Listening vs buying

[Yves]

The only time I listen to music I don't know is when I'm shopping to acquire new music. I sample on Bandcamp and then purchase whatever catches my attention. Aside from that I only listen to "my" music. I have learned to curb my buying of late. Not because I can't afford it but because I find that whenever I have too much new music at once, I tend to not appreciate said music as much. I'll discover a new artist and if they have more than 2 albums released, I won't just automatically purchase their entire discography. I'll sample and choose the 1 or 2 releases that appeal to me the most. If I just can't get enough of said artist a few months down the road, I'll then start buying more of their material. I also need a lot of variety in my music. I can't just stay focused on one subgenre , especially when it's starts getting too repetitive. When I'm new to a subgenre I buy a lot but as I start to get saturated by it, I skip over a lot more material than I actually purchase. Once I hear something my first reaction is always to ask myself what sort of staying power will this have with me.

[rcarlberg]

Once I hear something my first reaction is always to ask myself what sort of staying power will this have with me.

That's smart.

For years I was locked in the "MUST BUY EVERYTHING BY THIS ARTIST" mindset, which is nuts now that I look back on it. Lotsa disappointments. 'Course it was harder to sample thirty years ago.

[bob_32_116]

The only time I listen to music I don't know is when I'm shopping to acquire new music. I sample on Bandcamp and then purchase whatever catches my attention. Aside from that I only listen to "my" music. I have learned to curb my buying of late. Not because I can't afford it but because I find that whenever I have too much new music at once, I tend to not appreciate said music as much. I'll discover a new artist and if they have more than 2 albums released, I won't just automatically purchase their entire discography. I'll sample and choose the 1 or 2 releases that appeal to me the most. If I just can't get enough of said artist a few months down the road, I'll then start buying more of their material. I also need a lot of variety in my music. I can't just stay focused on one subgenre , especially when it's starts getting too repetitive. When I'm new to a subgenre I buy a lot but as I start to get saturated by it, I skip over a lot more material than I actually purchase. Once I hear something my first reaction is always to ask myself what sort of staying power will this have with me.

That fairly well describes my buying methodology. In fact I would find it hard to justify operating any other way.

Re Internet radio: There was a time after I discovered Live365 that I listened to very little else. I had a number of preset stations more or less in the prog vein. What happened was that I started to get jaded with it. I found it had neither the pleasing unpredictability of good free-to-air radio, nor the ability for me to find only music that I liked. I used to get frustrated with hearing one great song then several that just did nothing for me; I would alternate around my presets the way I used to switch between radio stations on free-to-air... and eventually I would think "Why am I doing this?" and switch off for a while.

I still go there, but only very occasionally, and every time I do I find that at least one of my presets has become a "V.I.P." station (i.e. paid subsription only) and I need to go searching for other stations to put in my presets list.

[Yves]

For years I was locked in the "MUST BUY EVERYTHING BY THIS ARTIST" mindset, which is nuts now that I look back on it. Lotsa disappointments. 'Course it was harder to sample thirty years ago.

I was that way also. I did not know nearly as many artists as I do now and would make sure I rooted out every release by my favorites. It worked for a while but, once the disappointments started to outweigh the good material, I'd have to remove the artist from 'auto buy' status. Over the years, my love for music has not diminished but my loyalty to artists has. In this age of being able to sample everything, nobody gets a free pass anymore. I've come to know that I'm not a completist so why throw money away on a bad release just because it completes a discography?

[simon moon]

I listen online only to research stuff i want to buy.

If I enjoy it enough to listen for a while online, I will put it on my list to buy.

I have almost no fluff or extraneous stuff in my collection. I will listen to it all, with few exceptions.

I do not listen to music in the background while doing another activity. The vast majority of my listening is done at times when it will be my primary activity, where I will be able to give it my undivided attention. During those listening sessions, I want to have available what I want, when I am in the mood for it.

[JKL2000]

I only listen to "my" music.

This might be a good sig for me...

[PeterG]

I don't care for internet radio. Why should I listen to 2 lousy, small speakers, if I can listen to the music I like on my stereo?

You can buy an audio "cast" type thing, like I have, for about 15 euros. The transmitter, which looks like a USB plugs into my PC (so I can access Spotify) or my interent radio, and the receiver has 2 standard RCA plugs that go into the line in on my hi fi amp, which then delivers it as stereo on my huge speakers. Also there is no cable between the TX and RX.

[Rarebird]

I rather listen to the music I own, or want to own.

[bob_32_116]

The crux of the matter is, as I see it, how much of a musical bubble you want to wrap yourself in. It's OK to do that if that's what you want, as long as you're aware that's what you are doing.

I could happily enjoy listening only to my own purchased CDs or to my own preset internet stations. From time to time though I need to be surprised. The radio programmes I have mentioned here from time to time feature some wonderful stuff, along with other stuff that I simply cannot appreciate at all. That's OK though. I do not demand that I love every track that I hear. Much of the music washes over me leaving me umimpressed. Some of it I really enjoy, without feeling the compulsion to buy it so I can hear it again. And every once in a while there is something that makes me think "I need to investigate this artist further". Usually it's someone I have never heard of before, nor would I ever have encountered them by, say, doing an Internet search for bands of a certain type, or selecting Live365 stations based on "stations that play XXXX". And occasionally such a discovery leads to a purchase and many hours of enjoyment.

