Aquinas turns 8 on Sunday, and I realized that I have exceedingly little music from the past 8 years in my collection - much less than the 8 years before that. Before I had kids, I had time for music. I would seek out new stuff, try different things, discover, etc. I just have so little of that now. It's a big part of why my tastes haven't continued to grow.
Now, maybe once a week, I just plug in my headphones and take a whirl around youtube for a night, clicking on whatever mostly familiar starting point I pick, and going from there. I jump around a lot, but not a ton of new things pop up. (A side note: it seems like all the algorithms (and this is true for Pandora, et. al., too) keep redirecting me to the things I know, not the things I don't know.) It's not really a time for checking out new stuff, because it's my rare chance to ground myself. It's a time of re-centering and recharging, not discovering.
So I don't know when to find time for more new stuff. After the kids leave home, I suppose. Maybe I'll be able to count on them to introduce me to music someday. I put a lot of effort into giving them broad exposure to the music I know, so maybe their tastes will be diverse too, and someday that'll pay off.
Anyway, what are your listening habits? When do you listen? Do you mix in old and new together? Do you find specific time for discovery of the new?
The only time I really catch new music is when listening to the local college's radio station in the car, but working from home means I'm not in my car that much.
Coming home from supper and groceries w/Mrs. Runner last night, even while distracted I picked up the 5/4 measures in this nice little track
1. Roger Knox “Streets of Tamworth” Buried County: The Story of Aboriginal Country
2. Einstürzende Neubauten “The Willy-Nicky Telegrams” Lament
3. John Coltrane “Quartet: Acknowlegement (Part 1)” A Love Suprem
4. Roger Knox and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts “Streets of Tamworth”* Stranger in My Land
5. Gene Autry “Blue Shadows on the Trail (v2)” The Western Collection: 25 Cowboy Classics
6. Nisennenmondai “B-1 (You Ishihara Mix)” Nisennenmondai EP
a. Willow Ptarmigan “Calls”* (Cornell Essential Set)
7. Pan Sonic “Mutaattori” Kesto
8. Jan St. Werner “Split Animal Sculpture” Split Animal Sculpture
9. The Cinematic Orchestra “Everyday” Every Day
T. Underworld “Push Downstairs” Beaucoup Fish
B. Zola Jesus “Witness” Okovi*
*Notes:
4. Not the same recording as 1.
a. Sounds like one of those toys that makes a jibberish sound when you shake it.
B. New album. So far, really good. Less "stretching" of her skills and abilities to sound "poppy" (like Taiga). More leaning into her strengths to produce the essential back-to-the-basics Zola Jesus album that she never actually made. (Her quintessential releases are two EPs: Stridulum and Valusia.) If it didn't sound like she regrets her performing name (which she chose as a rebellious teenager), this album would have been a good choice for a self-titled album. But all of that's just a quick take... I reserve the right to change opinions on repeated listens.
I typically listen at work, as I'm fortunate enough to have my own office, a computer that will stream with acceptable sound quality, and no regulation on internet activity. I don't have music on during appointments, but I do play it while working on projects, entering practitioner's notes, etc. I did a much better job of listening to new stuff last year than this year, possibly motivated by my desire to capture a really solid mix for the Poissonnier's first year.
I gave up listening to music on the bus. Between engine noise and people with poor bus etiquette, it's just better to listen to podcasts.
Do you find yourself actually able to focus and get work done when listening at work?
If I'm doing anything where I'm reading or writing I pretty much need music that I know incredibly well, so that it can fade into the background or instrumental tracks.
Actually, if I'm reading/writing, I need music that I don't know well (though usually just keep it off completely). If I do know it, I'll just groove along to the music and get distracted.
Most of my coworkers have earbuds in while they work. I need for the most part silence or a predictable din in the background to write anything. If it was music I didn't know, like hj said, that would be fine. But when I hear music I like it gets my full attention and I want to sing. I can't listen to a podcast and work either.
Do you find yourself actually able to focus and get work done when listening at work?
I'll say it again -- soundtrack music. It was created to be in the background*
*don't get me started on movie music with vocals
I have done that before at work. Pulled up Gattaca once and it was nice to work to.
It is funny how sometimes it's not so much finding music to listen to as it is finding music to avoid. I've mentioned before too, that when I work out and run laps, I intentionally choose complicated mixed-meter stuff that won't give me a beat to get stuck in.
And now I'm listening to Gattaca soundtrack.
As you would guess, I don't listen to a lot of new music. I do try to listen to a little, though, mostly as I'm driving around town. New pop, new country, new contemporary Christian. Mainly, I want to have at least some vague idea of what's popular these days.
When I'm at work or on the road, however, I listen to the old stuff I like, mostly "The Bridge" on siriusxm. If Mrs. A is with me, we'll listen to the classic country station some, because that's what she likes.
01. “Can You Picture That?” – Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem – The Muppet Movie
02. “I Want You Right Now” – MC5 – Kick Out The Jams
03. “So You’ll Aim Toward The Sky” – Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump
04. “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” – Johnny Cash – American Recordings
05. “Rememory ft. Erykah Badu – Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment – Surf
06. “Cleaning House” – Vagabon – Infinite Worlds
07. “If I Should Die Tonight” – Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On
08. “Feet Asleep” – Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – We Brave Bee Stings And All
09. “Captain Stupido” – Thundercat – Drunk
10. “Scales” – Solange – A Seat At The Table
I find myself pleasantly surprised that #1 appeared on your list. Well done.
I listen at work and in the car. My exposure to new music has drastically dwindled. The rock stations near me play mostly older alternative rock, a la grunge. They'll play some of the newer rock, but very little variety. I discovered not too long ago, that I much prefer the stations that play 80's 90's and now to the latest rock or pop stations. I'm becoming an old man.
I've tried Spotify, but I just can't get into it. I use Prime much more. I also don't have a lot of patience for new music. I like what I like.
The only time I would have to listen to new music is during my commute, and I would rather listen to podcasts. And I have about five hobbies I enjoy more than music and am terrible at multi-tasking. I do find myself, though, when I listen to music I love, remembering the first time I heard the song and how it evolved into a spot into my long-term memory. I miss that.
The car is where I do most of my listening. Occasionally I'll listen at work, but that's really only when I get really busy and want to drown everything out or when the annoying guy starts talking. At home I really only get much chance to listen when I'm brewing.
The ability to buy and download albums has led to a bit of an upswing in new music. I've been buying about twenty albums a year with a mixture of old and new. When I listen I don't care when it's from as long as it doesn't suck.
During dinner, NBBW does Pandora usually with Bastille - this delivers Pompeii, Mumford & Sons, Avett Bros, etc. While driving, I've been dialed into our local college stations and Puerto Rican stations. Sat 1PM has opera on the local NPR.