How do you listen for the first time?

["David K. Young" <wasatch!mailrus!BBN.COM!dyoung@cs.utexas.edu>]

This might sound a little strange, but I'm curious about how people listen
to a record for the first time.

Why?  Well, yesterday I bought the soundtrack to "Batman" by Prince.  For
some reason I decided that for my first listening I would follow along with
the enclosed lyrics.  But after I had finished listening I felt rather
untouched by the music.  Later in the evening I listened to it again, this
time without looking at the lyrics -- just listening without any
distractions.  And guess what?  I really enjoyed the record a lot more than
the first time.

Now, certainly some of this may have to do with becoming more familiar with
the recording.  Or maybe it's because the music and sound that are the more
important than the lyrics.  (Although reading the lyrics to "Batdance"
really helped me understand the song a lot more than just listening to it.)

Perhaps how one listens to a recording depends a lot on the particular
artist and whether it's their lyrics, sound, or some combination of both
that is the most important in their work.  But sometimes an artist's focus
changes throughout their career making them a little "inconsistent."

I'm sure there are zillions of different and conflicting factors involved.

But as one listens to a recording one's understanding of it changes and
grows beyond what was heard during the first listening.  This understanding
is affected by such factors as the relationship between the new record and
others by the same artist, by different artists, by what other people think
of it, etc... So, I guess my question/query to the net is how people listen
to something for the first time and how you feel it affects your long-term
impression about the work, if you think it does so at all.

david
dyoung@bbn.com

P.S.  And how do artists choose whether or not to include lyrics?  Because
they think we should/shouldn't need them?  Because the record companies are
cheap?  etc.