Always playing, but never heard

A friend of mine at work loaned me his copy of The Lillywhite Sessions, Dave Matthews' Band's technically "unreleased" album. I had heard of it, but never really listened to it until today. I'm a DMB fan from way back, and I'm really enjoying this album as I listen to it today. I told my friend the only regret I have is that I'm hearing these songs for the first time at work, while I can't really *listen* to them.

So, I got to thinking. I listen to music all day at work, while I am (hopefully) concentrating on other things. I listen to music while I'm riding my bike to/from work. I listen to music while I work out in the yard. I listen to music while I'm driving. But, do I ever actually listen to music? Not really. I wonder how much deeper this new-to-me album would sound if I were sitting at home listening to it and doing nothing else.

I also wonder what other pursuits this applies to. How many things in my life do I passively experience, but not really experience at all?