Listening to albums in their entirety...

SATCHMO · 09-21-2010, 07:35 PM

I can be impatient and skip songs, but I'd prefer that I didn't do that. I do like to look at an album as something that is both a whole piece of music and--if the structure applies, a collection of smaller pieces of music. I think it's good to appreciate both aspects.

OctaneHugo · 09-21-2010, 07:45 PM

Like how suffering through 8 minutes of Moonchild makes In the Court of the Crimson King that much sweeter.

crash_override · 09-21-2010, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctaneHugo

Like how suffering through 8 minutes of Moonchild makes In the Court of the Crimson King that much sweeter.

YES!!! Thank you. The only weak spot on the whole album, but you can't have sweet without the sour...

TheCunningStunt · 09-21-2010, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctaneHugo

Like how suffering through 8 minutes of Moonchild makes In the Court of the Crimson King that much sweeter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crash_override

YES!!! Thank you. The only weak spot on the whole album, but you can't have sweet without the sour...

ITCOTCK would be flawless if it wasn't for them 8 minutes. That said, when you listen to it... you feel bored.
Then the last song just... hits you.
Which is nice.

crash_override · 09-21-2010, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCunningStunt

ITCOTCK would be flawless if it wasn't for them 8 minutes. That said, when you listen to it... you feel bored.
Then the last song just... hits you.
Which is nice.

It can be a real buzz kill though.

edit: I just put on the album and remembered how ****ing incredible Greg Lake is as a bassist. His bass lines on that album are epic.

Anteater · 09-21-2010, 10:22 PM

Hmn, I actually like those eight minutes on 'Moonchild'.

But then again, I don't mind listening to random noodling if the song itself interests me. The ambiance serves itself and whatever mood or activity I happen to be engaged in with grand panache.

~~someonecompletelyrandom~~ · 09-21-2010, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctaneHugo

AN ALBUM IS MADE OF A COLLECTION OF SONGS
SONGS VARY IN QUALITY AND SOME ARE VERY GOOD WHILST SOME VERY BAD
WHILE LISTENING TO AN ALBUM IS COOL SOMETIMES A SONG IS STUCK IN MY HEAD OR I WANT TO LISTEN TO IT WITHOUT LISTENING TO 4800 MINUTES OF OTHER SONGS THAT I HAVE NO DESIRE TO LISTEN TO AT THAT PRECISE MOMENT
FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER I MAY WANT TO LISTEN TO A SPECIFIC SONG OR A WHOLE ALBUM

HOWEVER WHEN FIRST APPROACHING AN ARTIST IT IS BEST TO LISTEN TO ONE OF THEIR ALBUMS ALL THE WAY THROUGH* TO GAIN FAMILIARITY WITH IT BUT AFTER THAT YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH IT

*UNLESS THE FIRST FEW TRACKS ARE GARBAGE THEN YOU CAN PROBABLY TOSS IT AND RANT ABOUT YOUR INCOMPARABLE HATRED OF ARTISTNAME - ALBUMNAME

Lol, the voice in my head made that sound like a military instruction brief.

To answer the question posed by the thread...

I do like to listen to albums in their entirety. Like Satchmo, I don't have songs in my collection. It's all in album format. As far as singles go, I treat them just like albums and give them a seperate folder and .jpg. That being said, I've got to agree with OctaneHugo and few others in saying that often times I can't be bothered to listen to whole albums. So after I've already given something two or three solid listens, I can pretty much pick it apart.

In addition, I like to use my collection as a radio. I'll put the whole thing on shuffle and since I haven't actually gotten around to listening to a lot of it (I just download and store for later) something will usually come on that I haven't heard before that prompts me to give whatever album it's from a solid listen. It's like having my own private last.fm...

sidewinder · 09-22-2010, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

In addition, I like to use my collection as a radio. I'll put the whole thing on shuffle and since I haven't actually gotten around to listening to a lot of it (I just download and store for later) something will usually come on that I haven't heard before that prompts me to give whatever album it's from a solid listen. It's like having my own private last.fm...

I do this a lot when I'm at home and have the whole library at my disposal. Sometimes it's because I can't decide on an album to play. Sometimes it's because I don't intend to be home long enough to listen to a whole album. Sometimes it's so I can hear some songs I haven't heard yet so I can pick a new album to add to my rotation.

jaxwired · 09-23-2010, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidewinder

It really bothers me when people say that they do this after just ONE listen. Makes me want to cry a little for their loss.

Totally agree. Some of the very best music of all time requires multiple listens to fall in love with it. In fact, I would say that most of the very best music has this character. An example from this decade would be Bon Iver which on first listen will leave most people saying WTF, yet is considered to be a masterpiece by many fans. I guess what I'm saying is, often truly great music is an acquired taste, but once acquired hits harder, goes deeper, and satisfies longer.

Music that is instantly engaging on first listen is fun, but it's often superficial and quickly looses it's appeal on repeated listens.

Radiohead · 09-24-2010, 09:51 PM

There are certain albums/CD's I own that I almost have to skip thru them because some songs I'm either tired of or they are unlistenable. Most were purchased long ago based on ONE song I liked, and they were usually one hit wonders. Thanks to the internet I can sample them now. However, the digital download has helped to make listening to full albums a non-starter for many young people. Are there any acts with the guts to tell iTunes "it's all or nothing...no single song downloads"?

09-21-2010, 07:45 PM	#32 (permalink)
OctaneHugo Goes back & does it again Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: philadelphia Posts: 807	Like how suffering through 8 minutes of Moonchild makes In the Court of the Crimson King that much sweeter. __________________ If Any Major Dude Has Yet To Tell You, Click Here

09-21-2010, 07:35 PM	#31 (permalink)
SATCHMO Al Dente Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 4,708	I can be impatient and skip songs, but I'd prefer that I didn't do that. I do like to look at an album as something that is both a whole piece of music and--if the structure applies, a collection of smaller pieces of music. I think it's good to appreciate both aspects.

09-24-2010, 09:51 PM	#40 (permalink)
Radiohead Groupie Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 15	There are certain albums/CD's I own that I almost have to skip thru them because some songs I'm either tired of or they are unlistenable. Most were purchased long ago based on ONE song I liked, and they were usually one hit wonders. Thanks to the internet I can sample them now. However, the digital download has helped to make listening to full albums a non-starter for many young people. Are there any acts with the guts to tell iTunes "it's all or nothing...no single song downloads"?