyl stand up and really take notice.

 

[General Zod]

Do you collect more than you listen? I think I now limit my buys to about 15 albums per year max. Beyond that, I don't know how I could dedicate any real commitment to listening.

You buy 15, but how many new releases do you listen to? How much time is spent listening to some band you've never heard of, because people on RC are splooging over it, as opposed to CDs you've own? That's the real question.

I'm still digesting several albums from last year. Take Negura Bunget's "OM" for example. This will take years before I fully appreciate it.

If I live to be 1,000, I suspect I may not live long enough to appreciate anything by NB.

I remember the old days when you'd buy an album, fall in love with it, and listen to it over and over until you knew every single nuance. [/oldman]

There was less to listen to and more time to listen. Plus, when you're a kid, everything is new. You're not caught up in who a band's influences are, because it all sounds fresh, as if it was wholly inspired.

Zod

 

[IOfTheStorm]

I still listen to music almost in the same way i always did. Funny thing is though, that i make the most continuous listening sessions to albums i already love and just "dig them out of the dust" once in a while (while = month, year).

 

[Ars Magna]

I remember the old days when you'd buy an album, fall in love with it, and listen to it over and over until you knew every single nuance. [/oldman]

It was much easier to do because there were far fewer releases back in the day. When I was in my teens (mid 1980's), there were just a handful of labels releasing things I was interested in. Today there are literally hundreds. Technology has allowed bands and labels alike to pop up everywhere and release things much more frequently. On one hand, I love it because there is so much more out there. On the other, I hate it because there is so much more out there.

 

[NAD]

I remember the old days when you'd buy an album, fall in love with it, and listen to it over and over until you knew every single nuance. [/oldman]

Yep.

On one hand, I love it because there is so much more out there. On the other, I hate it because there is so much more out there.

Yep.

I'm getting back to where I used to be these days, only buying probably 40 albums a year, and properly absorbing a good chunk of those. hahahaha "only" that's awesome.

 

[Tranquillian]

Do you collect more than you listen?

Yes and no. I buy between 60-80 albums a year and that is probably twice as many as I should.

I could probably reduce it by 20 a year if I wasn't a completionist. If I start collecting a band and think they're better than the average (of my collection) I usually end up buying the whole discography pretty quickly. The number of bands that I go through this routine with add up over the years. For instance, I got the new In Aeternum minicd in the mail today, and I hardly ever listen to their old stuff. And I got their whole discography...

I keep the newest additions to my collection by my bedside so I can listen to them when I go to bed at night. I have around 75 cds there at all times, so in a way I am working my way through the collection and digesting it. Unfortunately I can't keep up with the pace with which I order new cds.

 

[swizzlenuts]

No, because even if you are buying too many albums, you are still supporting the bands and the labels. Which makes it okay.

 

[Hell Mike]

For instance, I got the new In Aeternum minicd in the mail today, and I hardly ever listen to their old stuff. And I got their whole discography...

Have you seen their tour diary thing? I never bothered listening to the band, but that video is pure fekkin gold.
It used to be on their website but I can't seem to find it now, too bad!

 

[Tranquillian]

Yes, I have it burned on a dvd-r video compilation.

 

[JayKeeley]

You buy 15, but how many new releases do you listen to? How much time is spent listening to some band you've never heard of, because people on RC are splooging over it, as opposed to CDs you've own? That's the real question.

Right, and the new stuff is just a distraction 90% of the time. We all have a yearning to constantly find the next great thing, but in the meantime, we're missing out on all the great things we already own.

Then again, it's a slight catch 22 because your collection will stop if you don't keep searching. I think that is nirvana - to be happy with what you own and then. just. stop.

You would pick up new releases again once you have truly exhausted all that you currently own.

 

[JayKeeley]

It was much easier to do because there were far fewer releases back in the day. When I was in my teens (mid 1980's), there were just a handful of labels releasing things I was interested in. Today there are literally hundreds. Technology has allowed bands and labels alike to pop up everywhere and release things much more frequently.

It's also easier and cheaper to release stuff and in turn there's a lot more crap out there.

I would guess that back in the day, a band needed to be something pretty damn special to be picked up by a record label, and in turn, they were probably releasing a pretty decent record.

I don't have stats but I would bet my left nut that the CRAP to AWESOME ratio is significantly higher today.

Anyway, we digress.

TRUE OR FALSE: It's better to listen and absorb 10 great albums a year than spread your time thinly across 100 releases and not really get a good grip on any of them.

