An Album a Night in Its Entirety Part 2

Over the course of 1 week, I listened to all of these records

Two weeks ago I wrote about an experiment I was conducting where I would listen to one album a night in its entirety. The list of the records I was going to listen to were:

Moby: Animal Rights
Green Day: Dookie
Rogue Wave: Out of the Shadow
Zaz: Self-Titled
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: Streetcore
Beck: Mutations

I completed my task within a week, and then I began to process what the experience was like, and what I took away from the experiment. Here are my findings.

The Music

• I really liked the selection of albums I chose. They were all albums I haven't listened to in a very long time. In the case of a few of them, it had been years. 
• Dookie is ridiculously good album. 
• Joe Strummer's Streetcore has a very interesting sound to it. The best way to describe it, is a mix between punk and reggae.  

Attention Span

• There were times that I was able to soley focus on the music, and then there were times where I surfed online while I listened to the music. I don't feel either one was better or worse. Although I like the idea that I was able to listen to an entire record not being distracted. BTW the record I was able to do that with was Animal Rights by Moby. I feel that part of that reason was because I am currently reading Moby's Memoir Porcelain. 
• To expand on the whole not being distracted piece. That's currently a big deal for me because I feel like my attention span is getting smaller and smaller. So I am making a concentrated effort to focus more. 

Mood 

• I felt like I was in a better mood all last week when I conducted this little exercise. I find that if I watch too much TV or Netflix that I more easily become melancholy. Plus I felt like I accomplished something, and surprisingly it gave me some good musical ideas that I'm going to try and incorporate into my podcast the Looking Glass.
• It was a really nice reminder of variety of music I have in my collection. Going from electronic to gypsy jazz to pop punk to punk to alternative to indie rock was a really cool experience. 

Overall, I liked this so much that I am going to try and keep it up. I have Coldplay's concert this upcoming Saturday, and to prepare for that, I've been listening to a record a night by them. Tonight's is Myolo Xyloto (I'm working backwards). It's not that bad of a record as I remember it to be. 

Prophets of Rage

The Prophets of Rage, which is Rage Against the Machine minus Zach da la Roche, Chuck D from Public Enemy, and B-Real and DJ Lord, released their first official single earlier today! The vibe of this song is fantastic. While it would still be beyond amazing to have Rage Against the Machine properly reunite, this is the next best thing. With the state of politics today, Prophets of Rage is on its way to become a very important band.

An Album a Night in Its Entirety

Photo Credit: Me

Working at an university has taught me one that, and that is to always expect some interesting surprises or ideas. While talking with a few of my students recently, I was surprised to discover how few of them listen to whole albums in their entirety. Now this really shouldn't surprise me so much. After all we live in the age of Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, and so on. Young people don't just put a CD on. Most listen via their mobile phone, tablet, or computer. So this fact of non-album listening really shouldn't surprise me so much. Yet it does.

I guess it comes down to the choice we consumer make when we listen to music. Purchasing single tracks we like from say an iTunes. Another is enter genres we enjoy, and let algorithms select our sounds. Or we can put a record on a turntable, and listen to an entire piece. Now I'm not saying there is a right way or a wrong way to listen to music. Each has its own merits. And I for one have done all on a consistent basis. Plus each offer their own unique experiences.

However in reviewing my recent trends in how I listen to music, I feel like that I am becoming more of a "putting my iTunes on shuffle" kind of a guy. I almost feel like I'm being a little lazy, and that my attention span is becoming shorter and shorter. So I've decided to change it up a little bit. So beginning two nights ago, and for the foreseeable future, I'll be listening to one album a night, in its entirety. And I'm going even more old fashion, and listening on a CD player or on vinyl.

Thus far, I have really enjoyed the experience, and I feel that by focusing on the entirety of the piece, I begin to remember the original reasons why I've enjoyed a particular artist. I've also selected albums that I have not listened to in a very long time, or ones that I do not have imported onto my computer. Below are the selections I have chosen thus far.

Moby: Animal Rights
Green Day: Dookie
Rogue Wave: Out of the Shadow
Zaz: Self-Titled
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: Streetcore
Beck: Mutations

Re-reading Sherlock Holmes

I've gotten in touch with an old friend this week. As I am patiently waiting for my book from the library to arrive, I decided to re-read some of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. This has been one of the best reading decisions I've made in a very long time.

There's something about these stories...I feel like I've been transported back to 19th century England, and I'm running along with Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes on their many adventures. It's the magic of reading. It really can take you to another place, another time. When I was younger, I wasn't a very big reader, but now that I am older, I try to read as much as possible. It's such enriching. And I know this isn't information that we humans haven't known since time began regarding the powers of the written word.

It's just so encouraging and uplifting when you can experience it first hand. Thus far I have re-read: "The Five Orange Pips, The Beryl Coronet, and The Yellow Face".

Blog Ideas

I've been running low on ideas to write about for this blog. I really enjoy the challenge of writing, as I feel that it keeps me sharp, however over the past few weeks, ideas have been hard to come by. A few ideas that I have come up with involves the following:

1) Listening to a band/artists catalog within a set period of time, and explore impressions I get.

2) Further explore podcasting ideas. I'm currently working on a series called the Looking Glass, and I have some great ideas for episodes, but I feel like I need to expound on them. Dig further into the details of what each episode could be.

3) Maybe even a series of postings of why I found podcasts to be the most exciting media format out there?.

These are just some random ideas. I actually like each of them, and I feel like I should further explore them. Don't be afraid of longer written pieces.

The Resurrection of Jake the Snake

If you were a fan of the WWF from the mid 1980s through the mid 1990s there is a documentary currently on Netflix that is a can't miss. The Resurrection of Jake the Snake follows the WWE Hall of Famer as he embarks on a path to clean up his life, and defeat his addictions to alcohol and drugs.

I was near tears watching this documentary. It was amazing seeing this man, who was so dangerous, so invincible to me when I was a little kid, quite literally fight for his life. It is so worth the hour and a half to watch.

To Do List for 2016

1. See the Terracotta Warriors at the Field Museum
2. Got to jazz club
3. See a performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
4. Finished 6 episodes of my podcast series
5. Get logo created for podcast series
6. Do something unusually.
7. Be bored for a day
8. Continue work on a few short story ideas
9. Draw
10. See friends on a more regular basis.