My New Year’s Resolution

W9TR

W9TR

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As the Sun sets on 2024 I was thinking about things I’d like to do in 2025.

Resolutions are fraught with baggage, so I usually don’t bother. But I think this is a good one:

Listen to one album, uninterrupted, start to finish, every day.

It seems a lot of things get in the way of me doing this. Dunno why. I’ve heard It helps to have a group of friends doing the same thing. So please join me if you are so inclined.

Happy Nee Year

Tom
 
Tom, while I like your idea, for me it wouldn't be practical. Now, at years end could I have listened to 365 albums start to finish, for sure ! There's one thing I noticed since I've started my streaming journey, I skip around, whereas when I listen to LP's it's start-to-finish, immersing myself in the entire album.
 
That's the one thing that I miss about vinyl just as much as the fact that it sounds so good - the fact that the exercise of finding that record, pulling it out of the case, cleaning it, placing it on the platter and lowering that tonearm then flipping and repeating is quite a bit of work, meaning that a person is far less likely to keep moving from tune to tune to tune.

Peoples' attention spans (including mine) are not what they used to be, and the magic of two or three clicks producing music as if it came out of the genie's lamp makes it even worse.

As a child of the 70's and those glorious album-rock radio stations, I well remember listening to entire albums and I like the idea of bring that practice back. Funny, really - I recall graduating from 45's to 33 RPM albums and how ecstatic I was with how long they played. Saving my money and going to the record store every Friday and getting in line, hoping I could get one of the copies of that new release. Looking at the cover, reading the liner notes, swaddling it like a newborn baby when I pull it out of the sleeve, the kind of wild anticipation - that I was about to experience something fantastic - that I've never experienced with digital music.

The biggest inconvenience that I can recall was never quite knowing if two dimes or a nickel was the proper amount of weight to tape to the headshell to keep the record from skipping....
 
Not if your intent is to listen to the entire album! This is a favorite past time of mine, even with streaming.

I like doing this, because many songs that you may have previously not paid that much attention too, as your life/rig progresses? That obscure song now becomes a hidden gem that was always there and it makes you appreciate the album that much more.

Tom
 
I have never understood why some find it so hard to listen to an album straight through, regardless of the medium? I listen to about 7-8 hours of music most days (not counting time when some music is playing as background) and the vast majority of that time is listening to complete albums.
 
W9TR said:
As the Sun sets on 2024 I was thinking about things I’d like to do in 2025.

Resolutions are fraught with baggage, so I usually don’t bother. But I think this is a good one:

Listen to one album, uninterrupted, start to finish, every day.

It seems a lot of things get in the way of me doing this. Dunno why. I’ve heard It helps to have a group of friends doing the same thing. So please join me if you are so inclined.

Happy Nee Year

Tom
Click to expand...

Streaming has fundamentally changed the way we consume music, often shifting the focus from albums as cohesive works of art to individual tracks, playlists, and algorithm-driven discovery. As a result, most music albums today, IMO are not meant to be listened in one go.

Of course listening to classical music is different since the listener will most likely want to listen to the entire work (like a symphony). Streaming actually makes it easier to listen to an entire symphony uninterrupted (no need to flip an LP or change CDs).

Kudos to you for fighting back the trend!
 
JCS123 said:
That's the one thing that I miss about vinyl just as much as the fact that it sounds so good - the fact that the exercise of finding that record, pulling it out of the case, cleaning it, placing it on the platter and lowering that tonearm then flipping and repeating is quite a bit of work, meaning that a person is far less likely to keep moving from tune to tune to tune.

Peoples' attention spans (including mine) are not what they used to be, and the magic of two or three clicks producing music as if it came out of the genie's lamp makes it even worse.

