Have you ever been afraid to listen to a band or album?
I mean, reluctant for one reason or another?
I have been in this situation once or twice, usually, it’s because I really really liked something. Case in point… Silversun Pickups.
I got a hold of a few albums of theirs and loaded one on my phone. It happened to be “Silversun Pickups – Swoon”.
I played the first 3 songs while I was at work and I was blown away. They are indie sounding, but with a bit of Smashing Pumpkins in their blood. Guitar overdrive (it’s no secret I love a fat guitar sound), great vocal hooks and a bit of wispy-ness in the quiet sections. There are some dark lyrics with a light puffy delivery, ala The Smiths. I loved it.
That night I put “Swoon” on and fell asleep to it, headphones creating a soothing musical cocoon. I absorbed it like I have done many others before. Over the next few days I listened to it at work and as I fell asleep again and again. It really got under my skin.
I also have 3 others by Silversun Pickups.
Problem is, I’m afraid that they will not be as good as “Swoon”.
I have 3 or 4 others in the folder, waiting patiently… an acoustic collection, an EP, a Remix album and another full album. I even have some Podcasts that are short performances by Silversun Pickups at various venues in my collection that I know are there but have never listened to. They are right there where I can listen to them, but I hesitate. My normal method is to gather and completely engulf myself with the sound of a new band, old stuff, new stuff, live, anything… but right now I want to just keep listening to this one over and over again and not ruin it by potentially listening to a different one that will be a disappointment. I don’t want to ruin my Silversun Pickup high.
Abbey, is there a diagnosis for this?
Am I the only one that experiences hesitation like this?
I WILL listen to the others…
Eventually.
Probably.
It would be crazy not to right?
The Aural Retentive 
Uhm… I dont think so, haha! 😉
There’s nothing better than discovering a new band and not being able to find enough time to listen to it like you want to. I have had that disappointment many times when I buy a kick-ass record only to be disappointed by the sophomore effort.
My earliest recollection of that was buying the first B-52’s album, which changed my life at the time, then getting their second album and probably only listening to it once, ever. It was not good. The first one though is still a favorite. You wouldn’t want a group to ALWAYS sound the same, they have to experiment sometimes, evolve, and do different things to keep them fresh and sane, but as a consumer, we always want basically just a continuation of the one we fell in love with. Bands that have been around a long time go through lots of phases. When you hit an album at the right time and place in our life, boom, instant classic. Even though if you heard it 10 years later in time you might think it was crap, at that time and place it bonds with you forever.