The best recent example i can think of is Ned Collette and his band Wirewalker. As far as I can tell, this Australian artist now based in Berlin is practically unknown even in this country. His music does not fit the mold of prog; it's pop, I suppose, but not the sort of pop you hear on commercial radio, nor is it garagey enough or punkish enough to make the playlists of stations like Triple-J. It falls into the twilight zone between commercial and avant-garde where it is neither one nor the other, and hence unless I had discovered it by chance it's most unlikely that I would have discovered it by searching for it.

[rcarlberg]

The crux of the matter is, as I see it, how much of a musical bubble you want to wrap yourself in. From time to time though I need to be surprised.

Oh god yes.

There is SO MUCH incredible music in the world that to limit yourself to just one country, just one genre, just one band, just one album, just one song would be incredibly foolish. As much as we all crave familiarity every now and then, the real power of music to SURPRISE and CHALLENGE us.

As often as possible please!

[strawberrybrick]

For years I was locked in the "MUST BUY EVERYTHING BY THIS ARTIST" mindset, which is nuts now that I look back on it. Lotsa disappointments. 'Course it was harder to sample thirty years ago.

Nuts, I agree.

One way I like to listen to an artist is to listen to everything. Start to finish. Take it all in, see where they came from, where they went, and then come back to what I like. Of course, pretty easy with a band like Semiramis, a bit more of a (rewarding) challenge with someone like Patto/Timebox/Boxer...

Anyway, this tends to lead to purchases "for the shelf".

[simon moon]

Oh god yes.

There is SO MUCH incredible music in the world that to limit yourself to just one country, just one genre, just one band, just one album, just one song would be incredibly foolish. As much as we all crave familiarity every now and then, the real power of music to SURPRISE and CHALLENGE us.

As often as possible please!

While some familiarity does have it's place, I mostly love to be surprised and challenged. That is why I am always on the search for new bands, musicians, composers, genres, etc. I am always blown away by a new discovery. My latest, Thai contemporary classical composer, Narong Prangcharoen. Brilliant!

My only problem with regards to discovering new music, is that I do have a limiting factor with regards to the music I enjoy. And that is, it must have a high level of musicianship and be complex (for the most part). The music that I have discovered so far, that fits that criteria, is prog (most subgenres), classical (20th century and contemporary), fusion and jazz.

[davis]

Bob, I like that word 'crux.' that's a gooooood word.

[Yves]

Bob, I like that word 'crux.' that's a gooooood word.

It's what a finicky rapper removes from his sandwiches.

[rcarlberg]

He dint axe you what it meant.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

[QUOTE=Rarebird;503845] Nowadays I often buy a lot of stuff, because I'm affraid I can't find it anymore if I wait to long. Of course this means I play the stuff less. [QUOTE]

I'm in this phase as well. It doesn't help that many of things I enjoy don't seem to be made in great numbers, so when I see something I want I feel the compulsion to buy it soon.

This is probably why I haven't bought several 'jazz classics' that I want yet.

I also like to be able to listen to what I want to listen to when I want to listen to it, and not have to hope that it is still available on *insert site here* for streaming.

[JKL2000]

Bob, I like that word 'crux.' that's a gooooood word.

It sticks in my craw.

[mpoll]

I never tried connecting my computer to my stereo amp (not sure it's feasible, my stereo amps date from 95 and 04 respectively), but I'm not sure it's wise to start amplifying MP3-quality music ... it could sound even more horrible than on those computer/laptop speakers

I connect my laptop to my 90's Pioneer amp (via an Audioquest 3.5mm to RCA cable - $25 to $35 depending on length). I do play FLAC/WAV files mostly (occasionally some MP3 320 kbps) and find the sound to be pretty decent. Using something like a Dragonfly DAC ($149) between the computer and amp will improve the sound as well.

Another caution is the sound software included with your computer. Many have software that 'improves' (read 'distorts') the music. Some, like Beats Audio, can be difficult to turn off. I like to hear the music as it was intended, so I disabled any sound software equalization and will make sound adjustments on my amp if needed.

Come to think of it, I've also done this with a very early-70's Sansui receiver that I just can't seem to part with.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some insight as to what's possible.

[Trane]

Anyway, I hope this gives you some insight as to what's possible.

impressive!!

Sounds like 70's technology is more flexible than 10's technology.

[rcarlberg]

Sounds like 70's technology is more flexible than 10's technology.

I bought a Bluetooth receiver that plugs into a tape input, allowing me to stream music to my stereo from anywhere in the house using my iPad.

I also bought a Bluetooth transmitter, which theoretically would allow any non-Bluetooth source to transmit to one of my several receivers -- but I have yet to find a use for it!