Do you still look forward to album releases? Why?

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I think I am coming to the conclusion that the 'new album' concept is no longer a satisfactory format for me to consume either from a technical or artistic point of view. Previously I have thought of them as of ideal length and remit, but I now wonder what can anyone say with an album that hasn't already been said? Sure somethings bear repeating and current and future generations may need their seminal long-players for a while yet but at the moment I don't feel as if I could get anything really worthwhile out of an album that I couldn't get from an EP or even just single (with bonus tracks and/or remixes). Anyone else feeling this? Will the album become outmoded, and when? Good thing/bad thing?

Listening to 'Talkie Walkie' I find (as I did with their previous albums) that I only keep coming back to half the tracks on there and the other half never get listened to. So maybe just an EP would've satisified me personally more (a minority view perhaps). Not the only example but the most recent as it's the 'biggest' album release of the year for me so far I suppose in that I've been a big Air fan like many people for several years.

Albums have lost their significance for me slowly since downloading phenomenon I guess. The recent Rough Guides thread demonstrated though how the idea of compiling a disc of 10-20 tracks is still worthwhile however - that's just a perfect amount of tracks with which to sum up a band, genre or scene it seems. So compilations are still important to me, though that may be more down to the retrospective aspect (likewise I am going to be investigating past albums I never heard for some time yet, tho my favourites are more likely be encoded and transferred and listened to on a track per track basis only. I'm not sure when I last played an album through from start to finish on CD - I think it was 'Amnesiac' having just got back from Radiohead Earls Court gig last year - the point is it is a very rare pastime in my life the last couple of years).

Another point: what can dance music and dance artists do with the album format now? More, less or the same as any genre? I was initially quite excited by the idea of an Alan Braxe & Fred Falke album but now I just think 'what's the point?' I love the way they just put out a couple of tracks a year - even these have seemed like significant events over the last few years (since Stardust I guess). There was a rumour that Daft Punk would release new material later this year or early next. It seems a lot of people are very excited by this prospect. I am too - I think because it would be the third album and for some reason trinities seem to make sense (okay this is Air's third album too 'officially' at least) so maybe my feeling is just that three albums is enough for any modern artist (seems a bit ridiculous I know but i remember feeling this after 'A Hundred Days Off' and 'Come With Us' - both the fourth album by huge dance acts, a general sense of too much re-iteration and closure). On the other hand a Daft Punk 'EP' or two might make me even happier. Looking forward to hearing the Prodigy one but don't expect it to really offer anything new for me at all, which is disappointing in a way but part of the process of getting older and moving on I guess. The album seems more like a chore to me now than a fun experience...even gigs can seem like that sometimes! Maybe I need an official Raggettian break from music...or maybe I should actually listen to more albums from more genres so I am better qualified to judge these things...

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2004 13:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know, I think this is kind of like asking "Is the novel as a form exhausted?" and (as you note) may say more about the questioner's present experience with the form than about the form itself. If novelty is the greatest good within a form, then perhaps the album has run its course; but I don't think novelty is as important (in any form) as it is perhaps presently considered in our historical moment. Interesting you should mention the Prodigy though since I thought Fat of the Land, taken as an album, was really quite interesting.

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 5 February 2004 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

yes i am in the novelty mindset i guess - been quite obsessed with it over the years perhaps so now is the dark time ;)

since I thought Fat of the Land, taken as an album, was really quite interesting.

in what ways?

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2004 14:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Generalising here, but I think the best dance albums are the ones that actually work like DJ sets, where everything flows and there are natural peaks and troughs and so forth.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 5 February 2004 14:32 (twenty-two years ago)

how does that differ from non-dance albums really though?

the 'journey' metaphor has never felt as prevalent in albums unlike dj sets - 'Since I Left You' is an exception, and that's become one of my favourite albums ever precisely because it fulfils that role so well (even though it's so literal). this despite the 'journey' being such a cliche (yet surprisingly enduring for someone like me who is so poorly travelled).

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2004 14:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I get what you mean, I'd rather have a dance artist release singles/eps for three years and then compile them on a retrospective CD than an album of completely new material at once.

― Siegbran (eofor), Thursday, 5 February 2004 15:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i listen to electronic and dance-based albums more than albums of any genre which has affected my view of the album in a certain way i think, even though the structure and patterns within them are not really that different from your average pop or rock album by and large.

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2004 15:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I still look forward to buying new albums, even if more and more, I find myself zeroing in on the handful of tracks that do something for me, and tuning out the rest. but the way i see it, even if most albums (currently or in general) are filler-heavy, it's basically giving you this big menu of songs, and you can pick and choose the ones you like. and judging from personal experience, my favorites aren't always everyone else's favorites, so I'm glad to hear the whole CD and figure out what I like for myself, instead of the artist/label second-guessing what people would like best and only putting things out in EP or rough-guide form.

of course, I don't really download a lot, so that hasn't challenged my listen-to-every-CD-all-the-way-through-every-single-time compulsion.

