Short summation of a long conversation
Christian and I started a conversation over IM yesterday that would have been much longer and more detailed if it wasn't for the fact that there was more to say on the subject than our little fingers could type. The subject at hand was The Death Of The Album; specifically, whether or not mp3s and online music stores would end up killing the album as an art form.
The idea of the album dying a slow death depresses Christian, and I can understand that. We've grown up with albums, with the wait for a favorite band to release Their New Album, with new musical directions being dictated by songs as bunches rather than singles. But while Christian is depressed by and doubts the death of the album, I see it as a distinct possibility (albeit a long way off) and it's something that I'll welcome with a little dancing jig of joy. The idea that we no longer have to wait years for new music by a favorite band, that the meaning of a band's sound is decided by individual songs and not by 12-15 of them, most of which inevitably end up as filler, will be a great thing.
It's true that we'll be missing out on those great albums that fulfill from beginning to end, but in it's place, we'll have a musical world that's constantly moving, where we go from one exciting song to another, and where our favorite artists will give us something new every month, and where a disappointing release is just a song or two, and they can make it up to us next season instead of next decade.
Oh, what fun...I can't wait 'til the future gets here.
6 comments:
I'd like to see you do that jig too Reid!
BTW, there was an article in the paper here this morning sort of about this very thing - but as it related to big time kuntry music - apparently they (country record execs) don't think the album is going away too soon for them - and they cite the (apparently) lower sales of online singles for country songs than other types of music. Seems strange to me (and I doubt that this is true), because big time country - along with commercial pop - seem to be the best candidates for a move away from albums - what with the major emphasis on big radio play of one single. Anyway, what I'm saying is (well, nothing really) that if you like albums and are interested in keeping albums alive, the record execs of big time country music will take you in with open arms I guess.
But seriously, I don't know if the album is dead for good - seems like bands and especially solo artists will still be interested in recording full-length albums - but will probably release a lot more singles as well. How many songs have people written in the past where it wasn't recorded because it wouldn't fit onto an album? Maybe this is the time where those unrecorded songs now have a place. I just think the temptation to put together an entire album of music which has a common thread will not go away - kind of like the temptation to write a novel instead of a short story.
wow, just reread my comment - that was very middle-ground-take-no-real-position of me.
The reason that I said that EPs are hard to get excited about is because they're usually just castaways from the albums, something to fill in that time between full releases. In the world of music that we've always known, it's that albums are The Real Thing, with singles just promotional material for the albums and EPs a dumping ground. As good as the Fiery Furnaces EP may be, it's still just stuff they didn't want to put on an album. What I look forward to is a song or two or three getting as big of a release as an album.
I think the death of the album is greatly exaggerated. I think we'll all die before the album does. BUT...I think that the idea of artists choosing to express themselves through a themed group of songs is an artistic expression that was born out of necessity. A group of songs that lasted as a whole for about 50 minutes didn't come first; the format of the album did, and then people worked artistically within that.
So now, with easily-sharable song files, bands will work more artistically towards each song. I really believe that this will end up creating more quality music, killing filler, and no more hiding 10 mediocre songs behind 2 great ones, and no disappointments when an album you've been waiting so long for is 10 mediocre songs and 2 great ones.
btw, two bands that have released singles as well as albums since the Beatles: The Smiths and Belle and Sebastian, both of whom did a fantastic job of it and are the exception to the rule that an EP is nothing to get excited about. Ben Folds has also been doing it more lately.
Hopefully, what we'll see is a combination of the two: people using the ability to put out songs quickly and easily, but leaving albums to be a more complete artistic statement.
To sum up all of this: I'm not really even concerned about the "death of the album", nor do I think it's really happening, but I'm getting very excited about what I see as The Rebirth of The Single. There.
dang. i can certainly see the diminishing of the "album", but there's a couple of things at play here that i think will keep the "album" alive. although we don't see too much of it anymore, there's still a bit of "concept albums" out there, still some bands that like to record that way; where the whole is the sum of its parts rather than just a collection of its parts. It that respect, i think bands will still want to record albums rather than just crush out singles. I hesitate to make a second reference to Neutral Milk Hotel in as many days, but there are a ton of Neutral Milk Hotels and Magnetic Fieldses and Sigur Roses and Flaming Lipses who make albums whose parts cannot rightly be taken from the whole without creating a different feeling. This kind of thing will keep on keepin' on. Sort of along the same lines as Doug's short story/novel comment.
Also, there's still billions of people out there who really like to physically hold the record in their hand, and read the liner notes and look at the pictures and whatnot. Sure it's easy and convenient to store tens of thousands of songs in a tiny space without worrying about clutter and damaging your discs and whatnot, but there's still something fun about holding the actual record in your grubby mitts.
Yes, I love technology ... but I will rue the day that mp3 kills the radio star.
that's my two cents
In one of those neat coincidences, I started reading this post just as Mean Mr. Mustard started playing on the iPod. Abbey Road is as strong an argument for the album as a cohesive artistic statement as anything. Nothing wrong with the Return of the Single, but I hope it doesn't drive out the ability to make something longer.
Not all musical statements are four minutes in length.
No, I don't think it will require everything to be four minutes at all. In actuality, it will mean that an artistic statement can be anything from two minutes to 150 or more.
What I'm saying is that, though I'm a fan of The Album and have loved plenty of them, it's still a restrictive format. Before the album existed, there were tons of symphonies and operas that were longer than could have ever fit on an album. And when the 45 was invented, pop/folk songs were condensed down to fit them. If there are no constraints on recording format, then artists will be more free to create whatever comes to them, whether it's a four minute pop song released every week for a year, 5 pieces released together that are seamless and meant to be played in a certain order, or a 2 hour movement that's meant to be listened to from beginning to end. It would remove any limits. The people creating 4 minute pop songs no longer have to feel obligated to write 12 other songs like it because that's just the format and wankers who want to write 2 hour rock operas about Nordic mythology like that jerk in the Washington Post operas aren't constricted to an 80 minute CD. It's a free free free free world.
As much fun as this conversation has been, Christian's right: I don't see the album dying anytime at all soon. There's still not only a desire, but a necessity for a tactile, portable media like CDs. And most people still can't afford computers or have the desire to keep up with changing technology. But things are changing, and it's already beginning to slowly and quietly change the way music is created, in ways that I think will give us even more amazing tunes.
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