[Aman]

Albums are often times more than just a collection of songs. They often have a recurring style, or theme, or etc. And even if there is no connection between tracks (and often times there are even if the artist never states it!) there is still the decision of track order, cover art, and other obvious things. There are a million ways and more than an artist could create/produce/release an album. I don't destroy a work of art by only sampling one or two tracks from it. That's like looking at only 1/8 of the Mona Lisa.

 

[Ferbose]

Even though many albums are not concocted to be an organic whole, there is often still some internal logic. Listening through an original album at once often makes good music sense to me. On the other hand, I try to stay away from mindless compilations like Greatest Hits of XXX or The Difinitive XXX because bits and pieces of music stuffed into one CD does not make much sense musically. It is hard to enjoy such mega compilations. Of course, there are also compilations that make sense, compilations that reflect a phase of an artists career or a musical trend, or one showing interesting contrast.

 

[RotAtoR]

I almost exclusively listen to full albums only. The only exception is when I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for, then I shuffle my playlist for a while until I find an album I want to listen to.

 

[rhythmdevils]

i only listen to albums. the 3 times i used the shuffle feature on my ipod was when the shuffle just came out, and my friend would force me to listen that way, saying "life is random, whitney, life is random!"

i am actually so obsessive about it that if someone tries to play one song from an album by The Arcade Fire for example, I turn it off.

I also wont listen to albums at the wrong time. i wait for the perfect mood. and I refuse to listen to albums over and over or even every day, because i dont want to get tired of them. I like having enough new music that i can save albums for that moment where the album fits perfectly.

I also wont listen to albums i really like unless i have enough time to get through the whole thing, cause there's some albums, like Rubber Soul, that i am tired of the beginning, but not the end of the album.

wow, im really insane

 

[Kameleon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gratefulshrink First of all, have you read a couple of the related threads on this sort of thing?: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...t=album+entire, http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...t=album+entire Second, there is a bit of an arrogance to your post (phrases like, "Who doesn't listen like this?" and "perhaps scared that they might come to enjoy something they hadn't noticed before"). Third, the results of your own poll seem to indicate that you are in the minority (which actually probably means you are more of a purist than most of us). Fourth, your assumption that most albums are created as an organic whole may not be valid. There are defintiely "concept" albums and albums where tracks lead into and out of each other, but there are also plenty of jazz and rock albums where the individual songs may have little to do with each other, and are fine as stand alone tracks. Fifth, there is a logical inconsistency in your entire premise. You state, "If I hear a new single/track that I really like, I buy/acquire the album and listen to it from start to finish." That means that you were able to enjoy that single/track on its own, separate from the album it was taken from. By your premise, you shouldn't even be listening to isolated tracks! All that being said, for the most part, I actually agree with you. The few things that stop me from hearing the entire album are mostly practical: 1) time limitations (if I only have a few minutes, I'd rather hear part of an album than no music); 2) the people I am with get annoyed and I have to put something else on; 3) Some albums are just weaker than others, and have disappointing tracks; but I will admit that (4) sometimes I just want to hear that one tune.....

Please, take the joke

Lots of my post was intentional sarcasm, some was just taking the piss as and when I could

Oh, and people who skip particular tracks on albums really annoy me. Treefingers, anyone?

 

[cerbie]

Whole albums whenever an album is good that way (so, option #2). This does not always mean a concept album--Toys in the Attic is a good one to listen from start to finish on, FI. Any album with a cohesion of either theme or style works well for whole listening. Albums with cohesive themes are often crap to listen to single tracks of (The Downard Spiral and The Final Cut come to mind).

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kameleon Please, take the joke Lots of my post was intentional sarcasm, some was just taking the piss as and when I could Oh, and people who skip particular tracks on albums really annoy me. Treefingers, anyone?

No worries.

I was irritable yesterday (fasting) -- feel much better today.

In general, I think GOOD albums are/were crafted and designed to be listened to one side at a time. It's easier to achieve that with a 45 minute LP than a 79:59 mintue CD, but some artists can pull it off.

I do create playlists for myself (and to burn CDs for friends), but that accounts for maybe 1% of my listening time.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gratefulshrink I was irritable yesterday (fasting) -- feel much better today.

you realize that you'll have to atone next year for your irritability?

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax you realize that you'll have to atone next year for your irritability?

Hopefully, that will be the worst of my sins!!!!

 

[stargirl]

I'm sort of all 3.

Sometimes I listen to full albums.
Sometimes I pick out my favourite tracks and just listen to them.
and SOMETIMES I make awesome playlists with songs that work cohesively to either cheer me up, be sad with me or be angry. It's sort of just like an album with songs contributed by different artists.

 

[bobeau]

I listen to albums when when music is in the background, but almost never otherwise. Can't think of a single album where I like every track on it; some come close, but there's always one or three songs I just don't care for. And quite frankly, isn't it kinda an industry construct to fit a particular business model? I'd much rather it was done away with entirely so artists could release whatever chunks of music whenever they wanted to. I can't wait for the day where hey, if someone wants to again do the James Brown approach and just release singles on a regular basis, they could do it and be successful. With quality home studios and online distribution growing in favor it seems it's fast approaching.

 

[discord]

I have a playlist of my favorite albums and listen to every track. Then I have another playlist of various songs all mixed up that I change about once a month or something. That's pretty much how I listen to music but mainly listen to full albums(every track).

 

[fante7]

I try to listen to album in their entirety, but a lot of modern music is song-based instead of album-based and the songs are not necessarily consistent in quality.

 

[cantsleep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fante7 I try to listen to album in their entirety, but a lot of modern music is song-based instead of album-based and the songs are not necessarily consistent in quality.

agreeing.........

 

[omedon]

If I have the time I will usually listen to the full album. One good song after another ensures that. But sometimes time is short & I will flip around.

If I find I am only listening to a couple songs on an album it is time to trade it in at a used shop.

I wonder what kind of negative impacts itunes style downloads are having on quality music. Obviously there are benefits, but also huge drawbacks. Seems to promote ADD as does most everything in our society. Too many stimuli means not enough focus.

I have had to stop buying videogames, when I was 12 it was cool I could afford 1 or 2 games a year and would play them to death (I also had lots of free time). Now with access to many I would have little chance of finishing any of them, of course the quality comes to mind as well (I think it is degrading in a lot of ways, too much formula sameness). This is happening in the recording industry as well. Too much similar music, that is too easily forgotten.

Good music is like an old friend or lover and is held and remembered in the heart always.