How to listen to music

pinksoir

On the new Gil Scott-Heron record there's this in the liner notes:

"There is a proper procedure for taking advantage of any investment.
Music, for example. Buying music is an investment.
To get the maximum you must
LISTEN TO IT FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS.

Not in your car or on a portable player through a headset.
Take it home.
Get rid of all distractions (even her or him).
Turn off your cell phone.
Turn off everything that rings or beeps or rattles or whistles.
Make yourself comfortable.
Play your LP.
LISTEN all the way through.
Think about what you got.
Think about who would appreciate the investment.
Decide if there is someone to share this with.
Turn it on again.
Enjoy Yourself."

How many of you guys listen to music this way, or even as much as on a good set of speakers? I have to admit, I listen to too much music on crappy laptop speakers, but mostly because I'm too lazy. I have a great set of monitors I should really listen to all music on, and indeed I do use them when I've invested (and as per GSH's liner notes, music should be seen as an investment, not merely as a temporary distraction. You are investing in the hard work of an artist you like) in a new record. But a lot of the music I listen to is online; soundcloud, myspace, bandcamp etc. I can't help but feel that while having music online is a good way to promote your self for free, the end listeners are missing out on the impact of records.

For example, we recorded a record in a great studio (Electrical Audio) and agonised over getting mic positions just right to get an amazing room sound etc etc. We mastered it from tape in Abbey Road and preserved the natural dynamics - no compression, and on a good set of speakers it really sounds great. You can hear tons of little nuances and flavours from the instruments, the presence from the room etc. I was hesitant to stick it up online as it just sounds like crap in comparison on laptop speakers, even on headphones as there is a good bit of hard panning. I really think it affects the impact of the record on first listen.

Nowadays a lot of engineers are mixing for crappy speakers, and mastering engineers are mastering for the same. A lot of music nowadays, whilst the songs may be great, just aren't a patch on older recordings due to this type of carry on. The first offender was over-compression in mastering which takes the dynamic range right out of songs. Mixing for crappy speakers seems like the logical next step from that.

I watch a lot of movies on my TV, but I also go to the cinema, especially if the film was designed to be seen in a cinema. A decent set of speakers can be got for under 200 quid. It's not convenient or practical for most people to listen on good speakers, but surely it's worth the investment if you really love music.

Laptop speakers are the equivalent of watching a widescreen movie on a 14" portable TV.

homerun_homer

That’s how I used to listen to music. Me and a big pair of headphones, listened through my parents hi-fi. As you get old you don't get this luxury as often. I don’t have a stereo now, just some crap radio with dodgey speakers I won in work a couple years ago. I don’t give anything a first listen on it. I try and listen to things straight through in work, but not guaranteed no distractions since it’s work and if I’ve nothing to do I’ll still get bugged by someone at some point. But it’s still how I get the most out of an album that I’ve not heard before. Sad but true.

Could be worse though. I could be someone who only ever gets listening to stuff in car, on the run with ipod and not get as much time to digest it.

pinksoir

Actually, I listen to a lot of music in the car cos I travel around a lot on long journeys. I have to say that of all the alternative ways to listen it's far and away the best. A good set of speakers in the car, really loud. It's completely self contained, like a speaker, and you can mess with the balance to get it just right (driving on the right, balance more to the left...)

MikeHoncho

pinksoir wrote: »

Actually, I listen to a lot of music in the car cos I travel around a lot on long journeys. I have to say that of all the alternative ways to listen it's far and away the best. A good set of speakers in the car, really loud. It's completely self contained, like a speaker, and you can mess with the balance to get it just right (driving on the right, balance more to the left...)

I agree with this. I often find I have more appreciation for albums which I first listened to in the car. You also tend not to skip through tracks and so get the full album experience.

I plan on investing in a decent HiFi system in the near future. In the meantime I have got a proper set of headphones recently and the difference it makes is incredible.

I am also trying to break the download habit. Listening online is fine for sampling before you buy but MP3's just can't compare with the sound you get off CD and Vinyl in my experience. Its hard to put into words but MP3's just don't sound as good even at 320kb.

lordgoat

Interesting post, i'll reply in full later.

pinksoir

Well cd and vinyl is crystal clear. If you consider a wav file is anywhere between 30-60mb in size and a 320kbps mp3 is between 8-12, obviously that compression is affecting the quality. Then you get into .flac files etc, which can be bigger still. A CD is 700mb max, but a lot come in close to that, 500-600mb. Which is a very good argument for sites such as Bandcamp - the downloading of high quality .flac files as an option along with 320kbps mp3.

Our ears are sensitive to frequencies we're not necessarily aware of but they have an effect on our perception of music. When I listen to music in the car it's usually mp3, sometimes CD. Whenever it's mp3, my ears are always longing out for that extra 'something' that's missing. Obviously it's not practical to carry around a bunch of CDs in the car; they get trod on, scratched, the boxes get cracked, and they take up so much room. A 2 inch thumb drive is far more convenient. But again, the sound suffers as a result.

