This isn't really a very interesting musical topic, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I find that in the past, I've listened to some songs a certain way for such a long time that the actual version of the song sounds funny.
What I mean is that I have several mp3s that: are poor quality due to ripping, cut off in the middle of the song, or that are edited versions. But the weird thing is that I get used to these versions and then the clean, full length, unedited version sounds funny.
I noticed this circumstance the other day. I'd be constantly listening (and still am) to the song "How to Handle a Rope" by Queens of the Stone Age. I wasn't able to find a real mp3 anywhere online (not even itunes or amazon) so I ripped it from youtube, which you imagine sounded terrible, but it was all I could do. Recently I was finally able to find an actual rip of the song from the CD and at first it sounded funny because it was actually mixed properly. I'll be - there's a hi hat in there too, which I never heard with my awesome 48ish kbps mp3 prior to that.
Another example is edited vs. non-edited songs. I really like the song What You Know by T.I and the version I happened to get was edited, so I've grown used to the background vocals going "what?!" or "oooooh" or simply cutting out instead of swearing. So hearing the version I linked to, for example, always catches me offguard.
I also have a few mp3s that never finished downloading so they end somewhere in the middle of the song. But, since that's the version I have, I always expect the song to end there. So if the song is on the radio and it goes past that point, I'm very confused, especially when my version was missing an entire verse. I've gotten very used to "Eyeless" by Slipknot ending in a certain place as well as "I'll Remember" by Madonna. I finally got a full version of "Live For Lovin' You" by Gloria Estefan and am always taken aback when the song actually finishes.
I guess another scenario is just two entirely different versions of songs. Freshman year of college, I would play the song "I'll Fly With You" by Gigi D'Agostino and my roommate would swear there was another version with some guys making weird background noises and lo and behold, she was right and very excited when I found her version. Same thing with "We Be Burnin'" by Sean Paul. Unbeknownst to me, I have the clean version, whereas the other version is clearly about smoking pot.
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I have a bias against live recordings. Especially bootlegs, but even live albums bother me. The sound quality is weak and the screaming fans drive me insane. Most of the live albums I have are only for completeness of collection.
Low sound quality has led me to delete some downloads before I even listened to them. I think I had one around 32kbps once... I've heard polyphonic ringtones that sounded more authentic.
So, yeah, that's the elitist in me. :-)
There was a rash of alternate versions released when i was in high school, usually a version for country radio and a version for pop radio. ("Black Velvet", "Walking in Memphis"... even "Rock On" had an alternate, and I'm pretty sure it was a cover to begin with.) I could make peace with those, but inevitably, the worst version would be the popular one.
Edited songs just disturb me, though. I get clean vs. explicit, although I think the difference should be in the mix, instead of the flipped overdub that Wal-Mart tends to use. I mean, I've got a version of "Brown-Eyed Girl" that removes any hint of making love in the green grass... instead, they were laughin' and a-runnin' hey-hey behind the stadium. It was so well done that I didn't even notice that they pulled it from the earlier verse.
And then there's the single edits, which I think I've written about before. I understand it as a DJ, especially when you look at the ridiculous track times on a lot of classic rock tracks. The 70's were all about indulgence. I don't support cutting solos (40 seconds pulled from "My Sharona") orpulling verses ("Total Eclipse of the Heart"... a lot of people don't even know the second verse), but trimming the 17 minutes of "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida" is perfectly acceptable.
But sometimes, the edit works. Take Adam Sandler's "Ode to My Car"... adding the varied horns over the expletives was inventive and clever and made it into a better radio song.
I tend to hear songs as sets. When I make mixes or playlists, the sequence I set up sticks with me to the degree that any time I hear one song, I'll expect the next track from my list instead of the next from the album. It's a little disorienting. Even embarassing, if I'm in the car singing along. :-)
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