Listen More - Shuffle Less!

A great piece by the BBC last week alerted me to the presence of Islington’s Classic Album Sundays. At these events, held at Linton Street’s Hanbury Arms, music fans gather to listen to classic albums in full without any interruptions. The rules are strict.... No talking. No texting. You’re not even allowed a loo break!! The only decree is that you must listen to every song on the album without any distractions.


The idea was inspired by a blog post from DJ Greg Wilson who felt as though listening to music had become a passive activity. The great inventions of iPods and MP3 players have meant that we no longer sit down and appreciate whole albums, we tend now to listen to them as background music whilst at work, or on shuffle when out jogging in a park. In fact I honestly can’t remember the last time I listened to a whole album without any distraction. The only time I can think of when I’ve even been remotely close is the Great M4 Traffic Jam of 2008 when I was stuck in a queue for close to 4 hours. I don’t even remember if it was a good album I was listening too. I was probably too preoccupied by my fellow jam sufferers, staring at them for entertainment.


Anyways, a lady called Colleen Murphy, aka Cosmodelica, agreed with Greg’s views and so started “Classic Album Sundays: A Communal and Audiophile Listening Experience” at the end of last year. Everyone’s welcome and so far the group have listened through to The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’, Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’ and De La Soul’s ’3 Feet and Rising’.


Each event costs £5 and starts with pizza at 5pm, with the album on at 7pm. Mobile phones should be turned off, no entry will be allowed once the album has started, and the album will be played in full including any silences.


So if this sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity for you (it certainly does to me!) then the next classic album to receive the 'Cosmodelica' treatment will be Stevie Wonder’s ‘Innervisions’ on Sunday, February 13. Full details can be found on the event’s facebook page


http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147502185303043


Be there! I’m pretty sure I will be!


KF