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 5 February 2004 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Al OTM.
My completist tendencies have more or less vanished but I'd be disappointed if my favourite artists only released what they considered to be 4 or 5 tracks out of a dozen recorded. If I'm noot bothered and can settle for a small batch, I guess dial-up d/ling should be good enough.

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Thursday, 5 February 2004 15:34 (twenty-two years ago)

For my listening habits, albums still work quite well. I think ~40 minutes is a nice chunk of time to set aside for listening to a particular artist. Sometimes, my attention span is shorter, and I find myself listening to a few tracks and switching, but usually I find that the album-length is a good length. Listening to a mix of individual tracks can be nice too, but sometimes it breaks up the mood too much. It's nice to just let a good album flow sometimes.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 5 February 2004 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Al OTM, I want to hear every single song not because I'm a completist but because I want to hear for myself which songs I'd like. This applies to bands as well. I tend to play albums all the way through just because I'm too lazy to get up and switch CDs every couple of songs... most duff tracks are entirely ignorable.

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 5 February 2004 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't think it's too much to ask from an artist that they be able to do these three things:

1) Have at least 40 minutes of good material.
2) Be able to recognize what the good 40 minutes is.
3) Be able to sequence that 40 minutes into a nice flow.

If they can do that, then they should be able to produce good albums.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 5 February 2004 16:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I look forward to album releases by artists I care about. Why wouldn't anyone? I don't get it.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 February 2004 16:44 (twenty-two years ago)

40 minutes is one thing (see above). But part of the problem, then, could be the compulsion to fill up the whole 78 minutes or whatever of the CD.

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), Thursday, 5 February 2004 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I just like predigested table scraps stirred together in a kettle.

― jack cole (jackcole), Thursday, 5 February 2004 17:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Campbell's soup, then?

I still listen to albums rather than playlists or random mixes as such most of the time -- the big exception is my iPod which I intentionally randomize, but at the same time I don't listen to it all that often. I think it's just down to the choice or interest of the listener.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 5 February 2004 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I look forward to album releases by artists I care about. Why wouldn't anyone? I don't get it.

don't you get tired/bored/disappointed in them effectively repeating themselves? isn't this is what the vast majority of artists do with every album?

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2004 17:36 (twenty-two years ago)

This thread sums up perfectly why the music business is in the fookin' toilet.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 5 February 2004 17:40 (twenty-two years ago)

hey it's not my fault i hate fun, oh wait...

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 5 February 2004 17:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I understand your point to an extent, stevem, and that is why I haven't felt much compulsion to own the entire catalogue of artists I like for a while. However, with EPs I often feel like it's over just when I'm really starting to get into the mood of the set of music, and I also have a tendency to really like songs that aren't the 'single' type, which would probably tend to get left off if albums were shortened. I do have albums with unnecessary filler material, and that's unfortunate sometimes, but it has also caused me to zero in on the albums that are strongest overall by artists that I enjoy rather than simply purchasing it because it has their name on it.

Also, new album generally means new tour, which is itself a reason to look forward to album releases.

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 5 February 2004 17:46 (twenty-two years ago)

getting bored with Air album releases and getting bored with album releases are very different things.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 5 February 2004 18:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Radiohead and Daft Punk too.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 5 February 2004 18:37 (twenty-two years ago)

don't you get tired/bored/disappointed in them effectively repeating themselves? isn't this is what the vast majority of artists do with every album?

Gosh, you're right. In fact, why even go on? Goodbye, ennui-riddled world!

Maybe you're just listening to the wrong artists. My favorite bands usually tend to mix it up a little bit, at least (Killing Joke have had their less-than-inspired patches, but usually come up with something new to get excited about....though they take their damn time doing it). It really depends on the artist(s) in question, honestly.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 February 2004 22:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I did tire of the syndrome you're talking about towards the latter end of the Wedding Present's career (I kept snapping up each successive release, despite diminishing returns, quality-wise), but that didn't put me off enjoying music as a whole or remaining hopeful for future releases.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 5 February 2004 22:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree that albums are a nice listening length, but only if I've put one on and am doing something else or, for some increasingly rare reason, want to self-conciously force myself through it.

I much prefer standing up by my record player, picking out things that have caught my attention/curiosity and putting them on, flicking through, DJing for myself essentially.

This means that albums become compilations by default.

― Jim Robinson (Original Miscreant), Thursday, 5 February 2004 22:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, I'm with Jim. I find it increasingly difficult to remember how I could sit through entire albums during my teenage years.

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Friday, 6 February 2004 09:26 (twenty-two years ago)

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