Confessions of a Music Maven: I’ve Never Listened to an Album Completely

Graphic by Cate Banks

By Shreya Partha

I’ve never been able to listen to an album in its entirety. I have also never been able to admit that — neither in writing nor in conversation. 

Please do not read this article thinking that was simply a hook and not the truth. It’s true, and I have consistently felt internal shame for it. I pride myself on my diverse music taste (that is, after all, why I am writing for this publication); however, I do not discover music authentically — at least that’s what I feel like. I’ve envied my friends who immediately click on the new album of their favorite artists as soon as they drop and listen to it from start to finish. I do acknowledge that the people I surround myself with are avid music connoisseurs and comparing the way I listen to music with theirs isn’t necessarily the best way to judge whether I listen authentically. Yet, I can’t help it sometimes. 

I suppose there are multiple reasons for my inability to listen to albums in their entirety. Perhaps it is an inherent fear and speculation that an album could ever be good enough to host songs that ALL interest me. Or, perhaps, I get bored easily and listening to the same singer’s voice gets so repetitive that I cannot bear to listen to the full album exhaustively. Or maybe, for the tracks I have never touched on the most popular albums, I do not believe it is worth my time to listen to songs that already have such negative reviews. 

The latter should be more of a reason for me to tune in to those songs. I am ashamed to say that I rarely make that a habit. 

Some people in public forums on the Internet claim that not being able to listen to albums in full is the result of a short attention span and the inability to sit still and intake the expanse of the musical verse. They also claim that it’s productive and forces us to be more mindful with how we interact with creative works. I vehemently disagree. Sure, there may be some truth to these claims, but I do not believe that sitting to an album in one sitting is the only way to properly engage with creative pieces. 

In fact, what makes discovering music authentic? Is it following your favorite artists, looping their songs, and only discovering new artists when Spotify cuts you off and inserts their own recommended artists? Or is it actively scouting both my own and other peoples’ Discover Weekly in an attempt to be a more well-rounded music savant?

I’ve realized it’s neither. As much as I wanted there to be a formula I could  follow that would allow me to become the most knowledgeable and diverse music consumer, I was forced to accept there wasn’t. The only formula is the one we create for ourselves — the scattered album hopping from The Low End Theory to Funeral to The Powers That B, the infinite loops of “I Know The End” by Phoebe Bridgers, and the random spurts that compel us to play “Coconut Mall” (of course, not speaking from personal experience). It may be unhinged at times, it’ll often be confusing and out of order and a mess but most of all, it becomes a melting pot of a beautiful mess. 

I am no longer ashamed of the fact that I do not listen to albums completely, and I no longer believe that it makes me any less of an authentic music junkie. Rather, I embrace the way I listen to music now — authentically, passionately, and content with the acceptance that not listening to albums is something so uniquely imperfect.