Recently I did something that I haven’t done in about a decade or so: I bought an album without listening entirely before buying it!
The record I chose was Sufjan Stevens’ The Ascension, and my decision was influenced by 1) having already enjoyed the singles enough to know I would probably enjoy the full album equally, and 2) I fell in love with the limited edition of the album released in translucent vinyl (ass seen above).
Not too long ago, when I used to collect CDs, that seemed to be the common thing to do, meaning to buy the album knowing very little of its content, past one or two hit singles previously released. The other reason for buying albums in the past was also having previously enjoyed the artist’s work in older records.
But there was also another magic that used to happen in the past. As soon as I was back home with my new purchase, there would be a whole ritual of putting the album in the CD player, opening up the booklet to follow the lyrics, and embarking on a journey that would only end at the very last track of the album.
And my question is: when was the last time you listened to an album back to back? And if that happened, was it a favorite record that you revisited or a brand new release that you wanted to give it a try?
It’s sad to realize that we’re living in the so-called “playlist generation”, where artists are forced by the industry to be constantly releasing new singles all the time in a race trying to not be forgotten. As a fan, of course that it’s great to have new music from artists we like. The more the merrier! But is that really a good thing?
With the streaming services making millions of songs available in our pockets, it’s becoming more and more difficult to sit back and really pay attention to the music we’re listening to. Different than watching a movie, reading a book, or going to an art exhibition, listening to music is (unfortunately) becoming something less active and much more passive than it used to be. Music nowadays is merely a soundtrack to whatever other activity we are doing at the moment, and that’s why the playlists are here to stay.
No wonder why so many young people are interested in buying vinyl again (myself included). It’s an attempt to get a little closer to that feeling of turning the record player on and absorbing all you can take with no distractions. It may be a lost battle against the busy life with shorter attention span we all have right now, but I’m committed to not letting that go for as long as I can!
What are some of your favorite albums from 2020 so far?