Will musical 'albums' live on past the iTunes age?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

Looking at the Tom Jones thread (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9449920) and wondering...
I don't mind at all the idea of being able to download one song at a time from one artist but when I think about my own collection of music (and I'm 52 so it goes back a bit), I don't just think of the 'hits,' but the full albums and how they represented where the musicians were artistically at the time.

[Archae]

1. I doubt albums will disappear.

The vinyl purists will still like "needle and groove," and CD's are still more convenient in a car stereo.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. I don't mean the storage medium. I mean 'album' as the idea of a collection of related songs.

Like "Sgt. Pepper" would be an 'album' whether it was on vinyl, CD, or a subfolder on my laptop.

[Archae]

4. I hope not.

It'd be in some cases like only reading one chapter in a great book.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. "Albums" became a gimmick, even before the rise of CDs.

"Sgt. Pepper" was an "album," yes, but soon every half-assed band on the planet thought they had an "album" in them.

"Layla"...that was an "album."

"Deja Vu"...that was an "album."

"Electric Ladyland"...that was an "album."

"Abbey Road" was an "album."

Problem is that when you TRY to make an "album," and it doesn't just happen organically as part of the creative process, it's a gimmick.

There are a lot of "collections of related songs" in the realm of Progressive Rock, by the top-tier bands of the modern era like Flower Kings, Spock's Beard, Marillion, Dream Theater...

...problem is THOSE bands spend much of their time deciding if they are themselves or Yes / Genesis / King Crimson.

And look at Pete Townshend's fixation with "rock operas"...I burned out on "Tommy," still like "Quadrophenia," but the rest of his "epics?" No thanks.

:toast:

[hippywife]

3. I would hope not.

Many, many times the debut release is not the best song in the collection. Sometimes by a long shot.

:hi:

[Richardo]

10. I agree

Usually the 'hit' song is my least favorite. :hi:

[MilesColtrane]

6. Doubtful

The only reason that the idea of an album as an artistic statement gained traction was because of blossoming of FM stations during the 70s that would actually play them in their entirety.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. The "length" of an album seems to be carried over

from the length of the groove on one side of a 33.3 rpm vinyl disc.

And some tunes, I think, were designed to fit on that one side of a disc. Like Iron Butterfly's Inagaddadavida (sp?), or Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert, or Beethoven's Fifth (how the heck did he know how long a record would play? genius.)

I think the "album" will last as long as there are grammy awards for them.

:hi:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. And yet for all his genius Beethoven was never on a bubblegum card.

I remember hearing in the early CD / CDROM days that Phillips' original blue book standard for how much data could be stored on a disk was based on what it would take to hold Beethoven's 5th.

[rucky]

8. It's more like how it was before LPs

but without the B-Sides

[qb]

11. Good albums will live on. The ones that have a hit or two and a bunch of filler are history.