Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Creamtastic A Record A Day: Trying Not to Fail at Being a Listener
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Generally speaking, each of my colleagues here at the Cream has a few years and a few hundred records on me. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let the Maloneys, Haruches and Golds of the world school me in the ways of rock until I'm as old and bitter as they are. Just kidding, dudes. Anyhow, as more of an exercise in discipline than anything else, I'll be listening to a new album every day for the next 365 days. New to me, that is. This experiment is partially inspired by the abysmal words of Christopher Weingarten, partially by the fact that Adam Gold did it with three records a day for a year while playing Internet poker for a living, and partially by the fact that I've done it casually off and on for some time. From my mission statement:
My goal in this seemingly ambitious experiment isn't necessarily to review a record a day, but rather to simply hear one in its entirety...if my goal is to be a well-rounded listener (and thus a critic the reader can trust), shouldn't I have a broader palate? Shouldn't I challenge myself with that which is outside my area of expertise/interest?I won't lie about my m.o.: I'll start with albums I've intended to peep for some time, new releases by artists I enjoy and artists recommended to me by, say, my Last FM account. But from there I hope to branch out.
Some days you'll probably catch me giving a wistful screed about why an album reminds me of my childhood. On a particularly ineloquent day, you might catch me simply saying, "This one sucks." Recommendations are heartily encouraged, and if you'd like to send me your band's record, I might throw it in the mix. I've already posted about Record No. 1, Son Volt's forthcoming American Central Dust. While Tumblr doesn't offer a comments section, you can always comment here on the Cream or email me at prodgers[at]nashvillescene[dot]com with your recommendations, complaints or nude photographs.
Comments (10)
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It's inevitable for this to come across as anything but negative, but I think this is a terrible way to broaden one's musical horizons. I know I'm probably in the majority when I say that it takes me multiple listens and sometimes just time to grasp where an album is coming from. For all I know, this very well could be an excellent exercise for somebody planning to make a career as a music journalist, seeing as how deadlines factor so prominently in what you do... but that's exactly why I take most music reviews with a large grain of salt.
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it takes me multiple listens and sometimes just time to grasp where an album is coming from.
+1
How can trying to maximize your exposure by "terrible way to broaden one's musical horizons?" Obviously if you hear something you really like you'll go and listen to it more than once.
@assholes: Totally valid point. First off, I'm certainly not claiming to do any sort of in-depth analysis. As I said, it's more of an exercise in actively exploring new music and trying pretty much anything I come across. That being said, I'm a bit of an obsessive listener, and I played that Son Volt record three times before writing anything about it.
To me—and don't get me wrong...I know it's somewhat masturbatory—it's just about exposing myself to whatever I can and keeping a log as a way of holding myself accountable. Unless I absolutely despise a record/find it unlistenable, I never listen to an album I own only once.
Why bother? My entire life is already a Wilco listening party.
Just kidding. I might. We'll see.
"Obviously if you hear something you really like you'll go and listen to it more than once."
I would argue that that's more of a way to find bands/artists that you're already inclined to enjoy, which is totally different from exposing yourself and trying enjoy music you don't yet have a foothold on.
This is my inner hippie talking.
As I said, unless something's absolutely godawful, I'm going to listen to it more than once. And just because something might be outside my realm of typical interest, that doesn't mean I'm inclined to dislike it. Should I be attempting to review things I think I won't like?
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