The thing I love about my current pair of headphones is that they don't exactly cover the ears. They're like two little whiteboard dusters - soft rectangular pads that give softly but don't overwhelm, and it's only when you press them to your ears that you realise how much sound you're missing.
It allows for a deliberation that I can't help but treasure, sitting here listening to new music in the middle of the night, in my little office chair with my knees drawn up to my chest and my hands pressed to the shells of my headphones, eyes shut. Remember what I said about respect? This is another form of that. It ensures full attention, a full savouring and absorbing of everything the music has to offer, something so important especially when it comes to instrumental, conceptual music such as this. I know I'm listening, and listening to the fullest extent of my ability to the wash of music and it's beautiful. It's an experience.
I've always thought that albums should be listened to in full, in sequence, and without disruption, the first time you listen to them. Listened to exactly how the musician intended you to listen to them, not shuffled and looped and stuttered. My sis thinks I'm being 'album-elitist' by saying that, and maybe that's true, but maybe it's just my obsession with cohesion.
(a little bit of music [quote from Lady Gaga's 'Marry the Night' music video], and by "a little bit", I mean "approximately two hours")