It was another eclectic month of music listening here in September, with a wider selection and a greater number of discs spun. Starting in August, I decided to keep track of every album I listened to in its entirety. The rules: Only an album heard in its entirety, even if it is spread over several days, will count. Repeat spins, partial listens, EPs, singles and background music don't count. This had to be active listening of a full album. I could listen in the car, at home, at work or even on headphones while mowing the lawn. Every completed album was added to the list.

I listened to 47 albums in August, and 52 in September. As with August, it was easy to pick out some patterns. I paid more attention to new music this month, listening to fresh releases from Jay-Z, Noise Addict, Polvo, Yo La Tengo, the Clean, Lou Barlow, Boston Spaceships, Girls, Track a Tiger, Monsters of Folk, Ben Allison, The Clientele, Flaming Lips and Volcano Choir.

I also got into degrees-of-separation listening. I picked up the new version of Richard Hell's Destiny Street (which didn't count on this list because I listened to it in August), so I listened to the old version for comparison. That led me to an investigation of Robert Quine, which led to a listen to his duo disc with drummer Fred Maher, which led to a spin through Lou Reed's The Blue Mask, which features Quine's guitar. Reading about Big Star (more on that tomorrow) and priming myself for the Keep an Eye on the Sky boxed set led me to listen to a lot of Alex Chilton, while reading the book Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records led me to pull out a lot of old Merge stuff.

How does this compare to your own habits? Do you have the patience for full albums? What sparks you to pick up a disc and give it a spin? Let me know in the comments.

The list:

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
Husker Du - Flip Your Wig
Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
Steve Wynn - Sweetness and Light
Richard Hell - Destiny Street
Noise Addict - It Was Never About the Audience
Lou Reed - The Blue Mask
Robert Quine and Fred Maher - Basic
Robert Gordon - Is Red Hot
Ben Neill - Night Science
Gutterball - s/t
Superchunk - Come Pick Me Up
Matt Suggs - Golden Days Before They End
Polvo - In Prism
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
Soulsavers - Broken
Anders Parker - Skyscraper
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
The 6ths - Wasp's Nests
The Clean - Mister Pop
Lou Barlow - Goodnight Unknown
Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue
Evan Parker/Matthew Shipp - Abbey Road Duos
Emitt Rhodes - Mirror
Superchunk - Foolish
Bill Fay - Time of Last Persecution
Alex Chilton - 1970
Alex Chilton - Bach's Bottom
Emitt Rhodes - Farewell to Paradise
Big Star - Live
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Cardinal - s/t
The Feelies - the Good Earth
Boston Spaceships - Zero to 99
Girls - Album
The Minus 5 - I Don't Know Who I Am
David Grubbs - Banana Cabbage, Potato Lettuce, Onion Orange
Jim Carroll - World Without Gravity
The Clientele - Bonfires on the Hearth
Track a Tiger - I Felt the Bullet Hit My Heart
Stephen Stills - Manassas
Monsters of Folk - s/t
R.E.M. - Document
R.E.M. - Monster
Ben Allison - Think Free
Jenny Scheinman - s/t
Stefon Harris - African Tarantella
Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Peter Laughner - Take the Guitar Player for a Ride
Volcano Choir - Unmap

Labels: lists, monthly list, music