John

I listen in a number of ways depending on the situation. In work, I tend to listen to mp3s either on my laptop or ipod (in both cases through in ear headphones) but tend to listen to CDs either in the car or through my PS3 (which although not ideal, sounds better than a few stereos I've owned). Vinyl is always on a stereo (obviously, it's not the most portable format...). My wife used to only listen to albums on her ipod and one day I was playing the CD of one of her favourite albums through the stereo and she couldn't believe the difference. I don't think most know there would be a difference. And I don't think the difference is in the format, just by playing mp3s through a stereo system compared to laptop speakers or headphones makes a huge difference by the sheer physical fact that the speakers can recreate the sound from a lossless or lossy file better than the limited scope of a small, cheap speaker.

In any case, a lot can be gotten from an album in any format by just doing like GSH suggests and actually listening rather than just hearing it in the background. Like Pinksoir says, the artist has put a lot of time and effort into making it sound good, why not do the album a service and listen to it with full attention. You don't put movies on in the background on your laptop, why do it for albums?

pinksoir

On a related note:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12209143

lordgoat

One of the best quotes i heard was from (i think a rolling stone reporter) the I am trying to Break Your Heart documentary. (Or possibly it was Jim O Rourke now that i think about it). They said that for some music you have to just sit with it. That line has always stuck with me. I believe you have to give some music the consideration they deserve, while others what you hear first time is what you will pretty much hear each time.

For that Wilco album - Yankee. I remember wandering around Galway listening to it on a discman for months. I mean in the evenings i'd just pop it on and walk for hours playing it through on max volume3 times over. ( I didn't have many friends over there!)

Then i played it through a stereo on record and it was like hearing the songs for the first time again. There was so much music on that album that i'd missed out on. It's funny i only noticed a few months ago but i don't listen to wilco or elliott smith on mp3 nearly as much as i used to, if i'm in their mood it's records all the way.

lordgoat

pinksoir wrote: »

On a related note:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12209143

I'd love one to start up in dublin actually.

pinksoir

Likewise. There'd be a few venues in town that would be good for it. Upstairs in Anseo for one.

smokedeels

pinksoir wrote: »

On a related note:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12209143

That would be class, I'm having a Homer Simpson "Can't someone else do it" moment, but I'd love to attend something like that.

pinksoir

I'd say it'd be a weird but cool experience. Listening to albums is usually a solitary affair and gigs are generally the way we communally listen. But I look at albums as a completely different form. The studio is an instrument in itself. I fell in love with music through listening to albums, and my favourites are one's that give you something new every time you listen. It's not possible to have that sort of connectedness with a memory of a live gig.

I'd say it'd be similar enough to the cinema seeings as music is pretty visual anyway. Synaesthesia and all that. Minus the popcorn grazing of course!

stateofflux

until the day i bought a good amp and speakers i was'nt listening to music...

i don't listen to anybodies opinion on music if they only have an ipod as they hav'nt really heard what the song/album actually sounds like....

pinksoir

Ah, I dunno if that's true. You can get a good idea of songs and that through lossy formats, mp3 players etc. But I agree, you're totally missing out on what the artists intend it to sound like. It's kinda like having a poster of a painting. It's a decent representation, but you can't appreciate it fully until you see it in the flesh.

The difference between copies of art and copies of music is that you can own a perfect representation of the music and it doesn't cost a bomb.

John

That's weird about the record listening clubs, I had thought of something like that but assumed no one would be interested. This sort of thing used to be common in journalism, listening sessions for a room full of writers.

Miguel_Sanchez

John wrote: »

That's weird about the record listening clubs, I had thought of something like that but assumed no one would be interested. This sort of thing used to be common in journalism, listening sessions for a room full of writers.

Are those Sufjan Stevens listening parties going in New York?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124475230719107485.html

I must contact that guy next time I'm over in Brooklyn.

pinksoir

Jeff_Lebowski wrote: »

Are those Sufjan Stevens listening parties going in New York?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124475230719107485.html

I must contact that guy next time I'm over in Brooklyn.

That's fairly odd, but also pretty cool. Fair play to him. I dunno how I'd feel just turning up at some dude's house. It would want to be one great song! Though being Sufjan, I'm sure it'd be good.

pinksoir

John wrote: »

That's weird about the record listening clubs, I had thought of something like that but assumed no one would be interested. This sort of thing used to be common in journalism, listening sessions for a room full of writers.

For journalists I could imagine it might happen a decent amount. It'd definitely be a great way to broaden your musical palatte and I'm surprised there aren't any going at the moment (there could well be). Journalists aren't the only ones with a passion for music :pac: How do you choose what to play though! 60 years of albums in popular music, longer if you were to incorporate jazz. The paradox of choice rears it's head again!

John

pinksoir wrote: »

For journalists I could imagine it might happen a decent amount.

I know some labels like them as unlike sending out promos, the album is not likely to be leaked. The downside is you have to get journalists to come to you, fine if you do it in London but even so, you're missing the international press.

lordgoat

Jeff_Lebowski wrote: »

Are those Sufjan Stevens listening parties going in New York?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124475230719107485.html

I must contact that guy next time I'm over in Brooklyn.

Yeah i'd def pop along for tea and sufjan.

Amazed it hasn't been leaked yet.