Thoughts of Music

I refuse to conform to the direction the music industry is heading with my personal listening habits. I will never install or join Spotify to listen to for my personal listening pleasure. I believe it ruins the whole experience of listening to music. Using streaming continuously is detrimental to fully enjoying what music has to offer, because given the freedom to listen to almost any song whenever I desire. Although having this form of freedom can be liberating for some people, it personally prevents me from thoroughly appreciating what a certain song or album has. Like a Bible verse, a good song or album has much to give to the listener such as hidden, special meanings to songs, a unique melody that speaks to heart, and small intonations of the vocals that are not typically noticed. Have you ever had a moment when you can hear a whole song in your head while its intensely begging for you to listen? Such an event proves that you have a deep connection with the song, and also proves that the song is well-written and most likely worth listening. Of course there are the "Baby"'s and "Bad Romance"'s that exist, being well-written songs but with no deep meaning that true art exemplifies. 

I am also a fan of LP's. Full-length albums are the magnum opuses of musicians. Ever since Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles or even some of Richard Wagner's lieder, the album is where a musician can wholly express him/herself, providing a platform for continuous themes, motifs, and concepts. Like chapters in books, songs in LP's are not to be written or heard out of context. If I were to pick up a good book (especially a novel), I would not want to put the book down half way through, even to go to the bathroom. Why should listening to an album be any different? If a full-length cannot keep my attention through it's entirety, why should I buy it? Even in drama and theatre, I find one continuous story in a single play that is split in different acts and scenes. Of course there may be an intermission in the middle (like the pause between the A-side and B-side of a vinyl or cassette), but a play is meant to be seen in one evening. 

With all this said, I still succumb to the convenience of YouTube. YouTube provides a means for me to judge whether an album is worth purchasing. With full LP's uploaded on the website, gives me a chance see if the albums match my tastes and requirements. Sometimes, I know after one song stream that a full-length is worth purchasing and listening to repeatedly. Sometimes, I am wrong and make an unnecessary purchase and leaving me the only option of putting the album up for sale on Ebay and Discogs, in hopes someone else would want to buy it from me. I also use YouTube channels to introduce me to new bands, but right now I am sitting on twenty albums that are waiting to bestow their wondrous melodies unto me. 

In the age of consumerism that we are in, I am learning to restrain myself to my own library of music. I think it is unfortunate that Spotify and YouTube are trying to tear down our limits on our music consumption, watering down whatever message or hidden treasures music has to offer its loyal listeners. I am trying to be careful with my limits of new music. I am constantly deleting mediocre music from my library, keeping my library full of good quality music that speaks to me.  
Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praised well on these things."

Sure, not all the music I listen to is "lovely" but just how much of your music library matches these requirements? I am continually being convicted by this verse and make some deletions. How about you?