Have you ever listened to a song or album so much over time that you can't enjoy it anymore? That you have no desire to listen to it ever again? Does it ever go away? Is it even real? I was looking at my CDs and I thought "I like some of this stuff, but I have no desire to listen to it, it sounds like that would be boring".

Does anyone else experience this?

Give an example.

Motorhead. Black Sabbath. I get tired of them so easily.

This always happens to me with albums I'm immediately obsessed with. After ten listens a day for a week, I just can't take any more... however, with one's I gave more time like Visual Lies and Operation Mindcrime, I still find myself listening to them every week or two.

This happens to me fairly often due to my intense musical ADD. I just give it a while and it sounds fine when I get back to it.

I really feel bad when I say this, but Iron Maiden has sort of become like this for me, lately. I mean, I still consider them one of my favourite bands and they have produced some of my absolute favourite albums and utmost classics in general when it comes to heavy metal, not to even mention how they represent everything that I love in heavy metal. Still, I rarely have any desire to put on any of their albums these days. It's kind of a mood thing; I'll greatly appreciate the Maiden-tune that's playing on the background in a rock/metal pub and I will always go and see them live if they come here, but when I listen to Maiden on my own, I have to be in the mood for a full album. I am not in that specific mood too often these days - it's been like 3 months since I last spun any album of theirs.

Actually, now that I think about it, I feel like this with yet another band which I consider to be a favourite band of mine, and that band is Virgin Steele.

You guys kidding? I often go 3 or 4 months without listening to albums from some of my favorite bands. Variety's the spice of life, man. Can't literally listen to the same stuff ALL THE TIME.

I'm with Empyreal here.

Just cause something is my favorite band or release ever or at that moment doesn't mean I listen to it constantly. Hell once I get a cd I'd probably listen to it once or twice and come back to it a month or so later. There is so much music to consume I don't see any reason to just listen to the same thing over and over again... which I why I don't mind bands that sound exactly the same as other bands... same flavor different spices.

This doesn't happen to me.

I'm in Empy's camp too (I'm rarely on his side, so rejoice!!). If you guys look at my last.fm, you'll see that I rarely listen to the same bands/albums. I like to hear new things constantly! Hopefully I can get a job soon to pay for what I listen haha!

This happened to me when I first got into metal, and it affects me now. I can't really listen to Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, or Motorhead anymore. I used to listen to these all the time.

As of now, I either change things up everyday or like an album/band so much that I don't get tired of them. Like Agalloch.

Yeah, can't listen to the same stuff all the time. I have a massive library of music, so this isn't a problem. When I listen to a song/album too much I just lose the desire to want to hear it. I remember I used to listen to Leftover Crack everyday for about a year, and after that I just had to take a break and didn't listen to them for six months. Now I'm back to listening to them (and related bands) a lot. Same happened with NOFX and just to throw in a metal example, Agalloch. With metal I'm always seeking out new albums. For this reason I never listen to the same album all the time (although I could listen to Cobalt's Gin on constant repeat and never get sick of it.)

this happens for me with songs not albums

this usually happens to me when i listen to the same album over and over again day after day, and after about maybe 2-3 months i get sick of it and rarely listen to the band for a long time. has happened to archgoat and iron maiden (both top artists on my last.fm), though they still happen to be my 2 favourite bands of all time.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

It's funny how there are some people who suffer from this a lot, and others who never do. One guy always has to act completely oblivious to the syndrome and have to ask what a silly conundrum that would be. I think we all secretly wish we were these people. I love Queens of the Stone Age, Celtic Frost, and Neil Young, but I've listened to every note so many times, it's just too predictable.

On a side note, longest binge was probably Celtic Frost's Monotheist for me. I listened to that albums probably every day for like months strait... I have a history of that. Once when a local taqueria opened near my neighborhood, I ate there at least once a weak for two and a half years, ordered a super large chicken burrito with the works. And sometimes I would go another day of the week to get nachos or something.

I like the idea of having enough music so that this isn't a problem. But I can't afford a whole lot of music.

