Why do you change your mind about records?

I generally think that a record is as good as it was the last time I listened to it. So that's why. Some opinions change, some don't, all are flexible.

Is it unfair to criticise a record if you were capable of loving it once? That is to say if it's had an effect before.

I don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like I did when I was five.

1. In my music listener's universe there is the "loved to death" category. Take Portishead "Dummy". When it came out it was my favourite record for about a year. Nowadays I cannot listen to it anymore. Beth Gibbons voice drives me nuts. So I basically changed my opinion of that record just by listening too much to it. That is always the danger for all music I like.

2. Another thing is the relativeness of all opinions. In a personal music world where there is only hardcore I would probably think that Slayer and Motorhead were the greatest bands of all-time. But after having been introduced to the Beatles, Velvet Underground and Joy Division I would probably put this judgement into perspective. The older I get the more I extend my knowledge of music. Old favourites can fall out of grace just by discovering that they have been copying someone else, that they have been less original than I thought in the beginning.

3. I can also change my mind on music I did not get on the first listen. A lot of music I misjudge in the beginning, e.g. the Cocteau Twins, which did not click immediately.

A lot of times music does take awhile to click, at least with me. One day there's an epiphany and the music sounds gorgeous and makes sense in a way it did not before.

The opposite holds true as well. Familiarity (or more specifically over-familiarity) can breed contempt. With certain songs and artists the more you hear the more the mystery and charm of the music recedes.

i change my mind, because i change. i'm not the same person i was a year ago or even six months ago. most of the time i have the same opinion about something as i did before, but i will change my mind often too. i don't exist in a vacuum.

also, you can hear things in a song you didn't before, or view it differently, or be in a different frame of mind. i love piano magic, happy mondays and autechre. i hated them all when i heard them first

Most of these answers echo mine, so I'll leave it at that. ;-) Noted turnaround, sort of -- initially thought Gallon Drunk were just the Birthday Party redux and mocked it duly. Repeated exposure brought forth their particular scuzzy charm more, and though I still think they're working from that particular blueprint, they give it their own spin.

The boredom factor makes it hard to tell the difference between "they're good I just don't like them anymore" and "I've changed my mind they're not good". It's best to assume it's the latter - it sounds so carefree and dashing.

Curt's answer the most convincing yet.

i tried so hard to like that manuva album!

Many of my favorite bands, I didn't like at all the first time I heard them. Usually thats because my favorite music takes more listening to get. Then my view changes of it.

I'm just a fickle bastard

One of the things which leads to disillusionment with bands is that initially they create a world through music, sleeves, video's etc which I can immerse myself in, all the details are right. Later on they introduce elements which clash with that world and my previous initial thoughts are 'tainted', spoiling my enjoyment of their earlier work. Examples of this would be Simple Minds after new gold dream or Divine Comedy after Casanaova.

I remember buying a record when it was released, hating it and selling it. I end up buying the record again 8 years later after hearing it at a house party wondering why i ever thought it was so crap. I sometimes you get a more open mind as you get older, or people introduce you to things that you have never heard before, or in a context that you've never heard it, as with the above. Sometimes though, i am amazed what good taste i had when I was younger (My Bloody Valentine, Pixies) compared to my early 20's when i started to listen to Trance, which i absolutely cannot stand any more. Sometimes, the initial enthusiasm for a new type of music doesn't last when you realise it's a one trick pony.