Perspective

When I listen to a song for the purpose of final mixing/mastering, I am hearing two songs at once: The song that is playing and the song I tried to create. The goal of writing and mastering is to minimize the difference between the two.

What's hard for me to understand is that the listener just hears the song. For the writer, the song is the level of achievement, the goal and satisfaction of pouring the liquid to the top of the cup without spilling. For the listener, the song is simply the drink.