Remember nostalgia?

Why do I always do this?

Every time I get a new album by a favorite group, I instantly find myself feeling nostalgic for the band's most recent effort. Even if I didn't really like it much in the first place.

To wit: This week, Wilco released Sky Blue Sky, a perfectly fine collection of songs that I'm sure I'll come to embrace further with each listen. Right now, only one song really pops my ears -- "What Light" -- but I'm sure I'll find more highlights as I get further acclimated to the music.

But right on schedule, here I am feeling wistful about A Ghost is Born. Suddenly, my ears are craving an album that I didn't much like when it first came out. Way back in 2004, "The Late Greats" was the only cut that really captured my fancy. But three years later, I'm celebrating previously undiscovered subtleties from "Hell is Chrome," "Muzzle of Bees," and especially "Company in My Back."

The thing is, I distinctly remember going through the same process three years ago, puzzling over my lukewarm reception to Ghost while devouring Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And when YHF came out, I rediscovered my love for Summerteeth as I tried to make sense of this new Wilco sound. I felt the same way about Being There when Boss Tweedy took me on that sonic joyride of Summerteeth.

And so it goes. This is nothing new. When my brother brought home his brand spankin' new vinyl copy of The Cars' Heartbeat City circa 1984, I ran to his record collection and broke out Shake it Up. Pop brought me back to Zooropa. Smile sent me scrambling for Sound of Lies. And so on.

OK, it's not a comprehensive rule in my life. Some bands have enthralled me more with each new release -- The New Pornographers, The Hold Steady and Tift Merritt spring to mind, and had I discovered their work in chronological order, I think The Decemberists would fit into that category as well.

But still, it's more than just a one-shot deal. Anybody have a similar experience, or care to diagnose this particular neurosis?