I listened to Luna Mortis' The Absence quite a lot, to the point where I honestly I got burned out and I don't enjoy it as much as I used to.

Yeah, I love that album. Definitely underrated.

Yes. British Steel and Screaming for Vengeance are good examples for me. And Sad Wings of Destiny, Stained Class, Defenders of the Faith and Painkiller are getting there, I'm afraid to say. It's not only that I haven't genuinely enjoyed those albums in a long time, it's that I cannot imagine enjoying them in any foreseeable future.

I don't know why this is happening with Priest, of all bands, since I have no problem mustering up at least some enthusiasm for bands I like much less - Saxon, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Accept, Manowar, etc. Or maybe just because? As in, I don't like them as much, so I don't fear that they'll disappoint me? Might be that.

Not too much since I only listen to albums in the car. At home and work it's usually on shuffle. Since my musical tastes vary through metal, hiphop, rock, country, and classical, I tend to keep interest in all my music since I keep it fresh

This.

I couldn't listen Metallica anymore since 93' or so. I can listen some Maiden tracks from time to time but I can't listen a full album anymore. I still listen a wide variety of music (metal or not), so I rarely listen the same stuff over and over unless it's a new album that I like a lot or some albums/songs that have a deep meaning to me and fit well with a certain mood.

I can also stay away from some of my fav albums/bands for months but when I go back to them I enjoy them as much as always.

One more siding with Empyreal here, I have a selection of favourite albums that rotates over the different months and moods, that way it stays fresh; besides there's stuff that no matter how good you can listen to only in special ocations, Wildhoney ain't the same on a cold winter night than during daytime in spring.
I haven't added anything in particular to my list of metal albums in a long time, but the ones that dwell there still haven't worn out to me.
Another thing that might influence is listening to other genres, these last years I've been much more into classical than metal truth be said, so that also helps. But even there I keep the waters flowing, the last months I was in a medieval craze, now I'm listening most of the day to Penderecki and Ligeti, throwing in there some of my metal picks every now and then when the mood calls for it or to space things a bit and not saturate myself, it's kinda like smelling coffee to reset your nose when you're trying perfumes.

What has (and still does) happened to me, is that I don't play albums or artist almost anymore (specially Summoning) not because I'm worn out but because I know pretty much everything by memory, so I just play the stuff in my head instead of a disc or mp3.


Well, there are lots of music for free on the internet, and it doesn't necesarily have to be pirated stuff, so there ya go.

I actually try not to listen to an album more than twice in a row. When I get new CD's, I often give it a few listens and shelve it for a week or more. I've even gone for years without listening to a CD. This does help me appreciate it more.

I've tried to listen to my collection in order (Alpha by band name, chrono by release). This is a good way to weed out ones I don't like, but I usually can't make it past the the M's. It sort of takes the fun away when you have to listen to something.

Actually most of the stuff I listened to when I started listening to metal has that effect on me. I rarely spin records that I bought a long time ago. Don't think that's bad though, because it's great fun to discover new material every day. To me it makes sense that things you found out recently and are excited about will prevail over stuff you've listened to to death. The greatness of those classic albums still stands and I will still enjoy the music, but it just happens that I won't spin the records. Hell I don't think I've spun a Slayer record for over a year or so, but the gig they gave in Effenaar last year was the best gig I've seen last year and I'm absolutely psyched to see them headline Fortarock this summer.

It doesn't happen to me as I'm constantly looking for new music. In fact there is a lot of stuff I feel I should give a listen to but I haven't been able to because I'm stuffed with too much music already. I have turned into a download junkie.

It will happen if you listen to the same damned thing all the time I guess but it has never really happened to me.

Metallica...big time. They used to be my favorite band for years but theres only so many times you can listen to those first 4 albums before you get sick of them.

I might say that "Brujeria - Brujerizmo" fell for me into that category. "The Offspring - Smash" is probably another one for me. I'm a person who gets too attached to a band for 1-2 years and listen to their CD excessively during that period and then it somewhat gets faded for my playlist. I would come back to listen to those CD's again in a few years but the excitement of the album isn't the same as it was when I heard it first.

