Too Much Music...
 

OK... Today, I started feeling really overwhelmed... about music?!?!?!? It's always been my stress relief in life and now it's actually starting to stress me out! Now believe me, the fact that I'm feeling like this amazes me. But I realized something today: I have a list of albums I want to get (from recommendations of people, other albums by artists I really like, stuff I read about in mags, lists made from last.fm recommendations, all those sorts of things) that has thousands of albums in it! We're talking... like... probably around 2500 albums! That's more music than I can listen to and actually enjoy in my entire ****ing life! On top of that, I like finding new music, and going through a bunch of new releases every week... there's just not enough time! I feel compelled to listen to everything or else I'm going to miss something... and this really bothers me for some reason. So I haven't even really been listening to any album I've ever heard before over the past month or so. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy any music if I only ever hear it once? I also don't listen to my favorite albums anymore. And here's a big part of the problem: When I have free time, I listen to some music and look up new bands online. Or read about them in magazines. It's what I do. I think I need to stop this and find another hobby, like posting on musicbanter all the time, so that I don't keep adding to my list of music. But musicbanter makes me want to listen to too much new stuff too! Gah... I'm just really stressed about music for the first time in my entire life... and it sucks... cuz I've always turned to music before...

EDIT: So I looked up stressed out about music on google, and can you guess what I found? More album recommendations to listen to when you're feeling stressed! Everyone just said "Listen to relaxing music like..." This really sucks because it makes me not want to listen to music at all so that I won't care if I miss anything... WHAT DO I DO???

put your library on shuffle.

....sounds like you need therapy j/k

I sometimes feel like that, and when I'm not enjoying sh.it that I use absolutely love like Radiohead and Bright Eyes, I realize I'm just completely stressed out, so in that way you can use it as a good barometer for your stresslevel.

At this point I turn the music off and go meditate.......try that or whatever you do to relax, no offense but if that's what you do to relax, you need more hobbies, man. Good Luck!

Yeah... I just need to listen to some Dino and remember what's great about music :) I've hit a point where I think I need to just say **** it, I'm just going to actually legitimately buy all my music and that way I'll never be overwhelmed by having too much.

i always found it fairly liberating with the knowledge that no matter what i do, i'm not going to be able to listen to every single band imaginable. it leaves me free to focus on music i actually want to listen to rather than listening for a state of accomplishment.

i have been getting entrenched deeper and deeper into older music, though. i check out new releases every once in a while but i feel like i'm always going to have that little lag there, haha.

Heh yeah you're right... I do lots of stuff I just haven't been lately cuz I've been too ****ing busy working 2 jobs... I've had no free time so when I do I try to look up new bands. I just need to quit 1 and start going out more and all.

I get that pretty often too. Just remember its for FUN.

I sort of start hating my former favorite albums pretty often. I guess its because I go through phases with moods, musical preferences, ect. Is it that way with you?

I hear you, brother. I feel the exact same way sometimes. There's just not enough time I too am always exploring and research new-to-me music when I have free time. Hell, I do it even when I don't have the time, that's how bad I am. At work, in the morning when I'm rushing to get ready, at night when it's way past bed time, etc. Music controls my life.

Sometimes I just want to step away from it all, take a break from listening for a week or two. But I've never done that in my entire life (well ok when I'm on vacation maybe). Just not sure I could do it under normal circumstances. But deep down I know it would be one of the most liberating things ever.

I actually go through the exact same thing once in a while. TOday was very much like that. Nothing cures it like pulling out an out a great and trusted album and just giving it your undivided attention.
There will always be gaps in your collection and there will always be new and fantastic albums and artists that you haven't heard yet. Sometimes you just have to resign yourself to that fact and quit obsessing for a little while.
It's like the guy who spends so much time working that he has no time to spend his money. Sit back, relax, put the music search on hold for an hour or two, or even a day or two, and just get completely lost in some of the great music you already have its what its there for.
The great hunt will continue when you're done, but you won't feel so overwhelmed about it.

