I have always enjoyed the idea of the album as a work of art. Albums can conglomerate songs into a one solid entity of art that is designed to be listened to in a particular order. This careful selection of songs and order, combined with album cover art can create a mood, a theme, or even a concept. In 1967 the Beatles allegedly created "The First Concept Album" when they carefully strung 13 new songs together in a particular order that was reminiscent of a concert or show. They created album cover art that did not just depict themselves, but instead created an entire psychedelic atmosphere, with beautiful colors and cardboard cutouts of all of their inspirational figures. With this came the idea that albums can create an entire theme, and these themes can inspire many people, and even generations. Much of today's technology and culture surrounding music is destroying the idea of an album.
Today kids carry iPods, and on these iPods they may have Beatles songs. Some of these songs may be from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. I would make the argument that very few actually have the album in its entirety. This is an utter shame if you ask me. In my opinion this is like cutting out your favorite part out of a Picasso painting, then proceeding to carry it around in your pocket claiming, "Look how much I LOVE Picasso!" No you don't! If anything, you are destroying one of his fabulous master pieces by segmenting into pieces of your choice. The painting is a whole, and when you experience that painting, you take every part of it into consideration. You don't buy a piece of a painting, you buy an entire painting. Where am I going with this? What I am saying is that the same respect should apply to an album. One should not simply buy a song here and a song there from this album or that album. It is cutting a piece of art into separate pieces, and there is no way to fully understand a piece of art if you do not take its entirety into consideration. If the artist wishes to segment his art himself by releasing singles, I think it is perfectly acceptable to buy those individual songs because at this point, that artist is releasing that song as a piece of art in itself.
It is a deeply rooted personal belief of mine that artists (that are worth listening to) create albums for us to listen to, and that is why I am extremely happy to see old LP vinyls making a comeback. The old man hidden deep inside of me bought a record player a couple summers ago and upon this purchase begun buying records. Musicians worth listening to have begun releasing their new albums on vinyls. Within these vinyls they are releasing an mp3 download so not only do you get the record, but you can also put the album onto your computer and portable mp3 device. The reason I enjoy records so much is because they were the fundamental centerpiece for how the album became pieces of art. These LP's are BIG. The album art is like a painting or a work of art in itself. Usually the albums open up to display the lyrics and many include artwork which was done by the artist. One is able to open up the record, put it on the turntable, and explore its contents while listening to the tracks IN ORDER. The reason I put so much emphasis on listening to the tracks in order is because if anyone has dealt with a record player, you will know it is almost not worth the effort attempting to select a particular song in the middle of the record. It is much easier to put it on, and let it play through. Once it reaches its halfway point,if you don't get up and turn it, it is going to simply sit there. This shows dedication to persist through the album by the listener. It can then be flipped over, and the rest of the album can be listened to IN ORDER.
I think that it is great how vinyls are making a comeback, at least within the market of good music. It has become a tradition when I go to a concert to buy the artist's newest album on vinyl. I usually come back after the show and have an entire experience sitting alone or with friends examining the album's contents and listening to each individual track in the order they were meant to be listened to. Albums are a great thing and the longer they stick around the better it will be for the beauty of music. The reason that albums should be listened to as a whole is the fact that we all owe that respect to the artists who created them. They were going through a certain time in their life when they created it and most are attempting to portray a certain mood. With giving them this respect and listening to albums in their entirety (instead of simply taking the easy road and paying .99 cents for the single) we can have our own experience which can be gained from their experience. Now I just sound like I am rambling, which I am not.
Go listen to an album, and enjoy the experience!
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