Listening to Tom Petty this morning & it struck me that a collection of singles can actually be really tiring. Without the lulls and low points of his albums, the hits started to be a little oppressive.
It made me think of the most rewarding albums in my collection, and how many of them were the hardest to understand. Big Star & Leonard Cohen are two that spring to mind. The Band are another one: their later albums are generally disregarded, and yet those are the ones I find I go back to more often.
I suppose that reflects my vinyl listening preferences: mostly early morning with coffee & in the evening with a book. I wonder if it might be a slight kink around enjoying music that others have disregarded, or maybe my tastes have changed & I don’t crave wall to wall bangers. Not sure where this is going, but interested in hearing others’ experiences with surprising music tastes etc
Comments
Agreed about compilations too, in general, although sometimes they're worth buying just for the "hits". Some bands have "deep cuts" on their albums, some just have filler.
To address the OPs point, music is an intensely personal thing. You may simply not like what is critically considered "the greatest album of all time", and that's fine, conversely you might love the album in a band's catalogue a lot of "fans" consider to be rubbish.
Basically any idea of objective quality in music, apart from basic competence of the people producing it, and even that can be worked around by a skillful producer, is nonsense. You like what you as an individual were wired to like.
Some of my personal quirks...
I've never liked Dark Side of the Moon much, but I love Wish You Were Here...
I've not listened to the Manic's Holy Bible in years, I listen to Lifeblood all the time...
I absolutely LOVE greatest hits records, put all a band's hits on one disc? Brilliant!
I listen to classical music to chill out, so most acoustic or folk rock leaves me cold.
I love soundtracks.
I can't stand most folk music, but love the Wicker Man soundtrack...
I love female-fronted pop music.
There's nothing wrong with Coldplay.
Your overall opinion seems to be "but if more people believe something, it's probably correct".. which is clearly horse shit.
Opinions eh!
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
I've got post grad quals and I'm not a fan of prog.
Albums are not made for demographics, but record companies do select from available bands / albums to appeal to a very specific demographic: the one that will spend money on music.
I really never thought I'd see a half-arsed nature/nurture argument filter into what music I buy.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
I like the ebb and flow of a well ordered album that gives me a chance to breathe a bit when listening.
I have the same reaction when I put together a playlist - it ends up as a greatest hits of a variety of artists and it's equally tiring unless it has a specific purpose like party music.
These days I tend to listen to complete albums instead. Even live albums / performances are planned to have variety and allow some rest.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Bob Stanley is a nicer and cleverer bloke than this reference implies (although I often disagree with him). What it doesn't capture is his ironic tone. In saying 70s rock fans with O levels like prog and those without liked metal, Stanley would be saying something he thinks has a grain of truth in it, but also something he expects his readers to recognise as a daft generalisation. He's winking at the reader when he says this stuff.
I'm not sure if it's part of the Bob Stanley quote - I assume not - but musical taste is intensely personal as far as I'm concerned.
I like metal and prog, by the way. But mostly metal.