stereo question

the (I'm surely bullshit) liner notes to pere ubu's st arkansas claim that we hear from left to right.

i have been told that some bands intentionally mix the drums so you will hear them from the drummer's own perspective (hi-hat and snare on the left, floor tom on the right). i think i would rather hear them from an observer's perspective (i.e. the reverse).

I have a couple of jazz records that do this (separate different parts of the drum kit to different channels), and it's a bit disturbing to listen to them on the headphones, with a stereo set it's okay.