I’m a curious person. One thing that always strikes me about a person is the music that they like.
I’ve been thinking lately about how I listen to new music. This isn’t a new consideration for me, but my context is always changing. For instance, ten years ago, I didn’t have a job where I could listen to music at my desk while I pondered some email from a customer or tried to make a good resource allocation suggestion to my boss; the change in context has shifted how I listen to new music.
One thing that is certainly a constant is that I really know that I’m trying to get into an album if I get it on CD and put in my truck’s stereo. I’m a person who takes a lot of road trips; as such, it makes sense for me to have music as I travel. In fact, having singable CDs is important for the long trips, because singing is one of the things that I do to stay awake. [A propensity for hyperactivity unfortunately leaves caffeine as an unpredictable stimulant for me---at times, caffeine intake will cause my body to get sleepier!]
I’ve noticed lately that I go through three steps of listening to a CD:
- The work background listen. Most new stuff gets this these days. It also happens at home, thanks to my Series2 TiVo’s ability to stream from network-aware hard drives. In fact, as I type this entry, Wilco’s a ghost is born is playing in the background.
- The road test. Albums I want to know more deeply get placed in the Blaupunkt for a few spins. I focus on the lyrics more clearly, trying to get them down to singable status.
- The liner notes stage. I know that I’m really into an album when I’ll listen to it, track-by-track, with the liner notes readily available. This usually happens in the context of the work background listen. [As such, I'm wanting to come up with a step in The Great CD Preservation Project to capture liner notes data like lyrics, songwriter, etc. Yes, I'm a geek, and this borders on the obssessive.
I am, however, interested in knowing how you, dear reader, listen to new music. Do you have a system? Do you have no system? Do you have a system of systems? Have you ever given it any thought? Do you just not listen to music [poor, lamentable soul!]? Please, take the comment space to tell me. If you want to take all sorts of space to answer this question, write your own Weblog entry about it and just give me a TrackBack or Pingback.
I was thinking about this topic as well recently, perhaps slighly different tangent, more along the lines of why people like certain music. I was thinking what makes someone like a song or despise it?
Then I thought what makes me like a certain song?
I know what I like in a song, but it is hard to define. I have to think about this more and go for a blog entry soon:)
Eric: That question is much harder to answer, as the answers are as individual as the questioners.
My process is very similar to yours… except sometimes, the CDs skip the liner notes stage because I’ve already rocked out to ‘em so much that I don’t need the notes. That’s the highest compliment on this end.
And if they don’t endure past the work background listen, they are often sold.
I usually start with a recommendation from somebody to listen to a song or CD. If I like it, I add it to a list of songs to burn. Once I get a good number of them built up, I make a cd for the car.
I love Italian music, and can even sing a few songs in Italian, although I understand very little of it. It’s just beautiful and romantic. My friends tell me that I am probably singing about a man who sells fruit on a corner in Chicago, or something.
I love show tunes, gospel music and just about any other genre aside from rap. That type of music has never apealed to me.
I cannot listen while writing or reading.
I listen while cooking or cleaning.
I always open up and read the lyrics first, and I listen to the songs whoes lyrics I like most first. then I listen to the cd at night as background or at work.