 

[Hell Mike]

TRUE OR FALSE: It's better to listen and absorb 10 great albums a year than spread your time thinly across 100 releases and not really get a good grip on any of them.

Absolutely true, but something in between is what I look for - I don't mind not knowing every single detail of the good albums, they stay interesting for a longer time that way, plus you get to explore a wider range of bands/albums and thus get a bigger chance to hit the motherlode

EDIT: Plus I think it's important not to forget about all your old albums just because you keep getting new ones, I make a point of looking over my stuff once in a while and spin old gold I haven't played for a while as well as digging up stuff that got shelved much too fast. Not having a music-ready computer for the last few weeks has really been good for getting some vinyls I don't have digitally played a bit more.

 

[circus_brimstone]

TRUE OR FALSE: It's better to listen and absorb 10 great albums a year than spread your time thinly across 100 releases and not really get a good grip on any of them.

It depends on how you prefer to listen, and how fast you absorb music. I digest music very quickly, so I can get a solid grip on an album in a short amount of time, which makes it easy for me to drift from album to album quickly. With that said, I can't really answer your question because I'm somewhere in the middle of both scenarios.

Still, I must admit that the amount of music, and books for that matter, that's available is overwhelming. It's getting to the point where I don't want to discover new stuff due to money, time, etc. It's a never ending thing, though. There's just too much to hear/read it all.

 

[Reign in Acai]

The thread title should be renamed, "have you forgotten how to purchase music?". How else will you know what gems lie in the rough unless you're sitting around like a coffeehouse noodle dancer listening to 192kbps mp3s all day? Fuck that, to get the full experience of the album I need the thing in my hands, playing on you guessed it, "a stereo". Then and only then may I be able to judge the merit of an album, in the true way Odin intended. If you're going to limit yourself to purchasing solely masterpieces, a large amount of worthy artists are left out in the cold, and you yourself will be missing out on a tremendous amount of fine tunes, by focusing on dissecting one ad nauseum. I've purchased 80 to 100 albums this year I'd fair to say, the half dozen who deserve the extra love were granted their alone time I assure ye.

Still, I must admit that the amount of music, and books for that matter, that's available is overwhelming. It's getting to the point where I don't want to discover new stuff due to money, time, etc. It's a never ending thing, though. There's just too much to hear/read it all.

Which is the main reason why we should attempt to absorb as much as we can. We're on this planet to learn and discover as much as our allotted time is able to permit.

I would guess that back in the day, a band needed to be something pretty damn special to be picked up by a record label, and in turn, they were probably releasing a pretty decent record.

Back in the day you didn't have a cavalcade of albums galloping past your door either. Being plugged in to the worldwideweb changed everything you knew, learn to accept it like Everlost did with Gay Sex. Personally, I believe this is less about the absorption of music, and more about you longing for your teen years, when times were far more simple. [/Dr. Phil]

 

[General Zod]

We all have a yearning to constantly find the next great thing, but in the meantime, we're missing out on all the great things we already own.

I'd say it's closer to a full blown addiction than a yearning.

Then again, it's a slight catch 22 because your collection will stop if you don't keep searching. I think that is nirvana - to be happy with what you own and then. just. stop.

Every so often, I toy with the idea of just taking a year off from buying new CDs or downloading anything, and just absorbing what's already in my music collection. However, that idea quickly passes.

TRUE OR FALSE: It's better to listen and absorb 10 great albums a year than spread your time thinly across 100 releases and not really get a good grip on any of them.

True... mostly.

And of course, the great Catch 22 in all of this is, how do you know when you missed something brilliant, because you didn't give it enough of a chance?

I really need to win the lottery (hey... all you need is a dollar and a poor understanding of statistical probability) so I can sit in front of my PC, 18 hours a day, listening to RC recos, until I look like this:

Zod

 

[Krilons Resa]

 

[skeptik]

I think that I truly have forgotten how to listen music. Earlier on, I was trying to spin the Satan - Into The Future LP and I damn near cut my wrist open with the needle. When I finally got it on, after trying to play a CD on the record player first, I just walked out of the room.

Any advice on how to listen to music? I've totally fucked up.

 

[Reign in Acai]

Tip #67

Volume adds so much to music.

 

[Caelum Adustum]

I've made the decision to purchase much less albums than I have been since April or so. Focus on only getting the stuff that really matters (Nasheim/Angantyr and Lethal namely, and not in a gay way ) and listen more to stuff I seldom listen to. You know, not be as worried about having an awesome collection of stuff I barely get around to as I have been somewhat materialistic of late.