How do you listen to music?

(I had a really awesome cartoon from a cool music cartoon website here, but they charge a fee to let people post them on their blogs, even if proper credit is given.  Srsly?  There goes your free advertising, artist who shall remain nameless since it'd cost me $10 to use your damn cartoon.)

Someone put it in my head last week to start reviewing music on my blog, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since.  It sounds like a great idea, and it'd give me chance to listen to music I wouldn't normally get to hear.

First, a bit about me as a music "listener":  
I'm predictable and a purist.  Pandora must think I'm the easiest person to come up with songs for.  iTunes' Genius could have an IQ under 100 and still be able to predict what I would like.  I'm so in my niche that artists I follow eventually tour together.  It's a big incestuous musical relationship and I love it.

I dig:
Singer/songwriters.  Heavy acoustic guitar tunes. Pianos.  Solid beats.  Creative lyrics (that MEAN something).  Jazzy chords.  Bass drum. Solid vocals (the fewer "runs" the better).

I pay particular attention to (recent artists):
Augustana
Tyrone Wells
The Damnwells
Colbie Callait
Jason Mraz
Trevor Hall
Gavin DeGraw
Sara Bareilles
Ingrid Michaelson
Mat Kearney
Pink
Matt Nathanson
Brett Dennen
Michelle Branch
Andrew Allen
Jason Reeves
Ron Pope
Chris Ayer
Ben Folds
Matchbox Twenty
U2
Maroon 5

etc etc etc

It's not that I don't branch out, because if someone sends me something, I for sure listen to it, which goes into
"How" I listen to music:  
If I'm buying an album, I listen to the album once, straight through, start to finish, no interruptions.  I make sure I have enough time for this before I even touch a song on it.  Living in a city where you can take public transportation makes this easy enough for me, but it should be something a music "observer" makes the time for.  I think this is the way you should listen to albums.  The album has an order for a reason...the artist is telling you a story, not only through each individual song, but in the album as a whole.  I think you can only appreciate this artistic ebb and flow if you devote the time to listen to it that way.  What irritates me about things these days is that people don't have the attention span to listen to the art, the story, the heart behind the music.  In my world, patience and attention is the only way by which one can truly appreciate music.

Where I see live shows:
I like small venues, which is why I tend to seek out new artists, or artists that aren't on the "main screen" yet (see list above).  It's easier to feel like part of the music when you're in a smaller performance space (at least, I think so).  Plus, the lower ticket fees helps me see more shows.  :) 
And, I'll mention this: a lot of the artists I mentioned above have done "moderately" well with their albums.  ALL of the people on my list are amazing live.  In fact, I'd say most of them I prefer live to listening to their albums.  For example: Augustana's Shot in the Dark off their latest (self-titled) album. I loved this song the first time I listened to the album, but I happened to catch this version on YouTube (that, funny enough, a friend of mine at KINK radio in Portland recorded).  Words can't express how much I love the second version more.  There's something gritty about Dan Layus' voice that you just can't "feel" on the albums.
I wish all of my artists would put out a live album.  Then they'd be really famous, making millions, and playing big venues (...wait...).
There's something powerful in a live performer, and there's so much to it to me that I'll never be a fan of the artists that lip-sync during their shows or sound over-produced on their albums (*cough* Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas *cough*).

I have a Spotify account now at the urging of a friend (Scott Velazco), who, by the way, is also my dealer when it comes to my musical addiction.  He's my personal Pandora.  I look forward to learning more about it and sharing that with you as we move along here.

So there you have it.  Me, musically, in a nutshell.  I wanted to do this so you'd know where I was coming from as I take a stab at reviewing music.  My goal for my next blog will be to write a proper review of the latest album I purchased (sneak peek: I love.).  Stay "tuned"!

In the meantime...do you have an album you love you think I need to hear?  What sort of music speaks to you?