How do you listen?

Wästed The Great

Wästed The Great

Minister Of Chicks, Metal&Beer; Cool & Froody Dude
Staff member
This may sound like a stupid question, but how do you listen to music?  When I was younger, I'd get a new album, put it on, and listen to it while reading the lyrics (if provided) and the album/cassette cover.  As I've grown older, I don't seem to have the time to listen as closely as I once did, so I listen while cleaning the house, working on bikes, or driving to work.  Sometimes, I'll listen to music while reading, but I never get the 'gist' of a new album while reading. 

However, Foro's helloween/Gamma Ray thread, the album killer thread, SMX's insistence on Ayreon, and all the 'Listen to Blaze' posts, I'm taking the time to really listen to the music and 'get into' it.

So, as to the question:  How do you listen?  Buy the cd and listen as you can, take time to really understand it asap, or what?
 
If it's a band I'm already a big fan of, I'll probably listen to a new album closely while inspecting the packaging. If it's a new discovery, I'll put it on the playlist and listen while doing something that doesn't require too much concentration, such as reading a forum. I seldomly listen to music while reading books, as I usually can't focus properly on either thing when I do that. Then I'll see how much of it sticks with me. If it sounds interesting, I'll give it more attention. If not, I'll file it away and maybe get back to it later to see if it grows on me.
 
Berlin is a huge city, so I spend a lot of time in trains just getting from one place to the other. Although I'm always sure to have a newspaper or a book with me, I usually sit in trains just listening to the music on my MP3 player. For example, the ride between my place and my university, or my place and my parent's place is usually just the time needed for an album to play entirely.
Other than that, when I'm getting into a new album, I take my time with it. I listened to Nostradamus by Priest while cooking and doing the dishes, which are things I'm really not putting my thoughts into, and can pay attention to the music instead (I'm usually cooking recipes I've got hard coded in my brain). With The Crucible Of Man, on the other hand, it was different. I sat down, literally dusted off my stereo headphones, turned down the lights, turned off my cellphone and put Framing Armageddon and The Crucible Of Man on back to back, reading the lyrics attentively and looking at the artwork. It was time well spent, and I got really involved in the music and the story of the albums. I first listened to Death Magnetic while on my way to meet friends on the other side of town.
It always depends on how seriously I take the new music I'm trying to get into, and how my desire is to get involved with it. On the other hand, sometimes I end up getting my heart and soul into music of which I hadn't expected it at all, so it's always different.
 
Shadow said:
If it's a band I'm already a big fan of, I'll probably listen to a new album closely while inspecting the packaging. If it's a new discovery, I'll put it on the playlist and listen while doing something that doesn't require too much concentration, such as reading a forum. I seldomly listen to music while reading books, as I usually can't focus properly on either thing when I do that. Then I'll see how much of it sticks with me. If it sounds interesting, I'll give it more attention. If not, I'll file it away and maybe get back to it later to see if it grows on me.
Click to expand...

Agreed
 
wow, I think it's easier to answer how DON'T I listen lol. I listen to music literally 24/7. As soon as I wake up a I pop a cd in my computer, whatever I'm in the mood for, usually new discoveries or a cd I haven't heard in months/years (Currently my Meat Loaf cds). Then I jump in the shower and play my iPod on speakers, more often than not on random. Then on my way to work I usually play my new purchase (recently Thin Lizzy, Kansas, America...) Then at work I again pop in my iPod... repeat steps 1-7 daily. Then on Saturdays as a DJ, my job is to play music :D god I love it. Last night I played Big Band for  group of WWII veterans, it was awesome.

When I buy new cds I listen to them on my way home from the store, then pop it into my computer and back to my car on the way to work for about two weeks. I also listen to music while I read and sleep... so yeah... I'm a musicphile :D
 
How do I listen to stuff? When at my laptop, when dog-walking and in the car - mainly. I have all my stuff ripped onto my HDD so I rarely play an actual CD - but I do occasionally pick up a CD and read through the booklet when playing it on my laptop.

But in my younger days, I would pick up the album cover and read through it, whether that be the lyrics, or the thanks to, or whatever. The problem was that back then as Wasted pointed out, not all albums had the lyrics with them - for example, the first Maiden release that came with lyrics was The Number of the Beast. The first two albums where released with a front and back cover and the vinyl in a plain white sleeve - and there is only so many times you can look at them. The original CD versions of these two had no lyrics either.

Wasted155 said:
...so I listen while cleaning the house...
Click to expand...
How rock and roll. :D
 
it depends the period of my life,  let's see :

once upon a time ...vinyl in my parents

-->I used to be gathered with friends with some beers to listen the newest albums from our fav bands

some good memories : Muster of Puppets, Reign in Blood, 7th Son, Gutter Ballet (Savatage), TYR (Black Sabbath), Painkiller, Black Album, Use Your Illusion pt I &II, FotD
some bad : Somewhare in Time, NPftD

once upon a time ...vinyl as a student

-->with new friends with some joints to re-discover some classic 60s -70s releases

only good memories : Hawkwind, Edgar Broughton Band, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones etc etc

Brave New World : the CD era

BNW was the very first CD I purchased -its first listen with my girl doing some cleaning and my three cats around my feet playing
usually the few CD I've ever purchased were albums that I've allready knew, so no particular option for the first listen

the DL era

now, I'm discovering music in bars, after conversations with people, by reading mags or surfing the net, or by listening to the radio
my tour around Europe has helped me in meeting different kinds of people, and appreciating different styles of music
when I'm listening to something now, is either in my computer or in my car ; my car is the absolute place to have some awesome
moments in that regard
I'm doing it by burning compilations : either in mp3 format (about 110 songs) where I rename the songs in the way of 001.Song Title, 057. Song Title etc either in audio format (about ) where I select some songs of the same genre ; jazz, metal, rock, dance
or more rarely mixed genre music

when I'm in house, I do the same as Wasted ; while cooking (right now), while doing some work in the house, while posting in forums, while chatting...

sometimes when people come in my house I make a quick winamp compilation and we are listenning to it while doing what we do
 
When I was at a shoddy old sons-of-military boarding school (around the time Powerslave came out) I had a big old ghetto blaster and a set of big chunky retro headphones with the obligatory curly lead; I used to listen to tapes on that every minute I got, mainly Rush, Maiden, Priest, Ozzy and Metallica. Those were the days!

