Classic Album Club

[quisquose]

I heard about this on the Today programme on R4 this morning:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12212335

 

Music lovers gather for uninterrupted album appreciation.

 

The way people listen to music is changing with more people listening to music being shuffled on iPods and while they are on the move so it can be rare to listen to albums in full.

 

But a number of groups are starting to challenge that and are gathering to listen to classic albums in full and uninterrupted. The rules are strict - no talking, no texting - just listening.

 

The London club is run by Colleen Murphy and this month's album was by David Bowie.

 

It's not that long ago that the talk in the audio press about future formats was all about something superior in quality like DVD-A or SACD, when suddenly the iPod came along and quality gave in to convenience.

 

Speaking as somebody who still loves to play music on his Rega Planar 3 turntable, and always tries to make time to listen to albums in their entirety, I think this is a fantastic idea to encourage people to listen to music in the manner it was intended.

 

No doubt some of you will just think I am a dinosaur.

[alchresearch]

I saw it on BBC Breakfast. They all looked rather pretentious.

 

I agree though that a classic album should be played in its entirety, in the defined order. In some albums there is a lot more to just sticking songs in any old order.

 

I think Queen's "A Day at the Races" is one that must be listened to in the album order.

[EdnaKrabappe]

Actually no, I think it's a great idea. I'm as guilty as anyone now of just playing music via my computer as it's too much effort to go and locate a cd, it does encourage you to just listen to the tracks you know.

Spotify has made music so accessible, but also so disposable.

Over Christmas, my computer was broken and so I had no choice but to resort to the stereo. I was buying too many albums so I also made the decision not to buy any last year (I did fail at this resolution quite a few times) but listening to albums all the way through does make you appreciate a body of work more.

I do feel for the teens of today as I doubt they'll have the same passion for music in the same way I have and recently wrote a note about teen album listening on my facebook, mentioning albums that i still play, ones that I played to death then but wouldn't now and ones that I have a certain fondness for.

I still also think about a sides and b sides and wonder where they might come on more recent albums.

[medusa]

I'm a real album lover too. I work from CDs rather than vinyl (and if your living room was as small as mine then you would too!) but the process of browsing, choosing an album, putting it on and listening all the way through is really important to me.

 

I do have an mp3 player, but that's for situations like being out of the house mostly. My stereo even has an iPod dock built in to it, but I actually irrationally like my little silver discs, in the same way that I love books on real paper, not e-readers.

 

Last week was a Gerry Rafferty and Japan week, in memoriam of the deaths of great musicians.

 

This week I am having a classical week and have just pulled out a CD of Beethoven piano sonatas to start the day

[metalman]

I must obviously be a dinosaur here because I don't own an iPod and it's very rare that I pluck just one or two things off an album to listen to - usually I listen to the whole thing.

[melthebell]

All my fave albums are ones that i love ALL tracks on, no fillers, so listen all the way through whether its cd, vinyl of mp3

Wasnt pink floyd battling emi to not put their albums as seperate tracks online? As their albums should be listened to complete.