Simple Listening Rules to Live By

I'm surprised I haven't taken up more space on this blog reviewing the music I come across. The ever-evolving journey of musical discovery is for me what diving into a new book is like for some: the first time experiencing a spectacular world (it's like Harry Potter for your ears!)

Cell phone off, distractions put aside, head phones on, and let an album play out right in front of, and if you're lucky, all around you.

I have found but a few golden rules to ensure a proper CD listening experience before diving in:

1) Environment: Many people are so caught up in themselves that it's impossible to "turn off" and imagine for a moment that the world will in fact carry on without you for a good 90 minutes; besides from doctors on call, firefighters, and other emergency service workers, you've got a problem if either you or your mate's lives begin to fall apart if you can't go an hour without returning texts. If you are unable to explain that to your friend, time to befriend someone who's got a better grip on reality.

2) Musical Setup: Headphones vs. Speakers is always a contentious debate. With the proper speaker setup (5.1 Surround, etc.) you're sure to experience the closest possible recreation of what the band intended you to hea; no matter what music you care for, you can be assured that the band didn't mix their music to sound good on iPod bud headphones or laptop speakers. But if you're more concerned with drowning out ambient noise instead of trying to cover it up, headphones are your weapon of choice. If you're willing to shell out $160 for HeadRoom's BitHead headphone amplifier + crossfeed device (to recreate a surround sound-like depth field). I go for headphones.

3) iPod/playback settings: The last thing you'll need to fix before diving into your new album are the settings you've got on your iPod (if you're not running from a CD player or deck). First off, head to your preferences pane on iTunes and ensure that you haven't got Crossfade enabled--there's nothing worse than missing the final blessed seconds of a track for the "continuity" or flow of two different songs blending together like the work of a crummy radio DJ. Second, check that you've selected all the songs in the album and labled the album as "gapless": a number of groups these days don't stop playing between tracks, and you can avoid the hiccups in playback with this one simple step. Finally, make sure you've got every song on the album in the right order (aka AVOID THE SHUFFLE FUNCTION)...the band has put the songs in the order they think compliments the music the best, so don't ruin it by hopping around from track to track!