Alanis and Rob Thomas fail to convince me of the depths of their artistic goals

"Though he agrees that the Internet is ushering in a song-oriented pop world, prolific singer/songwriter Ryan Adams intends to continue making albums.

"I'm still stuck in that mode. I like the idea of creating your own world in 10 to 14 songs. I enjoy the broader scope. It's like taking in a whole exhibit, not just one painting. At the same time, there's no way to deny technology."

The entire game is changing," says singer Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty. "I can handle the fact that artists are selling fewer records and making less money, but you can't take away our albums! It's a conscious step toward disposable art. On an album, the artist creates a full work of art with songs that fit together and create a mood. If we become a single-minded nation, where careers depend on hits, you won't hear challenging music that takes risks."

The oxymoron being that M20's music ever took risks in the first place.

If I ever become enough of an expert on something to be quoted in articles, I vow to give nothing but quotes like this one.

Even in my college literature classes, when we read poetry, we quite frequently read individual poems, rather than the entire books they came out of. If the sequential integrity of "Lyrical Ballads" isn't sacrosanct, then surely the track sequence on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band isn't either.

Listening to the whole album is like having a 10 course meal. I personally think that as the music industry wants to have its cake and eat it too, the consumer has responded by not ordering desert.

as for no challenging singles that take risks, may i direct mr thomas to such single-driven genres as... early jazz, pop/r&b (from all eras, including motown), early rock and roll, all electronic dance (cept IDM), hiphop, etc etc etc etc etc.

im sure mr thomas, though, has topped the work of such various singles artists as, say, the supremes, the early beatles (even the latter...), the associates (they would still be amazing if sulk had never existed), model 500, or aaliyah. im sure his work tops all of those, that disposable crap.

btw i like albums, but all of these arguments are bullshit.

I don't see how the demise of the CD stops artists making albums. After all, they can make albums in mp3 format. They can make ep's or 24 hour extravaganzas if they want. What has changed is the ease with which consumers can make their own compilations of single tracks. Teenagers like to do that. They've always done it. I did it with cassettes long ago. But then I grew up a bit, and found myself leaning towards the 35-40 min format a bit more. Perhaps this is more a human thing, rather than a format thing. Few people however seem to be able to concentrate for more than an hour on one piece of music, so maybe the vinyl 40 min limit and the basic facts of human auditory fatigue kicking in around that point was a happy coincidence - and the longer time available on CD an unhappy coincidence.