Am I the only one?

[jazzyvee]

I'm one who also listens to new albums in their entirety until I get to know the songs then I tend to listen to my favourite tracks. But these change with time so eventually most tracks become faves at some point. I also read the album notes, study the pictures or the cover art whilst listening to the music, it helps me create a visual connection with the music. Also if I'm in the car listening to an album I and I reach my destination before a track finishes. I have to stay in the car until the track completely finishes before turning everything off and getting out of the car. I tend to listen mainly to instrumental music so the album art and writing helps visualise the music.
I also do not watch a video of a track I have not first listened too as pure audio as I want my mind to create it's own vision of the track without being influenced\ but the video putting it's own imagery in the way of my own. If someone sends me a video to watch of a song. I listen with my eyes closed or close the window down on my computer. Yeah I'm old fashioned  and proud of it.

[keith_h]

I still have my Thorens TD 160 though I listen to CD's more than I do vinyl. I use a Micro Acoustics 2002e cartridge in it.

I think the listening parties are a generational thing that are gone in what has become more of a 45 RPM single world. I worked at and hung out at a record store in high school. The first thing every Tuesday was to put on the latest LP's that had just come in to see what was new. My friends and myself would get together to listen to the full album in sequence to get the full context. We also had available and listened to radio stations that would play full album sides. It wasn't limited to music either as there was a good smattering of Firesign Theater, Cheech and Chong or George Carlin. Whenever I got a new album I would record it to cassette to take in the car or to listen to on a portable player in the park. Personally I think it all started to go south with my little brother's generation in the 80's and mixtapes but what do I know I listened to Frank Zappa for the music arrangements.

[gtrguy]

We're all bozos on this bus, the giant rat of Sumatra, Fun stuff. I have a couple of those records.

[edwardofhuncote]

Okay... I'm going to issue a postulate, and I seriously don't mean this in a bad way, quite the contrary.


I think this particular forum is not a fair cross-section of the "listening to anything with a critical ear" world. I've been hanging around here for 6 years, and there ain't a single one of us casual about anything sonic. Some of us, (I'm pointing at the dude in the mirror here too) are plum nutty about these things. It's how we ended up in the virtual living room of the Wickershams. "Sounds pretty good" just doesn't cut it.

[pauldo]

 

[hieronymous]

I am actually going through something related - I discovered that through AT&T I had 6 months of Spotify free. I hate the Spotify business model and the way they treat artists, but it's amazing to have so much music available. I use it to listen to albums, I use it to listen to favorite songs over and over (like Deep Purple's new song "Nothing at All"), and I have playlists with stuff I like to play along with. It's at the point where I have hundreds of CDs in bags to sell once stores start opening again. I haven't committed 100% yet - I'm concerned that I might be making a mistake - but at the same time, I just can't be the caretaker of all these storage discs. I will be losing something in audio quality but not sure I can really tell the difference. The lack of documentation is a major bummer, but I can generally look up that info on the internet.

I still try and support the music I love - if a band is on Bandcamp, I buy their album digitally, then listen to it on Spotify. I tend to pay a little more to the bands on Bandcamp too. I'm hanging on to CDs that aren't on Spotify, or if they have some sentimental connection. But even that stuff I am getting close to jettisoning.

Any thoughts? I should have asked here earlier!

[lbpesq]

When our power went out during the planned outages last year we lost connection to the net.   We ran the house on a generator.   Without any cable TV or internet access, we relied upon DVDs and CDs.   And Spotify won’t help much when you find yourself on that famous desert island with your ten favorite albums!    It may be more evidence of my approaching old fartdom, but I like to physically own my music.   What’s next, no physical instruments?  Just plug these electrodes to your head, the other end to USB, and think your part?

Like I said, get off my lawn!

Bill, tgo

[peoplechipper]

I like the physical item myself, neither of my stereos is hooked up to internet and with a good stereo you REALLY hear the data loss of MP3's...and I agree that we here aren't most people, we're all sound nerds of one degree or another...

[cozmik_cowboy]

I am - not for the first time, and I imagine not for the last - in agreement with Brother Bill.  Likewise with Tony.

Peter

[jacko]

In a similar vein, for a birthday some ten or more years ago my kids bought me a kindle. So far I've added about 30 books to it but I've bought at least a couple of hundred 'real' books in the same period. Like listening to music, I guess there are those who just want the information and those who like the full experience.


Graeme