Best Ever Albums

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

NowhereMan — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 13:53:47 GMT

Author: NowhereMan

Posted: 07/31/2014 17:53

NickVolos wrote:

Not sure if the album form is dying out... What I know is that I will always be a sucker for it. Playlists are fun but music albums are an all around expression of art.

Agreed. But sometimes I can be found just sacking on random songs if I don't fancy having a more heavier listening session - especially either on the move or in the gym; playlists win.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Mdemauri — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 11:00:09 GMT

Author: Mdemauri

Posted: 07/31/2014 15:00

NickVolos wrote:

Not sure if the album form is dying out... What I know is that I will always be a sucker for it. Playlists are fun but music albums are an all around expression of art.

Agreed!

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

NickVolos — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 08:56:08 GMT

Author: NickVolos

Posted: 07/31/2014 12:56

Not sure if the album form is dying out... What I know is that I will always be a sucker for it. Playlists are fun but music albums are an all around expression of art.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Max15 — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 20:31:48 GMT

Author: Max15

Posted: 07/31/2014 00:31

Funny how, in the last few years, the amount of sales on vinyl records has dramatically increased, but the long playing album is apparently "dying out". Don't these idiots know the album is dead!?

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 19:19:09 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/30/2014 23:19

sp4cetiger wrote:

He has a point about the "business" aspect of music, but I bet things were actually worse back in his day. Nowadays, it's really easy to make and distribute music, perhaps to the point where record companies themselves are becoming obsolete. Even if record companies move entirely into the singles business, I think there will always be a community of people who want to make and consume music in more than 4 minute chunks. While it used to be that desire wasn't enough (you also needed a shit ton of money), production and distribution are both much more affordable than in the '60s and '70s.

I agree with you.
And there are, for example, still a lot of interesting labels that put out really interesting albums. Not only marketing, I suppose.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:57:56 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/30/2014 20:57

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Is some of this an idiotic "back in my day music was better attitude"? Most definitely, but there's an interesting underlying point of how much of a "business" the music industry is, and marketable singles are definitely a part of that.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Graeme2 — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:50:58 GMT

Author: Graeme2

Posted: 07/30/2014 20:50

Rubbish. The physical format of all music is on its way out obviously. That's because people get music in a different way now so therefore that is why we have decline in physical sales. It's a joke to equate this to the death of the album. Obviously the better tracks will get more streams or downloads. There will always be an album format. Acts will always release collections of songs. I see more albums being released now than ever, so how is that decline? Sounds like the something from the mouth of the dying record industry. Can't get my head round the logic.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

RockyRaccoon — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 15:59:06 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 07/30/2014 19:59

David Crosby had an interesting quote once that somewhat relates to this. His view on the "industry" of the music industry.

Quote:

When it all started, record companies -- and there were many of them, and this was a good thing -- were run by people who loved records, people like Ahmet Ertegun, who ran Atlantic Records, who were record collectors. They got in it because they loved music.

Look at it this way. A couple of years ago, somewhere between a fourth and a third of the record business was owned by a whiskey company, who shall remain nameless, but were notably inept at running a record company. And they sold it to a French water company, who shall also remain nameless, but knew even less. Now, those guys haven't a clue! [laughter] They haven't a clue. And they don't care about having a clue. They are trying to run it as if they're selling widgets, plastic-wrapped widgets that they can sell more of. And they want easily definable, easily accessible, easily creatable, controllable product that has a built-in die-out, so that they can create some more.

By that, I mean, "Get me a lead singer. He's got sort of an androgynous blonde hair, very pretty. We need a guitar player, sort of hatchet-faced, wears a hat, plays very fast, very dramatic. He must be very dramatic. Get me a pound of bass player, pound of drummer. I don't think he needs keyboards; I think we look good. And we'll call them the Bosco Bombers! No. The Bad Dogs, that's good! I like that!" And then you sell it. You sell the hell out of it. You spend $500,000 on record promoting, and they make a lot more.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

samistake2ice — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 14:16:39 GMT

Author: samistake2ice

Posted: 07/30/2014 18:16

I greatly prefer the LP format, but the future the article lays out seems logical. I agree with Mecca that most things are cyclical, and I do believe that Long Play records will survive. But I also see the possibility of more artists releasing EPs. So, instead of releasing 1 album in a year, they might release 2 EPs, 6 months apart. That way they achieve what they want creatively, and also give themselves a bump to consistently stay relevant. Reflektor would actually be a good example of an album that could've been released and marketed in this format.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Skinny — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:35:37 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 07/30/2014 17:35

meruizh wrote:

But would it sound logical coming from Arcade Fire, no.

