What can playing an album 10 times in a row tell you?

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I played an album about 10 times in a row today at work. I got more annoyed with it as it played. Does that mean it's a bad album for me, or that it's dumb to play an album 10 times in a row?

Is playing an album several times in succession a good way to listen to it?

― dleone, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't make me repeat myself.

― dleone, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Surely it depends on the album. For instance, if it was Weathered, say, we might have to investigate thoroughly.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

yes ... why not play it constantly? i find when i listen to something constantly for a period of time it intensifies the association between music and life greatly. i listened to mbv's "isn't anything" for about twelve hours straight on headphones when i first got it and then i put it aside for a while. even now, over a year later whenever i listen to it i can almost smell and taste and see the things i could when i was listening to that album all the time.

of course i find that most music doesn't do this, but when i hear something that says the right thing to me at the right time it's very powerfully affecting.

― fields of salmon, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

What can it tell you? Could simply mean that you haven't got any other albums to listen to. Most albums will start to get annoying after 10 consecutive listens. If you're finding that you're getting annoyed, it's time to set it aside for later. If you find it annoying on the SECOND consecutive listen, that's probably more telling.

― Sean Carruthers, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

In my younger/more blissful days, me and the lads/lasses played Kitchens of Distinction's 'The Death of Cool' 32 times in a loop. What it told me: It's the best album of the 90s. Particulary when it comes to coachgazer rock.

― Tim DiGravina, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i recently played 'love is hell' about 5 times in succession, what a marvelous band.

― keith, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

At work one day I played Rumours from morning till... the stereo started making weird screetchy sounds. I have been known to play particular songs on repeat for hours on end. "Big Yellow Taxi" is one of'em.

― helenfordsdale, Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

That you should probably go out?

― N., Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

if its a good album it will not only survive the test of time but will get better with every listen

― cormac de barra, Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

it's rare that I even listen to the same album twice within the span of a week. i don't get the whole repitition thing...the whole reason I own a lot of records is so that I don't have to turn on the radio and hear the same damn song so many times that I start to hate it no matter how good it may have once sounded.

― al, Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i try not to play any of my records ever, in case i'm an idiot

― mark s, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The only way to know for sure is to play it in different contexts.
I prefer playing my CDs either on my main stereo (setting: office, with sunlight shining through the window) or my discman (setting: on my nightstand* late at night, through headphones, with the lights out.)
Those that pass both of those tests get a tryout on the crummy, cheap-ass boombox (setting: kitchen. so I have something to listen to while doing dishes.) If a record sounds good on the Fscked-Up Boombox of Doom, then it truly is a great record.

* A long time ago my cousin stepped on it, and now it only works know via power adapter and thus is no longer portable.

― Lord Custos, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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