Overplaying all-time favourites...

[IDontNotDoThings]

Admittedly I'm venting a bit, but it seems that lately, a lot of songs I really like have been reaching that stage where I've overplayed them & they're losing their effect. It's incredibly frustrating because you know that there is legitimately good songwriting in these songs but for some god-forsaken reason, the song just doesn't connect. I guess that goes for all listenings of any song because the first listen truly has the most impact, but that's what kinda blurs the line for me & like I said, it's extremely frustrating.

I'm bringing this up because lately it seems that whenever I first hear an album that I like, the second that I end up buying the album, I immediately lose interest & can't enjoy it anymore. It's gotten to the point where I'm legitimately scared to listen to my favourite albums anymore because I'm terrified that I'll find out that I've lost any emotional connection to them that I once had.

Can anyone relate? 

[Luoto]

I guess that goes for all listenings of any song because the first listen truly has the most impact, but that's what kinda blurs the line for me & like I said, it's extremely frustrating.

I could name several examples from my favourites where the first listen didn't have the most impact. You might just need something different for a change and come back to your old favourites later.

[Stadler]

This happens to me on occasion, and I find "time heals all wounds".  I got really soured on Maiden for a while, to the point that while I loved it, I really couldn't enjoy Book of Souls like I should have.   But for whatever reason (well, I know the reason) I listened to NotB about three months ago, and it all clicked like it was 1982 all over again.   I've been on a heavy kick lately, and even dug into some tunes that hadn't ever really connected (Flash of the Blade comes to mind). 

It's like a woman; give it (the music) time and space and it will come back to you. 

[MirrorMask]

This happens to me mainly with the early band I started to listen to. After discovering hard rock with Bon Jovi and Guns n' Roses, I became a metalhead with Iron maiden in 1995, that's 22 years ago by now. So I fell in love with the music and listened basically that for years, 'cause back in the day I really was listening only to Maiden, Bon Jovi, Guns n' Roses and nothing more, it was not yet a time of YouTube and Spotify and fast internet, I had those cassette tapes and that was it.

So I massively overplayed those songs to the point that I could go to a Maiden concert without having listened to them for years, and still I could sing along to the songs by heart. Same with other bands I discovered early on like Blind Guardian, Helloween, etc...

I'll always love Maiden to death, I'll always say they are my favorite band, but I'm the weird paradox of never listening to my favorite band anymore 'cause what's the point in hearing The Trooper and The Number of the Beasth for the gazillionth time? really, if you wanna know how many times I've heard recently The Trooper, just ask me how many Maiden concerts I've attended lately.

Of course I still listen to the new albums when they come out, and love them a lot, but I never go back to the older albums. Same with DT, really, which I discovered back in 1999, I didn't even need to listen to Images and Words one single time for the tour, and I sang along to the entire album anyway at the concert.

[King Postwhore]

I overplay albums I love all the time when they first come out.  I just have time away from the album for a while and it becomes fresh again.

[Lowdz]

I have so many classic albums that burnout doesn't become a factor. Just play something else.

I find the opposite is true these days: albums don't have time to become classics because I don't have the same time to devote to them.

[Stadler]

I have so many classic albums that burnout doesn't become a factor. Just play something else.

I find the opposite is true these days: albums don't have time to become classics because I don't have the same time to devote to them.

THIS.  If I was 19 again, and it was 1986, I am certain that I would know every inch, every note, every word of the Rival Sons albums I have.  I KNOW I would have been full in on them back then.   I wish I had time and inclination to invest in them now, and I just can't.   The other day, in the Maiden thread, from memory I listed Powerslave, sides one and two, in order.  I look at the new Rival Sons record I have and see songs and I couldn't even sing you the chorus melody until I hear it.   Does this make sense?

[pogoowner]

I'm the same way. I can tell you everything there is to know about all my Kansas albums, because I listened to them constantly when I was younger and I dedicated myself to focusing on them. And I almost never listen to them these days. But I just don't really do that anymore. Sitting down with the lyrics sheet or just sitting and listening, while not focusing on something else, just doesn't happen for me anymore. And when I try, I usually fall asleep.

