Are mp3 players making us lazy?

Question

When I had a tape walkman, I used to listen to every song on the album, even the duff ones, because it's easier than ffwd. Then CDs, and I find myself skipping to the songs I like within one album. Now I have my mp3 on shuffle and I keep skipping from one artist to another. I listen to whole albums at home, but on the move, I end up playing my current favourite songs till I kill them

Answer 1

I see what you mean but for me it's the opposite. I spent months putting all my collection on CD onto my ipod but now it's great. I've got 13,000 plus tracks on there and when I put it on shuffle I hear stuff I haven't played in years and probably wouldn't bother digging out.
Also, sometimes it will remind me of another song that I'll then play. I find myself listening to much more varied stuff these days, rather than before ipod when I tended to listen to whatever I had that was new and then disgarded as soon as something newer came along.
I do mourn the loss of the complete album though, I do still listen like that at home. I guess it's just a sign of the times.

Answer 2

'get wit da tymes?' What language is that? (Oh dear, I really should stop that, it makes me sound so old.)

I can honestly say that my MP3 player has revolutionised my CD collection. Being anal enough to keep my CDs in alphabetical order I found I was getting in the habit of executing the same choosing patterns when picking a CD to listen to. Like, I'd skip past a certain area because I knew there were a few duff albums there, or I'd hover over an area I knew I liked.
Then I put everything I owned into iTunes and onto my iPod and now I've made it my mission to familiarise myself with every track I own by rating it. I won't rate a song until I know it well enough to pass judgement on it.
OK, I know this is terrifyingly anal but it's been a good way of discovering great songs, (even albums I'd given up on or just forgotten about) that otherwise would have remained collecting dust on my shelf.
Until this week I hadn't bought a CD since about April (which is really weird for me, I buy a lot of music usually), because I've been rediscovering my record collection. I love it!

Answer 3

Thats not lazy because you at least made up your mind which were the good ones and which ones sucked.

When most people load their mp3 players they are only taking the best of the best of the music they know (As well they should depending on how big their player is).

The lazy ones are the people who don't take time to listed to the entire CD and only let PoP Culture decide what they should listen to.

Think about it this way..............
How many times have you seen a "Hot" song come out, get played to death and a couple weeks later everyones talking about another "Hot" song from the same artist / album. If they had bought or listened to the CD when it came out they would already know about it instead of hearing about the "latest track" from a CD that came out 4 months ago.

A lot of people with mp3 players only buy music they have already heard or have been told to get because its "Hot".

This causes them to miss some really great songs. The ones that really define you, that makes you think about events / people / things and how much you Love, Hate or Feel about them.

Sometimes the Best Song on the CD never gets played on the radio or turned into a video.

You'll never know unless you listen.

Answer 4

When I had a tape Walkman I used to make up compilation tapes of my favourite songs and play them to death that way.

But recently I noticed I am guilty of buying an album I know a couple of songs on, playing them to death and moving on. I don't listen to the whole lot anymore and give those songs that grow on you a chance to - which IS just laziness!

The irony is that some of my favourite songs in the past have been the ones I didn't think much of at first but then they grew on me.

*I promise to make more of an effort in future!

Answer 5

Back in them tape days, I had this weird obsession that every song had to start 'right on the dot', with a 2.77381 second lead-in (and that was on my less fussy days). I didn't have that fancy auto-search function on my Walkman, so it was a succession of little FFs and REWs, sounding like a massive litter of piglets being born to a prolific sow. I really should have slapped myself hard for being so anal, but fortunately the iPod came along before I could. Phew.

Answer 6

don't buy an mp3 player. often when people start listening to a song they think they'll never get sick of it. i usually listen to an album 3-4 times when i get it before putting it away for at least a few months. i don't find myself tiring of any of my music. i only use my mp3 player for obscure tracks or tracks when i'm sure that i won't buy the album

Answer 7

Wouldn't say we're lazy it's just a shame we don't listen to album how they are supposed to be listened to. Bands and producers send weeks trying to get the running order of songs so that they run smoothly and the record flows evenly believe it or not.

Answer 8

Good point - I'm a bit like that, although I used to make compliation tapes of my fave stuff to play on my tape walkman.

Answer 9

yes, but still u wer lazy wen u had a walkman coz u cudnt b bothered skippin songs u dont like

Answer 10

well i wldnt call em makin us lazy ive got the walkman phone w700i and it keeps me on the roll even when im alone and wanna do sum chores! i can go fer a jog or do whteva i wanna.....its quite a deal!