"Rewards repeated listening"

moshkito wrote:   Almost all of us reviewers that have been at it for years, do not need to listen to things that many times ... we have way more reference points for most stuff that we listen to, than the music itself has for us. And that is the difference.   It's the same thing for Foreign Art/Film Reviews, of which I have 500 or more and half of that in the Internet Movie Database ... there is no chance of seeing the films a second time, so if your attention is not there, why are you writing a review (first) and (second) what are you doing here?   I am not sure I would want to suggest that "regular" listeners do not have the same ability and are not used to seeing/hearing something different. The only issue I have with the majority of the music listed here, is the same reason I do not review top ten ... 10k people already done it ... what do you need my review for? ... besides, I only do the ones that they are not big enough to try, yet! The ones no one knows or has heard of before, because that is where the majority of gems are these days ... the rest is way too comercial and we need to start dropping most of those reviews, specially when some of the groups are mere mom and pop copies and not progressive at all.

FunkyM wrote: "Because, unlike movies and books, music always requires (and rewards) repeated listenings over a long period of time, usually more than two years." I dunno. I think I'd get a heck of a lot more out of seeing Bridge on the River Kwai multiple times than I would from listening to Ke$ha's Animal. I don't think this theory holds up for me.

On similar lines, I don't see why a great book is not worth reading over and over.  It arguably applies more to books than to music or movies in that the former may take longer to digest unless one's idea of serious writing be Alchemist.

I think that the thesis here is entirely wrong.  People say that an album "rewards repeated listening" for a reason.
It could almost be a definition of art music.  Pop music is supposed to grab you on the first listen, and so the musical rewards are right up front for you to enjoy - catchy verse/chorus/riff, simple, clear lyrical ideas, etc.
The first time I listened to the introduction of "Close to the Edge," I thought, "what is this hippie garbage?  They're just making noise!"  But it was intentional enough that I kept thinking about it and returning to it.  Decades later, I am captivated by this piece of music.  I learned to recognize that initial apprehension as a sign that this music might require some sustained attention.  Following that sign has been a joyous lifelong quest!

All this palaver going down every forum that TfTO is epitome of excess & over-complication is lost on me.

I agree it's a cliche phrase, but it's exactly true in many cases. Especially with experimental or progressive albums. Like the previously mentioned TFTO. When I got that on vinyl, I listened to only one track at a time so I could wrap my head around it better. It's in my top 3 Yes albums because there's so much in it.