Does the concept of an "album" still matter?

[Shreddy Lee]

One of the ways music has changed a great deal over the past few decades is in the idea of the album. I grew up as the sort of digital revolution of music was taking over, and everything was moving to downloading MP3s and all that, though I did use CDs briefly.

 

So to me, an album is simply the collection of songs that are on it. Nothing more. I place all the importance on the songs themselves, and I've never really had any notion of considering an album as one whole work, how the songs "flow" and thinking about how or if they affect one another, the song order, etc. I understand that this is exactly how it used to be, and for some still is, but I feel like to me and likely most of my generation, this is a foreign idea.

 

When I evaluate an album, what I'm really thinking about is how many songs on it I like vs. how many I don't. It comes down to math, really. If I think most of the songs are good, and there's few to none that I don't think are that good, then it's a good album to me. How it flows, and all these other types of things that I often see people talking about, don't enter my mind. To me it's just, here's all the new songs this band has made, one after the other.

 

So, do you place importance on how an album fits together as a whole, how the songs flow and complement each other, etc? If so, why? Is it because you grew up during the era where that was the norm, and are just used to it? If not, why not?

 

And most importantly, is this way of thinking about an album still relevant today?

[treeduck]

I only listen to albums so if it becomes all about digital singles and itunes I'll probably lose interest...

 

In the case of Caravan and BU2B, I hardly listened to those songs, partly because I don't listen to music on my computer and partly because I don't have much use for a 2 song CD, plus I didn't want to spoil the album.

[rushgoober]

No offense, my brother, but this post makes me kind of sad. I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained.

 

An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs. That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme.

 

A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole. Even the artwork is important.

 

Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me. An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole.

Edited June 10, 2012 by rushgoober

[ArrowSnake]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 09:04 PM)

No offense, my brother, but this post makes me kind of sad. I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained. An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs. That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme. A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole. Even the artwork is important. Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me. An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole.

[kentpilot]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 03:04 PM)

No offense, my brother, but this post makes me kind of sad. I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained. An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs. That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme. A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole. Even the artwork is important. Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me. An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole.

I have to fully agree. Being born into a digital era, all albums on my ipod are full albums, I have no need for separations or individual gaps, I open them in music editors and connect them so I can't really skip songs, I love it.

[treeduck]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 03:04 PM)

No offense, my brother, but this post makes me kind of sad. I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained. An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs. That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme. A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole. Even the artwork is important. Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me. An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole.

Aye...

 

[third hand grace]

OLD SCHOOL here.

Agree w/ Goobs.

What makes Rush (and similar bands) SPECIAL is that they create a work of ART.

 

[Territorial_Game]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 02:04 PM)

No offense, my brother, but this post makes me kind of sad. I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained. An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs. That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme. A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole. Even the artwork is important. Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me. An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole.

 

This is why bands like Rush, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, etc. are my favorites. They care about the entire album and work to create a piece of art in every detail instead of just slapping some songs together, like goobs said.

 

This is also the reason I've avoided all the leaks and spoilers, even most reviews except for what I've read as thread/page titles, of Clockwork Angels. The whole experience of diving into a new album, especially a Rush album, is too great for me to want to dilute the full effect.

 

I do have an ipod and listen to it in the car most of the time, and I really enjoy my "Rush Favorites" playlist. It's nice for a change of pace, say to go from Caravan to Territories to The Fountain of Lamneth, but there's nothing like experiencing an album straight through and soaking up all the little things that make it a whole.

