Falling (Death of an Album)

["Nathan Swartzendruber" <thefishpatrol at hotmail_com>]

Reading the news about the rush of music download stores, I've seen a lot of 
proclamations of the death of the album format. When you can download single 
songs, what happens to the bigger picture of the album? People short-change 
themselves and limit the artist's Voice when an album is sliced apart, the 
argument seems to go. Wondering what you all think of this.

IMHO, if this is a valid argument, it's very late in coming. With the advent 
of MP3s and P2P, single songs are what most people went for because full 
albums were much more difficult to find. People grabbed what they could find 
and then listened, or didn't listen, later.

Of course, you could probably take a wider look and say what has radio done, 
or three-track singles, for that matter. People are fed bite-sized portions; 
let's give them what will sell. That people would head straight for the 
"good stuff" isn't surprising. These articles seem to me like another media 
snack food.

Not to say that the concept of the album itself is simple simon. Cusack's 
notes for how to build a mixed tape in High Fidelity might make a good sell, 
but they sure don't fit every story. Collecting a set of songs and calling 
them a single statement is a big challenge to listeners. Call it ADD, 
boredom or distraction, but I'm not sure many readers are ready for that 
kind of challenge.

And on the other side, I'm not sure very many albums can stand up to the 
scrutiny. Not that every song should be a hit, a powerhouse, a heartbreaker. 
I don't think the rules are that precise at all. But would we really lose so 
much if we only heard 'the good stuff'?

(Separate question: Which albums do you listen to that beg to be played as a 
whole, that have the unity they attest to?)

To take GDBD for an example. One of the things that makes it a great album 
to me is the musical interludes. In a sense, it's like a choral conductor 
who, at the end of a moving piece, makes the cut-off but leaves his hands in 
the air--holds the audience in arrest for a few moments before lowering his 
arms and letting people applaud. Even just having a few seconds between 
tracks can help. Let things echo for a moment before we say something new.

I don't think most listeners know what goes into an album. How many songs 
are brought in and discarded, how many tracks and versions and mixes are 
tried. I would guess people are unaware, more than uncaring. It's too bad we 
hear so little from musicians about what they do. Not "Oh it's so unbearably 
difficult, pity me." But just what excites people about the music they make.

This time, I'm avoiding the new OTR MP3s. When the album comes out, I'll sit 
down with both discs and play them through, put together a puzzle or 
something. Partly for the enjoyment of hearing so much new material at once, 
and partly just to delay. Cutting back on instant gratification. Call it 
part of the battle to prolong culture shock.

Nathan

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