The Art of Listening

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
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Sarasota, FL
This is a good article. I find streaming causes a lot of hopping around. With vinyl, you sure won’t do that and with a CD, unlikely, but you may grab that remote. One of the reasons I love vinyl is that it literally forces you to listen to an album from start to finish.

Coronavirus tips: Why you should listen to music in this way - Los Angeles Times


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Mike said:
This is a good article. I find streaming causes a lot of hopping around. With vinyl, you sure won’t do that and with a CD, unlikely, but you may grab that remote. One of the reasons I love vinyl is that it literally forces you to listen to an album from start to finish.

Coronavirus tips: Why you should listen to music in this way - Los Angeles Times


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Well said, Mike. Exactly the same here. Vinyl calms the listening experience down.


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Mike said:
This is a good article. I find streaming causes a lot of hopping around. With vinyl, you sure won’t do that and with a CD, unlikely, but you may grab that remote. One of the reasons I love vinyl is that it literally forces you to listen to an album from start to finish.
Click to expand...

Exactly one of the main reasons I avoid vinyl. Life is too short to listen to boring tracks.
 
IMO, there’s more to an album than our favorite songs. Listening is a journey. Albums make more sense as an entity. By listening to all the tracks on an album you may better understand the artist’s vision and intention. You also may discover some hidden gems.
 
The most irritating (neurotic?) habits I've observed are those that skip tracks or listen to only part of a track then play another the same way. I have to ask those people if they also watch a film from start to finish or do you fast forward to specific scenes, or when you read a book do you skip chapters? crazy.
 
ADHD is also a trait [emoji3].

But seriously, people’s preferences might differ. Some like the control, others prefer to immerse themselves in the album. Potayto/ potahto, I think Sinatra got it right.


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puroagave said:
The most irritating (neurotic?) habits I've observed are those that skip tracks or listen to only part of a track then play another the same way. I have to ask those people if they also watch a film from start to finish or do you fast forward to specific scenes, or when you read a book do you skip chapters? crazy.
Click to expand...

When eating a “fine” meal I don’t eat things I don’t like just because they were served up to me. I don’t go to a museum and stand in front of a painting I don’t like to try and figure out what the artist point of view was. I don’t finish a glass (actually the bottle) of wine I don’t care for just because it received a high rating. Off the top of my head I can’t think of an album, including greatest hits compilations from my favorite artists that there isn’t a track I would skip unless it was just background music.

Bottom line I don’t consume crap just because it is presented to me.
 
I don't find various types of media forcing me to change my listening habits. There are great albums that I gladly will listen to beginning to end whether it was presented on Qobuz/CD/Record or even a gramophone if that was the only way.. One advantage to streaming is that I didn't have to pay money for an album that I now have to skip tracks on. Streaming leads to a lot of discovery and yes, part of that may be skipping around a lot. I have days of discovering new artists and I have days of appreciating my old and new albums in whole.
 
Back in the ‘old days’ when I had a turntable I would listen to an entire album, at least once. After that I would mostly only listen to the songs I liked. More than a few albums, and styluses, got trashed as I accidentally dropped the arm on it. Granted, some albums, and genres, are meant to be listened to from start to finish, but most other albums are just a collection of songs; some good, some bad. Now I just add a downloaded or ripped album to a playlist, and I play it on random shuffle. This even works for classical music, which I think is interesting. Now I can sit comatose for hours just listening to music.
 
i listen 30 hours a week. in my dedicated 2-channel only room. about 1/3rd is multi-tasking, web-surfing and posting while listening, or reading. getting caught up early morning or early evening. mostly that time is digital playlist time, or could be anything.

but 2/3rd of the time i'm just focused on listening, but this can run the gamut of various agendas, which can include selecting tracks, or multiple versions of compositions. in other words i'm somewhat investigating or listening for something. but then there is pure all the way through vinyl or digital album lay back and music wash over me listening. i try to reach a zen state of my senses shut down and just connect subconsciously. i listen to albums all the way through, or with digital might be multiple albums. hard to get to the zen state if i'm switching tracks constantly. it's after these sessions that i'm the most satisfied......but i'm not always in the mood to go there. i just follow my feelings.

so the music can fulfill me on multiple levels in multiple ways.

no right or wrong, no rules. but after 20 years of this level of listening 52 weeks a year i'm as excited to listen tonight, or more excited to listen tonight, than ever before. it's a beautiful thing. and i never take it for granted. i'm lucky to be able to do it. i shut the world out and just do my thing. no worries.
 
Mike said:
This is a good article. I find streaming causes a lot of hopping around. With vinyl, you sure won’t do that and with a CD, unlikely, but you may grab that remote. One of the reasons I love vinyl is that it literally forces you to listen to an album from start to finish.

Coronavirus tips: Why you should listen to music in this way - Los Angeles Times


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

I think I must be somewhat different here, as even when listening to my digital gear, I still generally listen to albums all the way through, and rarely do snippets of music. There are times when I do not want to pick my music, then it is over to things like Radio Paradise, Linn radio, or others that are programmed choices. The analog/vinyl side of things do provide a sort of zen like thing for me, just a different mind thing I suppose.
 
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