[LyndseyG]

QUOTE (Shreddy Lee @ Jun 10 2012, 08:29 PM)

One of the ways music has changed a great deal over the past few decades is in the idea of the album. I grew up as the sort of digital revolution of music was taking over, and everything was moving to downloading MP3s and all that, though I did use CDs briefly. So to me, an album is simply the collection of songs that are on it. Nothing more. I place all the importance on the songs themselves, and I've never really had any notion of considering an album as one whole work, how the songs "flow" and thinking about how or if they affect one another, the song order, etc. I understand that this is exactly how it used to be, and for some still is, but I feel like to me and likely most of my generation, this is a foreign idea. When I evaluate an album, what I'm really thinking about is how many songs on it I like vs. how many I don't. It comes down to math, really. If I think most of the songs are good, and there's few to none that I don't think are that good, then it's a good album to me. How it flows, and all these other types of things that I often see people talking about, don't enter my mind. To me it's just, here's all the new songs this band has made, one after the other. So, do you place importance on how an album fits together as a whole, how the songs flow and complement each other, etc? If so, why? Is it because you grew up during the era where that was the norm, and are just used to it? If not, why not? And most importantly, is this way of thinking about an album still relevant today?

I used to think that way, that albums were just a collection of songs, when I was a kid. But as I grew up I discovered that its as much an album as a whole and how they flow together.

 

For the record, sometimes I listen to the whole Rush album, other times I just put my iPod on shuffle and see what it comes up with.

[Karena]

I grew up in a time of 45's and hits playing on AM radio. Then it went to FM and LPs. I can enjoy listening both ways, the ipod and full albums. There's no reason someone of any era cannot appreciate both. One will be missing something if they reject the idea of taking in the whole interconnected piece as it was intended to be heard.

 

 

[treeduck]

Looks like Shreddy has been shredded...

 

[Shreddy Lee]

Just to clarify, I wasn't saying that the way I see it is the right way, or that it's better, or that it's how it should be. On the contrary, I purposely worded it to show the way that this perspective loses that extra something that some of you guys have. I don't think that "it comes down to math" is a good thing. I just genuinely wanted to pose this question, and sort of say that for me and others my age, we never knew any other way.

 

Leaving aside Rush and some of the other similar kinds of bands some of us may listen to, do the majority of albums put out nowadays lend themselves to this way of thinking? Or is it a relic of the past?

Edited June 10, 2012 by Shreddy Lee

[Ancient Ways]

[Xanaseb]

 

[danielmclark]

When I used to be really into music, I thought that albums were sacred. These days, 20+ years later, I recognize the value of an album, but I never listen to music that way, ever. In fact, Clockwork Angels was probably the first album that I've listened to from beginning to end since... well, since Snakes & Arrows, I guess. Other artists... I just want to hear songs, so I throw stuff in a playlist and hit Shuffle. Only with Rush do I take the time to go beginning to end with a new album (and after the first time or two, all the songs go into the main music Shuffle).

[rushgoober]

The exception to the album thing for me is when you're talking about groups that made one or two singles, or maybe they made one or two albums, but they only have one or two good songs. In that respect, compilations make sense, and/or playing songs individually out of context makes sense. I mean, no need to listen to a 12-song album if you're going to skip 10 or 11 tracks.

 

Otherwise, songs on albums really benefit from the context they were meant to be heard in.

[Analog_Bro]

In my opinion there is a difference between listening to a song as a single or listening to it in the context of the whole album

 

Take the song Money by Pink Floyd for example. I personally think it is overplayed on the radio and I never listen to it as a standalone song. But if I am playing it in the context of the whole Dark Side of the Moon record I somehow see it in a different light

 

So all in all even if the songs aren't a part of a single concept or story like Clockwork Angels is, if the songs flow into one another well it makes for a more enjoyable listening experience to me rather than just putting on a collection of new songs

[Presto-digitation]

Only if it matters to you. The world isn't sitting around pining for a new Rush album -- conceptural or otherwise -- but Rush fans largely are. If it's important to you then it's a good thing...

[Gilbertk]

I'm 19 and I compare albums.. In fact on my ipod, I make sure that every song is organized under album titles, not just a few songs under the artist's name. The album can mean a lot.

 

Each album was recorded at a specific moment in the artist's life and has it's own feel, whether you feel it or not.. it still has it.

 

2112 as an album was recorded at a very dark time for Rush, not just the song that directly references what they were going through. All the other songs are a reflection of those three men at that time.

 

This is why I get so irritated when people say "I want another Hemispheres!" Another Hemispheres will not happen because Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart will never be back at that moment in there lives, with those surroundings and the same people around them. I try to appreciate each new album as a reflection of who they are now. I loved watching Beyond the Lighted Stage and Classic Albums because it gave me more insight into the men who made each record, and that built my appreciation for each album.