I was a massive fan of System of a Down when they started, I dont think I listened to them in the past 6 years. I think bands that you get into but somewhat slowly stick to you for a longer time because they arent overplayed. For me Mork Gryning and Old Man's Child have this factor, I would listen to them once every like 9 months or so and enjoy them equally for the next years to come. The Kovenant was overplayed by me and I didnt give them a listen in 6 years as well.

For me I think its all about the times you listened to the CD - if you went way over 200 listens the first year, then the years to come might have 1-2 listens per year. If you had a 50 listens the first year, then you might keep 5-10 listens in the years to come. Who knows.......

Music burnout happens to me all the time. Bands, albums, songs, even entire genres all get old to me after a while. And it can be a favorite song by a favorite band, too. One I have enjoyed for years. Sometimes it doesn't matter, I just get so tired of it that I can't listen to it, sometimes for years.. It usually a band's hits that I usually get burnt out on. A prime example being Pantera's Walk or Cemetery Gates, or Alice in Chain's Rooster. I heard enough of these songs in highschool to last me a life time. And I'm not taking anything away from them, they are great songs, but I am just so tired of them...

It happens to me too, but after a year rest it dissapears

I get bored fast, but I saw some people online where it's the opposite for them. A guy posted a screenshot of his itunes library, with the album A Night At The Opera by Blind Guardian having around 1800 plays!

Yes.

In my experience, it doesn't really go away. If you know an album note for note, it ceases to surprise you. That happened to me with Unquestionable Presence. But eventually you'll hear it in some other form, like, say, a friend playing the CD in their car. Or maybe on the radio if you're lucky. And then, for some odd reason, you're able to put the song into a new context. You're not hearing it the way you used to hear it, you're hearing it the way others hear it, or perhaps the way the DJ intends you to hear it. So, I suggest experimenting with ways to put this music into another context. For example, you could assemble a playlist based around a certain theme. I know every note of Samael's 'Dark Trip'. One of my favorite metal songs. But when I pair it with other songs on my 'anti-Christian playlist' on my ipod, it crushes me every time.

It really depends, you get used to all music you listen to a lot, and sometimes you take a break and come back to it after a few months, or even years, but some bands you get over and never really get back into them. I have personally experienced both of these situations.

To add to what the guy above is getting at, when I listen to music in different settings it can change the way it sounds to me. I guess different environments coupled with the music can invoke different responses to it.

I agree with this statement even the genre thing. I've gotten bored with metal after listening to nothing but metal for 2 years or so. Then I got into punk/hardcore/crust and various other genres and now I'm almost sick of that and I'm back into liking metal again. There have been times where I've gotten an album or downloaded something, listened to two songs and then change it because I'm so bored with it or don't like that style of music.

I will always like thrash though.

After I worked in A&R, I stopped listening to music after I quit. Total music burnout. I think I went at least half a year before I started caring about music again. It was horrible.

Generally? I wish Watain would stop touring for Lawless Darkness, lock themselves in their practice space, and just... stop everything for at least a year. I tried listening to that record a couple months ago, and I think I got 2 minutes into Malfeitor before I had to turn it off. Its not even that I've listened to that album that much, I think I'm just sick of hearing about them.

I tend to burnout pretty often. A band will consume me for a few months, and then I tire and move on. There's hardly any metal I listen to today that I listened to three years ago, the only consistent exception being Sigh. I prefer to discover new material rather than tread old ground.

It happens, fortunately it's just temporary. At times I had no idea what to listen to and everything just sounded ''mweh'' to my ears. Last 2 weeks or so I've been getting back into doom and thrash metal again so I've got quite much to listen to which is nice.

Generally, a lot of "brutal death metal" bands. There's so many and it feels like they're cloning each other and just gets boring. Only thing a lot of them have going for them is the album covers.

Yep. Same.

I'll buy an album, listen to it for 4-5 times, then probably not listen to it until a month later. Next listen approximately 3 months later and so on. I own just under a 1000 albums, so obviously that's a big reason why I can't keep listening to the same albums over over.