Shrinkers

[nicolas]

Some albums are growers, but some are shrinkers too.
Which albums have been your most spectaculer shrinkers over time (especially since you are musically "mature" : don't mention the Phil Collins/New Kids on The Block/Black Eyed Peas album you loved when you were 13)

I've had this idea while listening to a 1996 shrinker : R.E.M. 's New Adventures in Hi-fi. I was enthralled by the overall sound of the album when I heard it first, but now I'm at the 3rd listening and I realize the songs are not that great. This is a shrinking phenomenon over a short period of time (less than a month)

[Greg Rumpff]

As a general rule, around 80-90% of all the albums I hear end up being "shrinkers" for me.

Basically, the first listen (unless I abhor it) is "YAY! Something NEW to listen to....". On the 2nd pass, I start to develop "favorites" for the album. These typically are the ones with the strongest "hooks". By the 3rd pass, I'm starting to decide whether the album will be more long-term for me (I.e. I like at least 50% of the tracks) or not. The next year the "new" has worn off and I start to really determine whether I'll continue to think it's great or whether it was just a "change of pace". This is why when I do any "Best of All-Time" lists I have the self-imposed "It must be at LEAST 5 years old" rule in place...I simply don't trust my judgement of something newer than that. And when I say "5 years old" I don't mean, for example, it must be from 2007 or before...I mean I want to have "lived with it" for that length of time. A 50s jazz CD I listen to this year wouldn't be eligible for "Best of all time" until 2017.

Now for the growers, I've noticed that many of those end being all time faves for me...

[Jirin]

A lot of David Bowie's work, particularly Ziggy Stardust, has 'shrunk' on me. I suppose I started to find his embellishedly idiosyncratic vocal style more and more annoying.

New Adventures In Hifi on the other hand I've found has been a big grower.

In general I think there are more growers for me than shrinkers. Maybe it's because I try to hear so many different albums in a year that on first listen they all blend together. It's not until further reflection and getting to know an album better than I really connect with it.

[Jackson]

Elliott Smith used to be one of my favorite artists, but now I never find myself having the desire to listen to him. Though in his case, being less able to emotionally connect to his songs is a good thing.

This is a good topic--I feel like it's rare that one of my favorite albums was something that really blew me away on first listen.

[Henrik]

Odelay is a shrinker from 1996 for me. It used to be more fun. Beck's serious albums have better stood the test over time.

Probably it's just me growing old though...

[Zorg]

Odelay is a shrinker from 1996 for me. It used to be more fun. Beck's serious albums have better stood the test over time.

Probably it's just me growing old though...

I'm the other way! I've never liked either Mellow Gold or Odelay until I heard them for these polls. While before I considered Beck a "jack of all trades, master of none", I now think of him as versatile and fun.

Actual shrinkers I guess include the National and early Radiohead. I used to ADORE the National, I think in the artist poll from 2010 (I think) I put them 5th! Of all time! Now I have absolutely no zeal to listen to them at all. With regards to early Radiohead, I'm referring to the Bends and to some extent OK Computer (though I've recently come to like it quite a lot again).

[nicolas]

Henrik I agree with you about Odelay. Definite shrinker.

[Dan]

I don't really agree with the Odelay shrinking theory anymore. I remember posting something in last year's all-time albums thread about Beck's white-man fake-rap schenanigans and how the album sounded insincere. I still prefer his more serious stuff like Sea Change, but when I listened to the album again for the 1996 poll I rediscovered its sense of fun and appreciated how eclectic it was. Last year I thought it was a shrinker but this year it's growing on me again. But hey, that's the subjective nature of music engagement. Maybe I'm just in the right mood to notice the good things about Odelay at the moment.

Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill - now there's a shrinker to my ears. I listened to it recently for the 1995 poll and wondered why I used to love it so much. It has shrunk like the memories of the teenager I was when it was first released. And I don't think I'll love it again next year.

[John]

Going through my rankings for the songs poll, here are a few shrinkers. Michael Jackson solo... still love the Jackson 5 stuff, and that's not to say I'm down on MJ solo, I just don't have Billie Jean anywhere near #1 anymore. Sly and the Family Stone... I was really into them a couple years ago and I still spin their records but I can't call them one of my favorites anymore. Phil Ochs... loved him in college when I really liked angry, political music, and while I still like Phil Ochs as one of the best forgotten folk heroes, his music doesn't speak to me like it used to and unlike Dylan, he's not timeless, but his music is still definitely a timepiece.

[nicolas]

New Adventures is not a big shrinker. Not at all. It just went down from #4 to # 7 of 1996 within 3 listens.
A big shrinker was the first Eminem album.

[Jirin]

Why are we labeling any rap-like sound coming from a caucasian individual as insincere?

I don't think insincere is the right word for Beck's sound, so much as impersonal. I usually feel he's trying to express himself within a genre and lyrical style more than to express personal feelings that he has. There isn't anything wrong with that.

Beck is a big shrinker for me as well, though. For me it's more because his sound lacks depth and richness.

[Zorg]

I think most black rap albums have incredibly important lyrics that are normally very relevant to the individual. When I hear Odelay's lyrics they sound relatively empty of a social context or whatever. I like them a lot, but the "slacker" idea that people talk about with Beck does seem quite accurate.

[Henry]

A bit off topic, but I didn't believe it merited it's own thread is an article at http://blog.sfgate.com/loaded/2012/08/30/40terrible/

I was wondering how Moonbeam and other Prince fans feel about the "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" (1999) album - perhaps it is a shrinker or was never particularly well liked.

I thought the five songs on Yellow Submarine were nothing special and understand how it fits in this field of 40 disappointments. Any initial enthusiasm one might have had about Yellow Submarine would have faded, but if there was no initial attachment to the album, then it wouldn't have had much room to shrink.

[Jirin]

I think most black rap albums have incredibly important lyrics that are normally very relevant to the individual. When I hear Odelay's lyrics they sound relatively empty of a social context or whatever. I like them a lot, but the "slacker" idea that people talk about with Beck does seem quite accurate.

Incredibly relevant to the individual, yes. Important? Public Enemy, sure. All the ones about having a lot of money and women and shooting people, you're going to call a string of macho posturing important? It's not always sincere either. Kanye West just takes a lot of things he's heard he considers to be important and repeats them as if it's his own original thoughts. You can't call the limited amount Beck raps any less sincere than black rappers because he postures in a way that's relevant to his own background instead of theirs.

And why, because most rap is incredibly relevant to the individual, is that a requirement of the genre? Every musician has his or her own vision.

[Zorg]

I wasn't making a judgement! You're completely right about every musician being able to have their own vision. I'd take Beck ahead of most rap artists (all except Kanye West and OutKast and possibly the Beasties), but I think it's pretty undeniable that Beck's lyrics are less vital to his music than most rappers', and as a result less important.

I think I misexplained what I meant by important - I meant that in rap, one of the central tenets is the lyrics, in the same way that for Krautrock, one of the most important things is that motorik beat. Take the lyrics away from someone like Arcade Fire, and it wouldn't be that much different (some might argue better); take the lyrics away from a rap album and it becomes an exercise of rhyme and flow and nothing else. When I listen to someone like Dr. Dre or Jay-Z do their male posturing thing, like in Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang or Renegade, I damn well believe it.

If you asked me about a "theme" to Odelay's lyrics, I'd have nothing to say. I get the feel that it's just stream-of-conciousness - you call it "impersonal" which I think is pretty accurate. But I do like it when an album invites me to enter the mind of the singer/rapper, which can be why Beck's distant lyrics are quite difficult to enjoy and to some may seem insincere.