My parents had an old table-top record deck that I was occasionally allowed to play my vinyl on; I had Live After Death on there pretty much constantly when I first picked it up (£6.49, for all that fantastic packaging too) although my dad wasn't too impressed by the intro to Rime...

I got my first midi system for christmas '88, and the first thing I played on it was my new 12" of The Clairvoyant from Donington. I think I went through about five needles on that midi system. My parents have all my old vinyl in the attic, I really should fish it out sometime....

The midi system finally died in 92, and I had to make do with a walkman for a while as I didn't hit the CD age until '93, with Heartwork by Carcass. It all got a bit boring after then, as far as packaging goes.

I do try to flick through cd inlays but they seem so insignificant compared to 12" covers. Nothing beats being an excited thirteen year old gazing the Live After Death gatefold cover, the individual sleeves and the little booklet inside too...

Nowadays I have an i-pod, thanks to my wife; I use it in the car, when I can get away with it at work, when I'm doing the housework. All my cds and tapes are hidden away after they're uploaded onto the pc, which is a bit crap but keeps the wife from knowing how much money I spend on cds!

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Now playing: Meshuggah - Dancers To A Discordant System
via FoxyTunes
 
My school journeys are quite long (about an hour) and those form the majority of my music listening (I listen to MP3s from an iPod).  Usually I manage to listen to two albums and some extra during those, less if there are friends on the same bus.  At home I usually listen to music from my computer speakers (two speakers + subwoofer), sometimes headphones if it's late.  That can vary depending on how much I use the computer in a day, most often I listen to music while surfing and doing work.  At the gym I also listen to music, so that's another hour + journey there and back.

New CDs I try to listen to without doing anything else.  The Crucible of Man and Framing Armageddon I listened to with the actual booklets, Nostradamus half of the time with the booklet, and Death Magnetic without the booklet while hanging out with friends.  After the first listen I usually revert to my normal playing habits, though if the lyrics matter I might try to read the lyrics occasionally. 

New old CDs (i.e. downloaded CDs from bands I like but haven't heard before) I listen to in the same way as any other music.
 
When I used to go to school where I lived a good 30 minutes away and had to take the school bus everyday, that's when I listened to my music and examined it and listened carefully and all that. Not so much anymore. Now I just listen to music on the computer when I get back, and sometimes without the headphones in to get a better feel and all that. As to the details of listening, when I get introduced to something new I will usually give it a quick listen but it doesn't bode well for the song if I don't find something to like about it within the first third of it. Albums by artists I love (Priest, Maiden) get top priority and will get listened to as an entire album carefully when I make time for it. Usually I have already heard a song or two from someone which has persuaded me to buy the album or wait until one of my friends sends it to me :P. And that's how I listen :). Oh, and sometimes when I want to give the album or new stuff a really good chance, I pop my ipod in and take it to bed so that I can pay very close attention to it (the lyrics, the melodies, etc) with my eyes closed and full concentration on what I hear. Art work and album covers don't usually influence my listening that much, but they help (Nostradamus for example was an awesome cover as was AMOLAD that really helped me get into the album).
 
I do try to flick through cd inlays but they seem so insignificant compared to 12" covers. Nothing beats being an excited thirteen year old gazing the Live After Death gatefold cover, the individual sleeves and the little booklet inside too...

                                                              I was mesmerized by that whole album too. The lyrics on the record sleeves and all the photos on the gatefold.

Nowadays I usually listen to music on my phone. My wife bought me a a Sony Walkman phone that has 4 gigs of memory. I have 1600+ songs on it. It even has an FM modulator so I can hear it through my car stereo.
 
I used to do the same as you Wasted... as you say though, time is not what it used to be. If it is a highly anticipated album for me then I put my headphones on and go to the gym to listen to it. That works well I think.
 
When I was a teenager, the best way to listen to CDs was with lyrics in hand and headphones on.  Very rarely do I get this pleasure now.  Driving around and while on the computer is mostly how I get my music time.
 
A new Maiden album is a very special moment. I seclude myself in some room, using headphones. When the first sound bite erupts, I am already very interested in song credits, song length, and guitar solos (who plays which solo?)

I am probably in the minority here, but during a first listen I get more out of new music when I do not read lyrics, at the same time. This doesn't mean I am not interested in reading the lyrics, I just don't want them to distract me from the sheer power and magic of what I hear.

For me music is the most dominant form of art and sound. When I hear some specific song, or part of a song that I like very much, I don't have much attention for anything else.
 
I notice that lots of people here are listening through headphones, especially on first listen.  Is this because you feel more 'into' the music, because listening over speakers allows too much distraction, or because you can't play it loudly enough?

I haven't listened to much over headphones for a while.
 
Headphones do help to minimize distraction, but I actually have the volume REALLY low. if the room is quiet enough I can hear the music perfectly fine with the volume on the lowest setting.
 
I will say this, though.  [AMOLA]DM was terrible in 5.1.  It's the overproduction.
 
I have heard that... all the Dream Theater cd's I have sound awesome, tho.  And ....and justice for all, sounded great with the sub woofer booming!
 
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