As a child of the 70's and those glorious album-rock radio stations, I well remember listening to entire albums and I like the idea of bring that practice back. Funny, really - I recall graduating from 45's to 33 RPM albums and how ecstatic I was with how long they played. Saving my money and going to the record store every Friday and getting in line, hoping I could get one of the copies of that new release. Looking at the cover, reading the liner notes, swaddling it like a newborn baby when I pull it out of the sleeve, the kind of wild anticipation - that I was about to experience something fantastic - that I've never experienced with digital music.

The biggest inconvenience that I can recall was never quite knowing if two dimes or a nickel was the proper amount of weight to tape to the headshell to keep the record from skipping....
Click to expand...

Your 'anticipation' point made me realize why I've lost so much of my enjoyment with photography as well. I did a fair amount of railroad work back in the sixties / seventies and the 'anticipation' of getting a half dozen rolls of Kodachrome back from development after a weekend of shooting was special. Yeah digital is great but there is something still special about 'slide night' !!
 
Mikado463 said:
Tom, while I like your idea, for me it wouldn't be practical. Now, at years end could I have listened to 365 albums start to finish, for sure ! There's one thing I noticed since I've started my streaming journey, I skip around, whereas when I listen to LP's it's start-to-finish, immersing myself in the entire album.
Click to expand...
I know, right? I have been jumping around like a chicken with its head cut off going from track to track and band to band.

It’s different than deep listening and I do both.

This is why I need a resolution, deep listening takes longer and I have to focus. :)

If I stream, I select an album and turn off all the suggestion engines and settle in for a listen. It starts, it ends, no messing with an app or computer.
 
JCS123 said:
That's the one thing that I miss about vinyl just as much as the fact that it sounds so good - the fact that the exercise of finding that record, pulling it out of the case, cleaning it, placing it on the platter and lowering that tonearm then flipping and repeating is quite a bit of work, meaning that a person is far less likely to keep moving from tune to tune to tune.

Peoples' attention spans (including mine) are not what they used to be, and the magic of two or three clicks producing music as if it came out of the genie's lamp makes it even worse.

As a child of the 70's and those glorious album-rock radio stations, I well remember listening to entire albums and I like the idea of bring that practice back. Funny, really - I recall graduating from 45's to 33 RPM albums and how ecstatic I was with how long they played. Saving my money and going to the record store every Friday and getting in line, hoping I could get one of the copies of that new release. Looking at the cover, reading the liner notes, swaddling it like a newborn baby when I pull it out of the sleeve, the kind of wild anticipation - that I was about to experience something fantastic - that I've never experienced with digital music.

The biggest inconvenience that I can recall was never quite knowing if two dimes or a nickel was the proper amount of weight to tape to the headshell to keep the record from skipping....
Click to expand...
There is a lot to be said for handling physical media. The small, the tactile sensation of pulling g out the record, the liner notes I can actually read, the big photographs. In my mind we lost a lot going to silver discs and then streaming.
 
Mikado463 said:
Your 'anticipation' point made me realize why I've lost so much of my enjoyment with photography as well. I did a fair amount of railroad work back in the sixties / seventies and the 'anticipation' of getting a half dozen rolls of Kodachrome back from development after a weekend of shooting was special. Yeah digital is great but there is something still special about 'slide night' !!
Click to expand...
35mm is back and there are a lot of choices in film now, especially black and white. My wet darkroom days may be over but they were very creative and enjoyable. I love digital photography, especially the high speed and resolution for twilight/night work. No more 20 sec exposures.

But film is special and I still shoot some Ilford HP-5 and Tri-Ex. It goes into a high resolution film scanner instead of an enlarger, but it’s still more fun than digital.
 
W9TR said:
35mm is back and there are a lot of choices in film now, especially black and white. My wet darkroom days may be over but they were very creative and enjoyable. I love digital photography, especially the high speed and resolution for twilight/night work. No more 20 sec exposures.

But film is special and I still shoot some Ilford HP-5 and Tri-Ex. It goes into a high resolution film scanner instead of an enlarger, but it’s still more fun than digital.
Click to expand...
35MM is back? I'll have to look into that. Unlike my vinyl setup and records which I gave to my brother, I still have my camera and lenses packed away. It might be fun to crank her up and do some fooling around. If I might ask, is there anything that I need to do when pulling a camera out of a 30-year retirement?

