My music-listening habits have room for improvement. The most glaring flaw is that I tend not to explore the oeuvre of an artist when I hear a song I really, really, like. This makes sense in some cases (such as if the band is mostly terrible), but in general when you enjoy a song from a band or artist you are unfamiliar with you should try to listen to more of their music. Unless of course the song is Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer.
Peter Gabriel has released several songs that are quite excellent. Shock the Monkey, Big Time, and Solsbury Hill are all very good songs. If someone were to make me compilation CD with any of those songs I would tell the person "Including those selections from Peter Gabriel's repertoire was a good choice." However, if Sledgehammer were on the CD it would take make years before I got around to listening to any of the other tracks.
There are few songs I enjoy as much as Sledgehammer. I love the synthesized flute, how the intro leads into the first verse, and most of all the chorus. I have come to conclude that the chorus creates a sonic wave that stimulates the production of serotonin in my brain. If I like the song so much, why should I listen to any of his other work? I mean, time spent listening to other Peter Gabriel songs is time I could spend listening to Sledgehammer.
Recently I have been making a strong effort to listen to albums in their entirety, so the "I'm perfectly happy listening to this song, thank you very much" habit is on its way out. This is a good thing. Of course, maybe I'll find myself too impatient to listen to albums all the way through. If that happens you know what I'll be listening to.
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