Sounds from Studio AB: Alicia

Alicia Keys’ new album ALICIA kept me moving last week in Studio AB, but also got me thinking about the way we digest music vs. information. Listening to an album in full feels more like a commitment, much like reading a book. Often I'll get in the car and play whatever is on my top playlists, which leads to hearing the same tracks, but also to consuming at a much lower level of focus. By spending a week with an album I can usually get through it a few times, and I get to know it better—I get the arch the artist was intending, and thus get to hear the entire story, just like reading.

Conversely, I wondered what it would be like to listen to tracks of our favorite books or podcasts in this less-focused state. Wouldn't it be nice to get the highlights from these things in three-minute “playlist style” versions every so often, just to keep those principles front of mind? I guess maybe it's time to finally check out Blinkist.