One thing I will say - the photos that I take on the phone by just pointing and shooting are absolutely amazing. Plus I catch a lot more, not having to fiddle with settings, filters, lighting, etc. for every shot (and not having to put the new roll of film in when it runs out and that perfect shot is sitting there waiting). Not to mention that I can take a photo anywhere I am and at any time, when carrying the camera bag and tripod were only practical when doing a dedicated shoot.

Finally, my novice skill level as a photographer makes it likely that my top-tier phone will take better shots on average than the modest old Minolta could in my hands anyway...Idiot-proof? Target market found!
 
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Mikado463 said:
Your 'anticipation' point made me realize why I've lost so much of my enjoyment with photography as well. I did a fair amount of railroad work back in the sixties / seventies and the 'anticipation' of getting a half dozen rolls of Kodachrome back from development after a weekend of shooting was special. Yeah digital is great but there is something still special about 'slide night' !!
Click to expand...

the old days of K-14
 
CPP said:
the old days of K-14
Click to expand...

My grandfather started shooting it back in the forties, I believe it had an ASA of 10 ? back then. As a kid in the fifties and sixties I have fond memories of his Argus C-7, many a railroad book has his work in them, images captured with that camera.
 
Interesting thread. While I may jump around a bit when streaming, I mostly find some new song I like, then play the entire album. I'm doing that right now, while looking at new posts here. I found a song I liked from the band Clannad and am now listening to their album, "Landmarks". I'm now on song #8 from the album and enjoying their atmospheric, melodic music. Also, when I discover a new song I like, I simply add it to one of my playlists. Then, when I listen to the playlist, it's sort of like listening to an album, due to repeated listening, I'm expecting the next song, same as when listening to a record album again.
 
JCS123 said:
35MM is back? I'll have to look into that. Unlike my vinyl setup and records which I gave to my brother, I still have my camera and lenses packed away. It might be fun to crank her up and do some fooling around. If I might ask, is there anything that I need to do when pulling a camera out of a 30-year retirement?

One thing I will say - the photos that I take on the phone by just pointing and shooting are absolutely amazing. Plus I catch a lot more, not having to fiddle with settings, filters, lighting, etc. for every shot (and not having to put the new roll of film in when it runs out and that perfect shot is sitting there waiting). Not to mention that I can take a photo anywhere I am and at any time, when carrying the camera bag and tripod were only practical when doing a dedicated shoot.

Finally, my novice skill level as a photographer make it likely that my top-tier phone will take better shots on average than the modest old Minolta could in my hands anyway...Idiot-proof? Target market found!
Click to expand...
I do agree my phone takes some fine pictures, especially in low light. It’s amazing it works as well as it does. Lots of software trickery happening behind the curtain.

But I like shooting through a viewfinder instead of looking at a phone screen. It focuses my attention on the scene and composition.

Even though they took my Kodachrome away there are a lot of available options in 35mm film from the big dogs; Fujifilm ,Kodak, Agfa, and Ilford. There are also a number small boutique film manufacturers to choose from. None of it is inexpensive.
 
W9TR said:
As the Sun sets on 2024 I was thinking about things I’d like to do in 2025.

Resolutions are fraught with baggage, so I usually don’t bother. But I think this is a good one:

Listen to one album, uninterrupted, start to finish, every day.

It seems a lot of things get in the way of me doing this. Dunno why. I’ve heard It helps to have a group of friends doing the same thing. So please join me if you are so inclined.

Happy Nee Year

Tom
Click to expand...
I think this is a great idea!
 
I’m now 21 days in and this has been a good thing for me. I listen to vinyl while I’m at home and even brought my iPod on a backcountry ski trip so I could keep my streak going, even in a hut in the wilderness. Good times.
 
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