It's knocking over fences

I don't think it 's just me that feels like entire albums rarely are as good as the song that was the hook, or the "single". There is always baggage and usually on an average I like three or fours songs and listen to them over and over once I've heard the whole thing through. In an interview I read, Connor Oberst was lamenting that people, when they download songs, don't get the entire listening experience. On an aesthetic music loving level I agree that the tactile experience of albums or even CDs, (his CD Cassadage is a swell example of how much fun having something to play with while you listen to the music, is a perfect example), is an integral part of the experience, however, there have always been singles, or ep's with the songs that are deemed the best and most listenable. It takes active involvement to make an additional step and find out more about the artist that is singing the song you keep hearing and love. As far as I can tell this is an example of the differentiation of the passive and the active participant in any art. Not to say that you can't transcend genre's and levels of interest, but for the most part, people are going to pursue what gives them pleasure. That, and nothing more.