I have many newer albums that are stellar, but I'd struggle to name more than a few songs from them.

[Lowdz]

Back in the day there just wasn't the volume of music available. If you bought a shit album you had to keep playing it until you liked it 

[TAC]

I find the opposite is true these days: albums don't have time to become classics because I don't have the same time to devote to them.

I totally agree.

THIS.  If I was 19 again, and it was 1986, I am certain that I would know every inch, every note, every word of the Rival Sons albums I have.  I KNOW I would have been full in on them back then.   I wish I had time and inclination to invest in them now, and I just can't.   The other day, in the Maiden thread, from memory I listed Powerslave, sides one and two, in order.  I look at the new Rival Sons record I have and see songs and I couldn't even sing you the chorus melody until I hear it.   Does this make sense?

Absolutely!

Back in the day there just wasn't the volume of music available. If you bought a shit album you had to keep playing it until you liked it 

Plus if you bought it, then you had an investment in it. And the volume of music is immense. Back in the day, there was no Spotify or YouTube. All you had to go on was the radio, the album cover, or word of mouth. Maybe a magazine article. That's it.

Now, even coming on DTF, one guy is talking about "this" new album, and another guy is talking about "that" new band. There's so much collateral damage just trying to keep up.


I posted this in the Fogey Thread awhile back, but the thing I miss most from my youth was the feeling when nothing else mattered except the album you were listening to.

[KevShmev]

You guys are speaking my language.

While it's awesome to have access to so much music now, that feeling TAC talked about it is definitely something I miss.

Back in the day, there were songs I loved that I couldn't wait to hear on the radio or see on MTV, cause where else was I going to hear them?  The convenience factor nowadays of having any song I want to hear being a mouse click or two away on my iTunes is nice, but I miss getting that "Wow, I didn't expect to hear that song today" feeling.

As for songs I have overplayed, some still sound as awesome as ever to me. Examples are Tom Sawyer, Carry On Wayward Son and Us and Them.

On the flip side, I have heard Comfortably Numb so many times now that it never gives me that wow feeling any more. And that kinda sucks.

[TAC]

Are you saying that Comfortably Numb leaves you um...comfortably numb?

[KevShmev]

Are you saying that Comfortably Numb leaves you um...comfortably numb?

[Architeuthis]

I listened to "Count Of Tuscany" after drinking tequila last night and it was freaking awesome!

[LudwigVan]

I find the opposite is true these days: albums don't have time to become classics because I don't have the same time to devote to them.

I totally agree.

THIS.  If I was 19 again, and it was 1986, I am certain that I would know every inch, every note, every word of the Rival Sons albums I have.  I KNOW I would have been full in on them back then.   I wish I had time and inclination to invest in them now, and I just can't.   The other day, in the Maiden thread, from memory I listed Powerslave, sides one and two, in order.  I look at the new Rival Sons record I have and see songs and I couldn't even sing you the chorus melody until I hear it.   Does this make sense?

Absolutely!

Back in the day there just wasn't the volume of music available. If you bought a shit album you had to keep playing it until you liked it 

Plus if you bought it, then you had an investment in it. And the volume of music is immense. Back in the day, there was no Spotify or YouTube. All you had to go on was the radio, the album cover, or word of mouth. Maybe a magazine article. That's it.

Now, even coming on DTF, one guy is talking about "this" new album, and another guy is talking about "that" new band. There's so much collateral damage just trying to keep up.


I posted this in the Fogey Thread awhile back, but the thing I miss most from my youth was the feeling when nothing else mattered except the album you were listening to.

Yep, music has now become a by-product of today's 'throwaway' culture. Back in the day you would never think of trashing that shiny slab of vinyl and tri-fold album sleeve with gorgeous artwork that you plunked down $5.99 of your hard-earned allowance for.  Now it's simply a matter of clicking on the 'delete' button.

