207. Full length album listening
Listening to whole albums is almost a lost art. In many ways, we can attribute the death of this experience to Spotify and other social media platforms. Instagram and Tiktok emphasize clips, skips and quick cuts; nothing is to be listened to in full anymore. I think artists just have to have the chorus sound really catchy and then pay a bunch of Tiktok kids to dance to it and then they have a hit. That's just my thought on this.
With streaming services offering easy access to almost every album ever made, listening to a full album from start to finish has become a more deliberate choice. With endless playlists and algorithms tailored to your taste, a lot of people donโt have the patience for full-length albums anymore. Thatโs not to say album listeners are better or anything pretentious like that... I think everyone has their own way of enjoying music. I've been trying to get back into listening to the entire album that an artist releases. Often I put some of my favorite songs on shuffle or playing individual tracks.
I've decided to take the longer route and listen to albums in order. It seems like artists still but a lot of thought and consideration into the sequencing of their songs. The order is intentional to create a specific listening experience.
That said, Iโm quite curious about this - how do you dive into a new album? Do you read along with the lyrics on streaming apps? (I only do that if I really like the melody and want to know what they're really saying) Put it on in the background while doing something mindless? (Yes, usually while working/writing/surfing the Internet) Maybe you go for a walk with it playing in your headphones (usually when I go for a walk/jog in the morning), or youโve got a stereo system and just lay back, eyes closed, soaking it all in? (only when I'm cleaning)
If you see back on my January wrap-up post, I have a section for album listening! Please do give me some suggestions.
~ radiohead,
<3 K