As mentioned in the earlier Radiohead thread, I generally need to listen to an album several times before I decide if I like it. Open thread: how do you listen to new music? How long does it take you to give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down?
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I usually know on first listen.
I can tell after the first listen whether I'm going to give it a second listen, but once I get over that hurdle there's no way to tell how long it'll take me to like a record. Generally, though, bands I already like get more chances. My favorite band put out a new album in April, and though I've tried and tried to get into it, I can't. But that record at least got 10-15 spins before I passed judgment.
I'm also way more forgiving of ambitious albums, partially because of shame (at not understanding the "vision" or whatever). Also, with an ambitious album, I expect the repeat listens to pay off and finally, one glorious spin, have the whole album make sense to me and become the object of intense love on my part.
Isn't it Wednesday? :-/
Generally I put a new CD into my car and my work computer and let it play a couple of times as I drive and work, so I get used to it. Usually by the third listen I have decided if I like the whole album, only a few songs, or none of it.
There is one musician for whom I can immediately embrace almost anything she puts out. Everybody else has to pass muster.
heh, my question is how many tracks do you have to like before you like the whole album? Do you have an acceptable range where you the album has a couple of stellar tracks, and the rest don't grate on you too much? How about one hit wonders? Now that you and many others are iTuning it, I suppose you will end up with pretty much only what you like... but oddly I have had CD's for years that the tracks I initially liked, aren't what I like any more, and other tacks are what I like now...
I figure if I like 1/4 of the tracks, and the others are acceptable, I like the whole thing. I will accept an album that I like 1/4 and hate the rest, but I'm disappointed... Everything else seems like a one hit wonder...
I'm usually the other way around - I'll fall in love with a song or album the first time I hear it, but after I've played it a bunch of times I kind of get sick of it, and I need to take a break.
Generally after about three listens I will have developed a relatively stable long-term opinion. However, if I absolutely hate something when I first hear it, that isn't likely to change.
If I like an album, there will usually be a 1-2 week "honeymoon" period where I'll want to hear it every day. After that, it will likely settle into my cd rack and get pulled for a spin once or twice a year.
Some things, like chitterlings, or pork rinds, grow on you. Music is the same way, so I don't trust my ears to come to a correct conclusion on first listen or without some space in between listens.
Usually a typical album that I am starting not to like will get about three attempts.
As to D's questions (11:10), an album is successful when I like 50% of the songs and consider at least three songs as gems. I will download a certain amount of one-offs, like the woman (Feist?) with that "1,2,3,4" song in the Apple commercials.
Others on my favorites list--like Mark Knopfler, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen, Coldplay, Lucy Kaplansky--they always get the benefit of the doubt and I will tend to actually buy the full album.
I usually listen to a new album exclusively (that is, at times when I'm listening to music-- I don't avoid NPR or TV) for two days, and then don't listen to it at all for two days, occasionally taking note of any of the music popping into my head. Then I give it a listen. If it's good on day 5, it's a good album.
I often love things on first listen, but sometimes it takes longer. If I still don't like something after four or five spins, I might eventually like it more, but I probably won't love it. I might be able to think of an exception, but that would take scrolling through my iTunes.
I've been thinking more lately about how the previous work of someone influences my feelings, and whether I should be less eager to see/read/hear something new by an old favorite. I've been thinking about this because of Richard Russo, one of my very favorite writers. I'm going to buy his new novel and devour it any day now. But my expectations of it are high since I've loved his previous books so much. Empire Falls already suffered from this with me -- it won the Pulitzer, but it was my least favorite of his. Was that because I had already loved Risk Pool, Straight Man, and Nobody's Fool so much that it had a hard time meeting my expectations? I've been toying with the idea of letting things float around in the culture for a year or so before tackling them, but I'm probably too geeky a fan to do that. It already amazes me that I haven't bought the Russo yet, and it's been out a good couple of weeks.