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The Museum vs. Galleries

I am curious about what percentage of your time is spent listening to music with which you are familiar, versus playing music that you do not know well, or at all. 

Sometimes, when I play an old, wonderful Coltrane album that I know like the back of my hand, or The Who, or Joni or Samuel Barber, I think of myself walking in an old familiar museum, like the Met, or the MFA here in Boston. I know where the pieces are that I have loved for decades, and I usually know how they will make me feel - though sometimes I am surprised. 

And sometimes, when I decide to do an investigation of Makaya McCraven, or Waxahatchee, or Vijay Iyer or others I do not yet know, or know nearly as well, I feel the excitement I remember from walking in Soho (in the old days) or Chelsea or wherever the newer galleries are that have contemporary work.

What percentage of time do you spend listening to the new as opposed to resting in the familiar? 

For the record, I don't think the museum is better than the galleries, or vice versa. But I am curious about how fellow listeners use their precious listening time. And if you are happy with it or want to change.

dtorc
jastralfu's avatar
jastralfu
323 posts
 

I spend most of my time with music I know relatively well, probably 75%-80% of my time. I’ve built playlists that cover so many different decades and genres that it doesn’t get old. The other 25% is spent when I get in the mood for listening to albums, both from artists I know well and from artists I know songs from but haven’t listened to the entire recording to which the song belongs, or exploring related artists and discovering other genres (jazz mostly) that I don’t have much exposure to.

immatthewj
1,847 posts
 

When I get in the mood for something, it is something I am familiar with.

I don’t stream; however, I went through several years in my life when I was buying CDs all the time, and I have CDs I haven't listened to for a long time and that I forgot I even own and CDs I may have listened to only once or twice or so, and occasionally I go through them and pick one of those out.

mashif
232 posts
 

I devote some afternoon time to music discovery. That might be new artists or new releases from familiar ones. If I don't find anything interesting in 30 minutes or so, I'll listen to Internet radio for a while. Nighttime is comfort time with music I know I love. 

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feldmen4
113 posts
 

Interesting question. Typically when I am “listening” to music I play something familiar - playlists or albums though sometimes the albums are from artists I know well but may not be familiar with that particular album. But for long sessions that typically start with listening but become background music as I start working on other tasks rather than just listening I let Roon radio take over and get exposed to all sorts of new music I’m not familiar with - like on weekends. I’m guessing this means my system plays 50/50 between familiar and new to me. I’ve discovered a lot of really great new music and artists this way. 

tomaswv
217 posts
 

Depends on the day of the week. Qobuz new releases come out on Friday. So Friday is virtually 100% listening to new jazz and classical releases. Saturday and Sunday are maybe 75% new, depending on the size of the haul. By Thursday I’m pretty much 100% old favorites, with an occasional new fav thrown into the old fav category.

Yesterday, (Wednesday) for example, I woke up with an ungovernable urge to hear Mingus Three or Four Shades of Blue which led to Philip Catherine.  Also listened to Wallace Stoney’s Stand and Nina Simone’s I put a spell on you.  All from my collection. So nothing new.  

 

 

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