I completely agree with satch. I decided to go on a music enlightment about six or eight months ago, and I often feel this way. I have over 1300 albums on my mediamonkey right now, and i have a strong urge to listen to every single one. Literally, man, every single one. Entire catalog's of amazing artists that never put out a bad album out of their 30... tons of them. It's insane! Not to mention how instantaneous it is to get it now a days, i could get in two days what some people spent ten years collected as they came out album by album. On top of that your on musicbanter, which is constantly dishing new amazing things toward the community. *sigh*

It's so easy to get over your head, and no, it will never end. Just do what Satch does and throw down a good album and relax, enjoy something that you took the time to let grow on you and just float in it's comfort. It's the very reason I burn Cd's, so I can use a CD player, turn off my computer, and listen to something familiar and great just laying on my bed. Then you start to remember, just in that one albums whoa, what it's all about in the first place.

Yeah this is a great idea. I often miss the days when all I had access to was what I actually bought. I was rarely disappointed, because everything had time to grow on me. My friends were never as much into music discovery as I was, they'd actually discover a lot from me, so it's not like I got CDRs or dubbed tapes all that often back then.

You're not alone! I think many MBers have or will at some point come to the harrowing realisation that there just isn't enough time in life to hear all the music you want. It's hard to find time to check out all the new releases, explore all the existing music you haven't heard and revisit favourites - especially if you want to maintain a life outside music! And if you play instruments on top of listening to music, you find yourself with even less time. :D

Have a break from music for a week or so and then start listening to it again?

The problem is not music itself - you don't need a break from music. You need to work on your own obsession with it. I think it's a symptom of music addiction which many people probably suffer. The only way I know how to deal with it is to trust my instincts. That means - when I start feeling burnt out or overwhelmed by music I need to forget about my quest to hear new things and just listen to whatever pops into my head - even if my addiction is screaming "no, that's boring! check out something else!". Ignore the obsessive-compulsive part of your mind and throw on that album that you have heard hundreds of times before and that you already love. Then stop thinking about music and just listen.

I find most recommendations tend to be rubbish anyway.

I can do without listening to the latest fad bands that come along. If they're any good they'll still be around in a few years time anyway. I'll check them out then.

I'm quite happy listening to old favourites most of the time and occasionally listening to something new to me.

I think far too many people here are too obsessed with finding new stuff all the time & not spending time enjoying what they already have.

This can certainly ring true 90% of the time but I enjoy hearing new stuff constantly and find it a constant joy to find an album that you know nothing about to find it's bloody great. I think people should always seek new music as there is so much to find out there but like you say, never forget what classics you do have already. Another thing I will say is that my Last.fm obviously relates to my PC listening and I would say 80% of that is listening to new music/ albums. I do devote a huge amount of time to listening to my old stuff on my Hi Fi and MP3. There is nothing like blowing the dust of an old CD and being transported back to when you bought it and the fact that it's still relavent today.

in line with what Engine and Urban mentionned...

it sounds like you need to get over your OCD about quantity of music. i suppose what you're experiencing is one of the new downsides to digital distribution of music and what easy access to pirated discographies provides.

is it really the music that stresses you out or the fact that you're getting older and saddled with more responsibilities which take away from your ability to do as much as you enjoyed when you were young (like listening to new music at your leisure)?

I think I'm at the stage where certain tracks by certain bands are beginning to attract my attention, rather than an entire album these days. Probably due to the easy accessibility to music via the pc.
Shame really.

i don't see the shame in this. most albums have a fair pile of filler, so why not go straight for the good stuff?

I guess I'm berating the days when I'd listen to an album from start to finish.
That's what I miss most. I don't seem to have the patience or the inclination now and I blame it on the computer.

Edit: I'm not referring to the older and the familiar to me albums, cos I still listen to them straight through.
It's the newer album releases I'm having trouble with.

gotcha, i hear you on that as well. unless i buy the disc i find myself skipping to choice tracks. i used to be a big proponent of downloading first then buying later but i find that isn't really effective when it comes to new albums. if i want to hear the whole thing i need to head to the store with a dollar in my hand. otherwise it's like i subconsciously give it less value because i don't have any sort of tangible physical copy.

I think it depends on the album in general. Some abums flow in a way that the songs feel weaker without the entire album there to support them. Some albums feel like a collection of singles and don't really need the entire album there.

Very good point, I like to explore music, but it's not like something I obsessively do every damn day like some people.