That said, with so much music out there to sift through, it really forces you to have a critical ear, even when you're just giving something a casual listen.

[Lowdz]

Only once did I ever take back an album after playing it once, and that was Frank Zappa's JazzFrom Hell. I'd had a couple of his albums and was a huge Vai fan so bought it on release. Very quickly realised it wasn't for me and took it back.

One of my mates almost took back Queensryche 's Rage For Order - I'd talked him into buying it because I had a The Warning. He hated it so I bought it off him cheap.  Went on to be one of the best albums I've heard.

[red barchetta]

Like many of you, I used to sit and listen to my albums from the beginning to the end of it and learn by heart all the lyrics. There were albums I would listen to especially when I was going to bed, relaxing me and carying me to sleep. It's been years or maybe a couple of decades since I have done that. The only time I really take for reading all the lyrics and everything you find on an album sleeve is when I have to wait in my car for someone, my wife, a friend in a store or where ever.

I have never overplayed bands to the point of getting tired of them. But everytime I go see a band in concert, I take a couple of weeks off of their music. It's good to be starving a bit before going to a great meal.

[KevShmev]

The blind purchase is a thing of the past as well.  Albums I love that I bought without having heard a single note from it are PT's In Absentia (I had never heard anything by them prior to buying this) and both Discipline and The Power to Believe by King Crimson.  I had a few failures with the blind purchase (Yes' Tormato being the most glaring), but all in all it was kinda cool to buy something and not have a clue what you are about to hear. 

[MirrorMask]

I still blindly purchase albums from bands I'm fan of, and that never really disappointed me.

I bought Maiden's The Book of Souls and DT's The Astonishing not only without having heard a single note beforehand, but making a point of it and deliberately avoiding snippets and videos. I wantdd the full, untainted first listening experience.

[Train of Naught]

I like 'holding on' to the alltime favourites, only rarely listening to them. For me, I don't feel the need to listen to them as much, because I know I love them. And when I finally do listen to them, it's perfect. It is like the occasion where you have a plate full of different kinds of food and you save the best food for last (Not sure if this is actually a thing? But most people I talk to do it like this).

I still blindly purchase albums from bands I'm fan of, and that never really disappointed me.

Also this. Though I must say my purchase threshold is much lower for blind purchases. Yesterday I saw a CD from Cloudkicker live with Intronaut, I like both of them but don't know Cloudkicker well enough to recognize the song titles, so I'm not familiar with any of its content by heart. Regardless, I bought it since it was just 5 euros, but I probably wouldn't have done it for 10 without at least looking up whether I knew and/or liked its content.

[Lowdz]

As TAC said earlier, blind purchases were often all we had.
One that particularly stands out is Vain's No Respect. Hadn't heard a note or seen a review or even heard of them. I was on my way to the train station when I saw the cover in a music shop. Bought it and loved it immediately.

[ChuckSteak]

Usually the more you listen to albums or songs you like, the faster you get tired of them or you lose taste. The key is not to exaggerate and listen to a lot of different albums and styles. Moderation.

[Stadler]

The blind purchase is a thing of the past as well.  Albums I love that I bought without having heard a single note from it are PT's In Absentia (I had never heard anything by them prior to buying this) and both Discipline and The Power to Believe by King Crimson.  I had a few failures with the blind purchase (Yes' Tormato being the most glaring), but all in all it was kinda cool to buy something and not have a clue what you are about to hear.

But even the Tormato's of the world are treated differently, it seems.  I had time to get into it, and listen to it, and mull over the high points (Release, Release; On The  Silent Wings Of Freedom) and the low (and boy are they low:  Circus of Heaven; Arriving UFO) and recognize it for what it was; a band in trouble, and fragmenting.   Now, if I was to listen to an album like that, I might never listen to it again.  EVER.   

[JLa]

I get this 'issue' with new records. If I play them too often, I 'wear them out'. Strangely this doesn't happen to my all time favorites. Awake, SFAM, LTE2, I must have played them a thousand times by now and I still love them.