At least I wouldn't have to read a load of bullshit about their brave reinvention every other year.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

meruizh — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:33:44 GMT

Author: meruizh

Posted: 07/30/2014 17:33

The industry has suffered a radical change since the introduction of Napster. Itunes just made it legal. I believe the vast majority of people will make this argument: the digital era gives you the chance to choose the "one song" you like from a band for free or $1 it's much more appealing than spending 15$ in an album filled with songs you simply dont care.

According to the article, Tinie Tempah mentioned they wont be doing albums any more. For me this is the most logical decision Tinie Tempah can make. He is artist made for the charts. But would it sound logical coming from Arcade Fire, no.

In the end we'll have bands with albums and bands with singles. But the album wont die, at least for the immediate future

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

lightmyway — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:21:15 GMT

Author: lightmyway

Posted: 07/30/2014 17:21

I love albums, I've had so much fun with them, a good one gives an experience deeper than listening to the radio. But if it's over I'm fine with it. They had a good run, it was an interesting experiment. Only about 1% of artists can even fill an album with good songs. Nothing's stopping those artists from continuing to make albums, and I'll buy them when they do, but I don't think we lose anything if the rest switch to singles. Except for 500,000 awful songs per year.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

NowhereMan — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 12:04:15 GMT

Author: NowhereMan

Posted: 07/30/2014 16:04

sp4cetiger wrote:

For the casual listener, it makes perfect sense that the album format would be inconvenient. They just want to hear their favorite songs played back-to-back for arbitrary chunks of time and they don't necessarily need or want a "complete" 45+ minute experience. I'd be very surprised, though, if the album format died completely. The music of tomorrow will be made by music lovers, not casual listeners, and I'm guessing that most music lovers are still attached to the longer formats. Albums may sell less than they used to, but there will always be artists who choose to express themselves in ways that are not commercial.

Completely agree

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

RockyRaccoon — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 11:08:41 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 07/30/2014 15:08

It doesn't surprise me that the album format isn't as popular as it used to be. I know far too many people who just want to listen to the radio or listen to a playlist or something. In fact, I remember one friend of mine telling me that he's only ever heard one album that he liked listening to all the way through (granted, he's probably never really listened to a full album). Most people, it seems, don't want to listen to the same artist for 45+ minutes, they just wanna listen to some songs they like and that's really it.

I'll always love albums though. It can be such an experience. There are so few art forms that can be an entire experience, that can appeal to the very basic emotions of a human being. It can be beautiful stuff and it's unfortunate that so many people aren't interested in even attempting to have that experience.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

meccalecca — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 11:02:18 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 07/30/2014 15:02

I would guess that since most everything thing in the world works in cycles, it would make sense for singles to again overtake albums for a significant time period, but I'll forever prefer albums over singles.

Re: Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:57:59 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/30/2014 14:57

For the casual listener, it makes perfect sense that the album format would be inconvenient. They just want to hear their favorite songs played back-to-back for arbitrary chunks of time and they don't necessarily need or want a "complete" 45+ minute experience. I'd be very surprised, though, if the album format died completely. The music of tomorrow will be made by music lovers, not casual listeners, and I'm guessing that most music lovers are still attached to the longer formats. Albums may sell less than they used to, but there will always be artists who choose to express themselves in ways that are not commercial.

Album spins closer towards its final track as viable format

albummaster — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 04:23:57 GMT

Author: albummaster

Posted: 07/30/2014 08:23

Very interesting piece in the UK's Guardian newspaper about the future of the album format.

With the general move toward the digital consumption of music, online streaming services & the popularity of pick-and-mix playlists, there has been debate about the wider picture of the album format for the last decade or more.

It has always been said on this site that a good album is far more than just a collection of songs. There is something intangible that binds them together and creates something bigger than if a single track was listened to in isolation. The best albums from the most talented artists still have a significant market, & I think this is the main reason that the album format will continue to survive.

Personally, I think the album format is far from dead (but that's maybe a bit biased, & perhaps hopeful, coming from someone that hosts an album website!) I feel some artists will just drip-feed singles into the market-place looking for the next big hit, but the more musically ambitious artists will want to create something more and are not aiming at the same market & the best of these will continue to be on BEA.