Though I haven't been listening to much new stuff lately and it probably is about time I start exploring some new things.

Delete your entire digital library, unless you paid for it. I've done that on several occasions. You wouldn't believe how much stress you'll relieve...plus it doesn't seem like your enjoying it that much.

out of destruction comes creation...or something.

All I can say to the op is, you have some serious problems if music stresses you out this much, there's no reason it should, listen to what you like and not give a f*ck if your collection isn't as big and diverse as some other guy. It's not a freaking competition.

Yeah, no. That's just stupid.

....no seriously, if it's just digital music you didn't pay for...just get rid of the whole thing and start anew...you'd be surprised by how painless it really is.

If I did that I would just end up downloading everything I deleted.

Music is something I love to come back to, it's not disposable for me, I like the idea of being able to play a song whenever I want. Plus there's a lot of stuff on iTunes I haven't listened to that I will listen to eventually.

Seriously that is the worst f*cking advice I have ever read in my life.

Stop feeling stressed and just listen to music. Also, asshat, please have someone cut off your hands, nose, penis and feed so you can never type anything ever again.

What I wrote wasn't meant as inflammatory. Having a huge ass digital library is akin to hording in real life. Obviously if he paid for all the music it would be a really stupid idea...as stupid as asking to someone to cut off your penis, hands and feed(bag?).....but if it was just songs he downloaded for free it's not much of a sacrifice...but I'm not going to convince anyone otherwise, and that's a darn shame.

So you don't really like music, do you?

i kind of understand what he's saying, but like boobs, i'd come back to many of those albums i deleted from time to time. i do go through my library every couple months to prune all the albums out i have no intention of listening to, helps stabilize my library and keep my hard drive from fucking off.

I do delete the albums I deem unworthy, stuff I know I'll never listen to. But I still have a lot of music I don't want to part with.

If I have an album I think is great, it's pretty retarded to part with it, I might not be in the mood to listen to it right away, but when I'm in the mood I want it to be waiting there. It's pretty retarded to download an album, listen to it, delete it, and then download it when you feel like listening to it again. That's really the most baffling logic I've ever heard. There's no valid reason to delete an album you like, at all.

I have an ex hard drive that holds up to 500 GB, might as well put it to good use.

I love music, and when I have more than 10 gb of music I feel less like a music fan and more like an archivist.

I do the pruning sometimes, but sometimes there's too much debate about what to keep and what to get rid of, so I just delete the whole thing. Probably later I'll want something I delete, and it's kind of foolish that way. I just have a personal cornball philosophy about music, that makes do stuff like that. It sounds really creepy, but there's an incredible feeling of freedom that goes along with it.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

But if I did that, I would regret it immediately, find where you live and bomb your car.

I had moments where I thought I deleted it on accident, and it felt like I sh*t out my heart.

i like the idea of a full purge actually. it makes you realize what you REALLY like as opposed to what you think you like because it's there and you've read so much about how it's supposed to be great blah blah blah.

But yeah, I still think it's stupid.

I know what I like, if I keep listening to it, I like it, it's not that hard to know what you like, jeez, you all make it out like it's some kind of f*cking puzzle.

I can see the value in a purge...though maybe not a full purge. Obviously keep the stuff you know you really like, but get rid of all the **** you've never played and have had a while, the stuff you've only played once since you've had it, and so on. Then you'll see if you miss it or not.

Not that I would really consider doing this at this time...but it would be liberating and allow you to concentrate on the stuff you know you like, letting it grow some more, and re-download the stuff you thought you could live without but realize now you can't...and so it was meant to be.

Speaking as someone who has had to rebuild his entire music collection from zero TWICE in the past year. The idea of getting rid of any of my music is nothing short of frightening.

I wouldn't have a problem wiping my hard drive of music. The only stuff I'd want to keep, I own a hard copy of anyway.
The stuff on my computer is in musical purgatory waiting for me to sit in judgement until it clicks...or not.

I had a clean up about a month or so and deleted about 5gb. For me that was slightly painful but it needed doing. If push came to shove I could probably delete about a third of my collection but I do have a lot of stuff that's hard to find which is irreplaceable. All my CD's are also backed up onto my hard drive (about 300 or so) which is kinda pointless but I like them on there to put on my MP3 sometimes.