 

Just my two cents.

[losingit2k]

An album is a collection of musical pictures. Thats why they called it an album to begin with. What downloading has accomplished is nothing more than the destruction of the big bicture. All you get with download certain songs is a bunch of puzzle pieces with no continuity! Like Goober said, It's a really sad thing!

 

[Tommy Sawyer]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 04:04 PM)

No offense, my brother, but this post makes me kind of sad. I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained. An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs. That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme. A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole. Even the artwork is important. Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me. An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole.

I agree whole-heartedly. I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging or whatever, but I am 15, and it is kind of sad to see where the album has gone. I rarely use shuffle, and I don't really make playlists that often. I thinks albums are important because, as said, it is what the artist wanted us to hear. Any other way just seems weird.

[danielmclark]

QUOTE (Tommy Sawyer @ Jun 10 2012, 10:04 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jun 10 2012, 04:04 PM) No offense, my brother,  but this post makes me kind of sad.  I think something huge here has been lost that cannot be regained. An album to me is a piece of art, compiled and put together in a very specific way to account for flow and balance, and it's far from just a collection of songs.  That's why artists do shows thematically, based on recent works and museums have exhibitions based on subject or theme.  A concept album only magnifies the importance of a piece of art as a complete whole, but even albums that aren't conceptual needs to work as a whole.  Even the artwork is important. Without these things, it really is just a collection of songs, and that just doesn't seem right to me.  An album is not 8 or 10 or 12 singles and b-sides sandwiched together randomly, it's a unified whole. I agree whole-heartedly. I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging or whatever, but I am 15, and it is kind of sad to see where the album has gone. I rarely use shuffle, and I don't really make playlists that often. I thinks albums are important because, as said, it is what the artist wanted us to hear. Any other way just seems weird. That's something I don't get. If it's a concept album, sure, I can see how taking it in order matters. But nobody can convince me that playing the frickin' Monkees out of order is somehow ruining the experience because Mickey and Davy wanted the songs in a certain order

[Tommy Sawyer]

[GeddPratLerxst]

This is one of the many reasons I listen to only vinyl if possible. The listener is required to hear the record as a whole (skipping songs on records is a bitch). Even if I'm listening to an album like RTB (which to me has only a few strong songs), I listen to the entire thing. Holding the lyric sheet and 12X12 artwork makes the listening experience so much more satisfying. When I first received my fan pack, I held the CD case/booklet in my hands the entire time, reading liner notes and lyrics while appreciating Hugh Symes gorgeous artwork.

 

I am 15

 

When I was younger, yes, I used iTunes. But after receiving my first record (CoS), I have become a firm believer in listening to the music the way the artist intended it to be listened to. While there are many modern artists (none of whom I listen to) who have known only the age of digital downloads and whose albums reflect this in that they a picked apart by listeners, Rush is a band firmly planted in the age of album oriented rock, a movement that most attribute to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's. This is actually why some artists refuse to release their albums on iTunes (AC/DC being the best example I can think of). So while I respect your opinion, I must recommend one thing: purchase a turntable and Clockwork Angels on vinyl. It is a unique experience which one cannot obtain from digital downloads.

[ucsteve667]

Early in my musical development, and Im talking like single digit age here, I would listen to my Moms records like Tommy, Tarkus, The Point, and Thick As A Brick. This really appealed to me, the record being completely so much a story. So When I started to get into bands like RUSH, Yes, Genesis, etc I already had a definite appreciation for the ebb and flow of every record as a story, of the factors echoing this thread from Goobs and the rest. And when I started my own passion for making mix tapes in my teens and beyond, I have always been conscious of the flow of any collection I made. Which is the major foundation of MY SHOW online 4-6 hrs a week now. I enjoy the art of it, or I at least consider it an art, akin to scoring movies in some way maybe. Sometimes it takes a lot of thought, but more often than not it spontaneously erupts. My favorite thing to do since I was 15...