Wednesday, February 05, 2003
The Art of Listening
Amazing how recorded music can change, even though it's fixed, an object. When I first listened to Source Tags and Code by And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, I skimmed it after purchasing a few CDs. On the first pass, it sounded monotonous and a little crude like heavy metal--hard, unpleasant, the songs similar to one another. On the second (a more leisured) listen, it warmed up and I heard a true LP, subtle, and warmer than I had thought. I had a moment of shock at first, in which I literally did not recognize the beginning--it sounded completely different--even though I'd heard it a few days before and have a strong sense of musical recognition.
I've had this experience a lot lately--inspired by year-end tesimonials I bought and borrowed stacks of CDs from 2002. Again and again these CDs changed on me--but obviously I was the one who changed. It wasn't just the phenomenon of increasing familiarity, which I became conscious of in my teens as a major factor in finding love for music; it's also the difference in approach, mood, willingness to listen. A friend wrote to me about Bjork's album Vespertine recently, about how he grew to like it after playing it many times in the background at home, and I responded:
"I would listen on listening booths and get frustrated. Makes me realize
there are so many different ways to listen. Listening booths are a mixed
blessing (and online samples, like at Amazon, are another story)--you get
to sample something, but because you're standing there usually holding a
bag or whatever, you tend to get this "Get on with it, get to the
hook/chorus" mentality. Once I had Vespertine at home, I could listen without
focussing on it, and it made all the difference. I really loved it. I
think it's a very special album. Bjork has such great singles, it's nice
to have her craft a whole album that's consistent."
Other KINDS of listening, for example: concert-going; or those times when I'm at home with the stereo on in the background; or--most intimately--wearing headphones with a portable player, completely different ways of listening from the shopping mode. And different ways of listening seem to favor different kinds of music--long forms versus singles, for example, pop/hook-driven versus more subtle...or even simpler.
