Your relationship with the music you listen to

I used to take 25 arrows to the knee a day, but then I bought an album.

For me it's sort of become an addiction I used to just buy a ton of cd's of bands that I liked recently I got rid of some because I really don't like it anymore (for example Entombed -- Clandestine). I only have a few bands that I will buy new releases. Overall I kinda stick to my favorite bands and try to build my collection and complete the whole discography. I only pick up cd's of bands that I really like because if I don't it will get a few spins and be forgetten about.

Orion Crystal Ice wrote:

I used to buy 25 albums a day, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

and then?



I think my practice of listening through my new albums has been working out pretty well. It has allowed me to actually absorb "new" albums pretty well. But acquiring too much music too quickly doesn't happen without some negative consequence. Once I decide what I think of an album, it goes into my collection. In being committed to evaluating every new arrival, I have neglected all the albums in my collection. I fear that I am giving myself some sort of musical ADD complex wherein, if it isn't "new", I am not interested. I don't think that is true, but I won't know until I stop buying CDs and start listening to my collection again.

The last few years, I've been listening to less and less music. Not that I'm tired of it, but with work and my obsession with books the last 5 or so years, and the free time spending it with friends, etc., I've been really choosy to what sounds go inside my ears. Probably 2008-09 were the last years I really bought music on a regular basis and listened to at least 3 albums minimum a day. I have so many cd's just boxed up, I feel bad sometimes that I'm not cranking them out like I used to, but when the mood hits me, it still feels good to feel the blast of noise.

I still listen to music each day but work has been getting so hectic i am not able to listen to as much. I think the quality of music coming out has been really good the last 3 or so years but having the budget to get all of it is difficult.

Time is the big factor for me. Tough to get as much dedicated listening in as I would like.

The funny thing is I'm the opposite of a lot of people in that the larger my collection has gotten the "closer" my relationship has become to the music. Part of that is a cause n' effect of being so much more open minded to new things and giving everything a true chance. When I was younger I might listen to something till I became sick of it. I'd even skip around to the tracks that I liked the best. Now I'm a whole album guy and much more appreciative of things and take the time to really listen. But again wish I had much more time to do so.

Now the passion and impact is so powerful because I have limited time to devote. The music I listen to is a choice and that makes it so different than what I did in my youth. I haven't purchased truly new music in a very long time simply because I'm enjoying digging deep into the bands/albums I have. Most new purchases are of bands I really like from my youth and didn't have that album or it's a re-purchase. I've given my collection away several times in the past, so I retrace my steps far more often than exploring new stuff. I'm really enjoying buying an album I've had in the past but now listening to it in new light and that, in a way, is very cool. Music is just important to me now as it was in my youth.