The shrinkwrap comes off, that pesky label sticker is peeled away… then what? Do you lift the CD out and admire its scuff-free, mirrored perfection? Pop it into a player sight unseen? Rip it to the computer right away? Read the liner notes first? Just glance through them and return for more later? Do you let the disc play in the background or give it your full attention the first time through?
Since many of us buy or otherwise acquire an awful lot of new music, we’ve probably developed certain habits without even thinking about them.
Run me through your new CD ritual.
Depending on the artist, I usually listen to it right away. For example, with Sugarland’s ‘Love On The Inside’ CD, I popped it into my car CD player before I left Wal Mart’s parking lot. I then skipped track 1 and listened to about half of it before I got home. Then I listened to the second half at home – with considerable attention to the sound and the lyrics.
Other new CDs, I tend to let play as I am reading your site – or one of the other great country music blogs – allowing the really great tunes to jump out at me, and the filler songs to become what they are – background noise for life.
As in so much of life, it just depends.
Usually I just look through the liner notes first, then go home rip it to my computer and listen to it much like J.R. does.
Jordan Stacey
Nowadays, I go to amazon, do a search for the album I want, hit download and then listen. Then again, I don’t always listen right away and end up with a back log of albums to listen to later. Now that I have an Ipod, however, I suspect my ritual will change…
I’ll answer my own question.
I’m in the habit of ripping new CDs to the computer before I listen to them. This also gives me an excuse to flip through the liner notes and make sure all the files are tagged correctly. While it’s ripping, I usually go through the liner notes in more depth. After that, I usually give the album one attentive listen straight through.
Also, this post is a little Seinfeldy. Sorry about that.
I get the CD, and in my car there’s no CD player, so I attach my portable CD player to the casette adapter and listen to it on the way home. Then when I get home I rip it to my computer and listen to the rest there. Sometimes I’ll put the CD on my ipod and listen to it all at once with my good headphones.
Then the CD gets ripped to our house audio system, and then it finds its home on my shelf!
Interesting responses so far.
What’s your house audio system, Chris D.?
Well, I actually had to cash out my CDs at the bank due to the slow nature of the economy and a need to pay my bills…
Oh. Oops. Never mind.
Also, this post is a little Seinfeldy. Sorry about that.
Two Seinfeld references in a couple weeks on this site. Sweet.
It’s a large mp3 player that can be accessed and played over speakers in different rooms, the kitchen, the master bedroom (my parents’ room), the master bath room, the living room, the computer room, and the basement. It can also be accessed from the internet, to make playlists, etc. Those rooms all have little keypads to play, pause, etc. It’s nice when cooking and stuff, but my dad uses it more than I do.
That’s pretty cool, Chris. I don’t know if I’d ever leave the house.
Blake: I don’t know how many more direct Seinfeld references you can expect, but I do often get the feeling that I might be running the country music blogging equivalent of a show about nothing.
I don’t really have a ritual right now because my CD player in my car has eaten Chris Knight’s “Heart of Stone” and won’t regurgitate it. Luckily it was already ripped onto my computer. I guess my current ritual is to open, rip, read liner notes on lunch break… add to ever increasing stack of unorganized CD’s.
I only feed my car CD player burnt copies because I’m a little wary of it.
It has been so long since I bought a real CD — I am not sure what I would do, but I am sure it would go straight into the CD player in the car –
1) Open the packaging
2) Read the liner notes
3) listen to the CD
4) listen to the CD again
5) put it away for a week or so, then listen to it again – often a disc doesn’t get listened to much after this and occasionally it gets discarded in some manner (given away, traded-in. If I’m not keeping the CD , I don’t rip it on my PC)