Do you have a theme or just wing it when settling in for a listening session?

[Johnny Vinyl]

I generally start out with some sort of theme and am pretty good at maintaining that throughout a listening session. I deviate from it when I find that my chosen theme (prog, blues, whatever) isn't fully capturing my attention, and then I'm all over the place after that. I can go from Janos Starker to Ozzie to Linda Ronstadt or perhaps an album (any genre) I haven't heard in years.

Today I decided on an Aussie/Kiwi theme and have put aside some Split Enz, Crowded House, Squeeze, INXS, Midnight Oil, Men At Work, AC/DC and I might even throw on some BeeGees (although technically they're British).

What about you guys? How do you approach your listening sessions?

[nc42acc]

With me being all digital at the moment I have the flexibility with the Aurender to mix and match anything within my collection at a swipe of my finger. I do try to pick full albums and listen to them in there entirety. I really have no method I just scroll and pick what I want to hear based on my current mood.

I found another box of LPs I purchased back in the 80s so I am anxious to get my Dr Frankenstein turntable table finished.

[Johnny Vinyl]

With me being all digital at the moment I have the flexibility with the Aurender to mix and match anything within my collection at a swipe of my finger. I do try to pick full albums and listen to them in there entirety. I really have no method I just scroll and pick what I want to hear based on my current mood.

I found another box of LPs I purchased back in the 80s so I am anxious to get my Dr Frankenstein turntable table finished.

When I'm enjoying my PC FLAC files I don't have a theme. I play stuff at random and that's cool...I enjoy it.

There was some great music in the 80's. IMO, the last decade of truly great music.

[nc42acc]

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning John, I knew I had the LPs but thought they were long gone.

[1morerecord2clean]

No theme here unless VARIETY can be considered a theme? The session usually goes with some digital, mostly vinyl, at least one side of a record and as much of the digital as sounds good. Genres and styles of music mixed up and in no certain order.

[Rust]

Depends on the day. Some nights it's the classical composers that I like most, heavy into Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi. Some nights it's female vocalists ranging from Sara Vaughn to Patsy Cline to Sheila Chandra. After a bad day it's something with serious bass so as to lean back and let the sound buffet over me in huge waves washing away the psychic flotsam of the day.

[MylesBAstor]

I generally start out with some sort of theme and am pretty good at maintaining that throughout a listening session. I deviate from it when I find that my chosen theme (prog, blues, whatever) isn't fully capturing my attention, and then I'm all over the place after that. I can go from Janos Starker to Ozzie to Linda Ronstadt or perhaps an album (any genre) I haven't heard in years.

Today I decided on an Aussie/Kiwi theme and have put aside some Split Enz, Crowded House, Squeeze, INXS, Midnight Oil, Men At Work, AC/DC and I might even throw on some BeeGees (although technically they're British).

What about you guys? How do you approach your listening sessions?

Not an easy question.

I was thinking what I listen to on non-reviewing evenings. Sometimes I get into jazz guitar. Sometimes it's vocalists. Sometimes it's percussion music.

Then the light went off.

What usually determines what I listen to is what records came in the mail that week. Always seems to be a backlog.